GEOGRAPHY
HIGH SCHOOL COURSE, DSST PREP Optional
Before you begin, you will want to decide if you are interested in taking the Dantes (DSST) Human/Cultural Geography exam, or the World Population ECE exam. (Visit the Excelsior College Exams page for more info.)
Even if you are only taking this course for high school credit, your local library is an invaluable source. Check the children's section. They likely carry one or more series of books about various countries around the world. In addition, the free Online Encyclopedia can provide a wealth of information.
PRIMARY SOURCES:
Introduction to Environmental Awareness - Geography 1 - online course; requires registration
The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century- videos and additional activities
PASS World Geography: Skills and Regions textbook - teacher guide, followed by student workbook
Geography online flashcards
Printable maps
Interactive maps - quiz yourself by dragging and dropping country, state, or city names onto maps
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Human Geography: People, Places, Change - video series
Geography of World Cultures - iTunes podcasts
Geography World - links, games, and quizzes
World Atlas online
The World Factbook - The CIA's online encyclopedia of 267 countries around the world.
Glencoe World Geography online supplement- this site offers interactive lessons and activities. Designed to correspond with a specific textbook, but can be used stand-alone.
Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities - additional textbook site
Physical Geography online textbook - this book is really more Earth Science than geography, despite its name, but the chapter on mapping lends itself to this course and provides good information.
PRACTICE QUIZZES AND EXAM:
The GLENCOE World Geography website offers interactive quizzes by chapter. These can be used to assess overall knowledge.
End-of-Course exam
Outline Guide of Study Topics
The following outline comes from the National Council for Geographic Education. Keep a copy with you as you study to help build and organize your study journal.
THE EIGHTEEN NATIONAL STANDARDS and Six essential elements
Essential Element I. THE WORLD IN SPATIAL TERMS
Standard 1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
Standard 2. How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
Standard 3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.
Essential Element II. PLACES AND REGIONS
Standard 4. The physical and human characteristics of places.
Standard 5. That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity.
Standard 6. How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.
Essential Element III. PHYSICAL SYSTEMS
Standard 7. The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface.
Standard 8. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface.
Essential Element IV. HUMAN SYSTEMS
Standard 9. The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface.
Standard 10. The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.
Standard 11. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface.
Standard 12. The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
Standard 13. How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface.
Standard 14. How human actions modify the physical environment.
Essential Element V. ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
Standard 15. How physical systems affect human systems.
Standard 16. The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Essential Element VI. THE USES OF GEOGRAPHY
Standard 17. How to apply geography to interpret he past.
Standard 18. How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.
Recommended Course of Study:
Start with watching The Power of Place videos and reading/exploring any accompanying texts/links. Read the PASS World Geography textbook and complete activities. Next, begin a regular study of all the Online Flashcards. Use the additional resources to help build a World Geography study journal. Take some of the quizzes on the GLENCOE companion sites, and finish with the End-of-Course exam. Be sure to add reading materials from your library.
High school students who are not taking a college-level exam: If final graded work beyond the End-of-Course exam is needed, a project or research paper can be used. Suggested ideas are:
Write a Compare and Contrast essay for two different countries of the world. Be sure to include such things as population, geographic features, economies, styles of government, and relationships with other nations.
Create a "World Geography: 5 Nations" display board (aka "science project display") that includes such things as topographical and geo-political maps, flags, and important facts about 5 countries of your choosing.
Conduct an "Online Field Trip to Another Country" day by visiting travel and governmental websites. Try to locate an online source of news and information from that country. Also, plan a meal to serve of foods/recipes of the local culture. Check your library to see if any travel or history DVDs are available to round out your "trip."
HIGH SCHOOL COURSE, DSST PREP Optional
Before you begin, you will want to decide if you are interested in taking the Dantes (DSST) Human/Cultural Geography exam, or the World Population ECE exam. (Visit the Excelsior College Exams page for more info.)
Even if you are only taking this course for high school credit, your local library is an invaluable source. Check the children's section. They likely carry one or more series of books about various countries around the world. In addition, the free Online Encyclopedia can provide a wealth of information.
PRIMARY SOURCES:
Introduction to Environmental Awareness - Geography 1 - online course; requires registration
The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century- videos and additional activities
PASS World Geography: Skills and Regions textbook - teacher guide, followed by student workbook
Geography online flashcards
Printable maps
Interactive maps - quiz yourself by dragging and dropping country, state, or city names onto maps
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Human Geography: People, Places, Change - video series
Geography of World Cultures - iTunes podcasts
Geography World - links, games, and quizzes
World Atlas online
The World Factbook - The CIA's online encyclopedia of 267 countries around the world.
Glencoe World Geography online supplement- this site offers interactive lessons and activities. Designed to correspond with a specific textbook, but can be used stand-alone.
Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities - additional textbook site
Physical Geography online textbook - this book is really more Earth Science than geography, despite its name, but the chapter on mapping lends itself to this course and provides good information.
PRACTICE QUIZZES AND EXAM:
The GLENCOE World Geography website offers interactive quizzes by chapter. These can be used to assess overall knowledge.
End-of-Course exam
Outline Guide of Study Topics
The following outline comes from the National Council for Geographic Education. Keep a copy with you as you study to help build and organize your study journal.
THE EIGHTEEN NATIONAL STANDARDS and Six essential elements
Essential Element I. THE WORLD IN SPATIAL TERMS
Standard 1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
Standard 2. How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
Standard 3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.
Essential Element II. PLACES AND REGIONS
Standard 4. The physical and human characteristics of places.
Standard 5. That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity.
Standard 6. How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.
Essential Element III. PHYSICAL SYSTEMS
Standard 7. The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface.
Standard 8. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface.
Essential Element IV. HUMAN SYSTEMS
Standard 9. The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface.
Standard 10. The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.
Standard 11. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface.
Standard 12. The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
Standard 13. How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface.
Standard 14. How human actions modify the physical environment.
Essential Element V. ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
Standard 15. How physical systems affect human systems.
Standard 16. The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Essential Element VI. THE USES OF GEOGRAPHY
Standard 17. How to apply geography to interpret he past.
Standard 18. How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.
Recommended Course of Study:
Start with watching The Power of Place videos and reading/exploring any accompanying texts/links. Read the PASS World Geography textbook and complete activities. Next, begin a regular study of all the Online Flashcards. Use the additional resources to help build a World Geography study journal. Take some of the quizzes on the GLENCOE companion sites, and finish with the End-of-Course exam. Be sure to add reading materials from your library.
High school students who are not taking a college-level exam: If final graded work beyond the End-of-Course exam is needed, a project or research paper can be used. Suggested ideas are:
Write a Compare and Contrast essay for two different countries of the world. Be sure to include such things as population, geographic features, economies, styles of government, and relationships with other nations.
Create a "World Geography: 5 Nations" display board (aka "science project display") that includes such things as topographical and geo-political maps, flags, and important facts about 5 countries of your choosing.
Conduct an "Online Field Trip to Another Country" day by visiting travel and governmental websites. Try to locate an online source of news and information from that country. Also, plan a meal to serve of foods/recipes of the local culture. Check your library to see if any travel or history DVDs are available to round out your "trip."
