AP Human Geography / Honors Government Summer Prep
Greetings soon-to-be AHS Freshmen!
I am excited about meeting you and glad you'll be taking Honors Government / AP Human Geography! I am very excited about this course and my hope is that you'll come to feel the same way when learning about our government, the world and the interactions of people within it. Remember, this is an Honors / AP course so it will challenge you but I strongly believe that if you work hard, this will be one of the most enjoyable and beneficial courses you will take your freshman year.
To prepare for the class, please consider doing the following tasks this summer:
Current Events
* Part of becoming a global citizen is becoming more aware of what is happening in the world around you. Paying attention to what is happening in the news will help to illuminate the locations and concepts we will study, and current events will often be used as conceptual examples in class.
Many of these events will be discussed in our 1st semester when we cover Government/Civics. Therefore, it is important to keep track of these events. I strongly suggest that you READ and watch the news at least for a few minutes each day over the summer. When you consider reading the news, try to use legitimate sources of news from world renowned press agencies. When watching the news, try to utilize multiple sources of news media. DO NOT just consume visual news from one source.
I also strongly suggest that you keep a brief journal of what happened in the US and the World each week. You will be expected to know about the big news items over the summer and be able to give brief details about those events upon your return to school in August. Again, this can be easily achieved by consuming some news on a daily basis.
I am excited about meeting you and glad you'll be taking Honors Government / AP Human Geography! I am very excited about this course and my hope is that you'll come to feel the same way when learning about our government, the world and the interactions of people within it. Remember, this is an Honors / AP course so it will challenge you but I strongly believe that if you work hard, this will be one of the most enjoyable and beneficial courses you will take your freshman year.
To prepare for the class, please consider doing the following tasks this summer:
Current Events
* Part of becoming a global citizen is becoming more aware of what is happening in the world around you. Paying attention to what is happening in the news will help to illuminate the locations and concepts we will study, and current events will often be used as conceptual examples in class.
Many of these events will be discussed in our 1st semester when we cover Government/Civics. Therefore, it is important to keep track of these events. I strongly suggest that you READ and watch the news at least for a few minutes each day over the summer. When you consider reading the news, try to use legitimate sources of news from world renowned press agencies. When watching the news, try to utilize multiple sources of news media. DO NOT just consume visual news from one source.
I also strongly suggest that you keep a brief journal of what happened in the US and the World each week. You will be expected to know about the big news items over the summer and be able to give brief details about those events upon your return to school in August. Again, this can be easily achieved by consuming some news on a daily basis.
Map Knowledge:
In a nutshell, Human Geography is all about "What is where? Why is it there? and Why should we care?" Before we can dive into a thematic study of world-wide occurrences and interactions, you'll need a strong understanding of the first part of that phrase! Knowing where places are also will help with understanding the news in a more in depth way. Please study the attached list of countries, cities, and natural features--to the point where you can identify and place each on a map (below are additional study resources and links). We will cover many of these places as case studies throughout the year. You should be ready for a map test the first weeks of school. There are many websites online that can be used to learn these locations. I have listed 2 below that are my favorites.
Seterra - (this can be done online or downloaded to a PC or Mac.
Shepard Software
Below is a chart of the locations that you will need to study:
In a nutshell, Human Geography is all about "What is where? Why is it there? and Why should we care?" Before we can dive into a thematic study of world-wide occurrences and interactions, you'll need a strong understanding of the first part of that phrase! Knowing where places are also will help with understanding the news in a more in depth way. Please study the attached list of countries, cities, and natural features--to the point where you can identify and place each on a map (below are additional study resources and links). We will cover many of these places as case studies throughout the year. You should be ready for a map test the first weeks of school. There are many websites online that can be used to learn these locations. I have listed 2 below that are my favorites.
Seterra - (this can be done online or downloaded to a PC or Mac.
Shepard Software
Below is a chart of the locations that you will need to study:
Below is an overview of the subject matter we will be covering in the course.
Government (1st Semester)
- Governmental Theory
- Government Structures in the World
- Political Parties
- Dynamic Functioning of Government
- Responsibilities of Citizenship
- Political Participation
AP Human Geography (2nd Semester)
- Basic Map Concepts and Spatial Skills
- Population
- Cultural Patterns
- Political Organization of Space
- Agricultural and Rural Land Use
- Industrialization and Economic Development
- Cities and Urban Land Use
I strongly encourage (but do not require) all students to have a personal laptop for use in class in August. There are many things that we will do in the class that will require a tablet or laptop computer. Having a personal laptop will allow us to enhance the lessons planned in class and provide multiple ways of learning through use of our weekly computer labs, primary documents, computer interactive, etc. If you do not have a laptop, you can purchase one for as little as $150 at Bestbuy or Amazon. Chromebooks, Windows PCs and Macs will all work great in the class. Chromebooks are probably the cheapest (and preferred) option.
Again, I am so excited about this course next year and all of the exciting things you will learn. Remember that the purpose of this summer work is to prepare you for this course. Learning the above locations and developing a better understanding of current events in our world will benefit you tremendously in the beginning weeks of this course.
I hope all of you have a wonderful summer and I look forward to teaching you in the fall. If you have any questions please contact me through email at:
[email protected]
Thanks,
Mr. Lambert
Social Studies Teacher
Aquinas High School