Geography Syllabus
EXPECTATIONS:
Students are expected to complete in-class assignments when given.
Students are expected to pay attention and take notes during presentations and discussions.
Students are expected to study for tests and quizzes.
Students are expected to complete homework assignments and projects on time.
Students are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner at all times.
Students are expected to follow all classroom, Eastside High School, and Greenville County rules.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS:
Notes taken during PowerPoints, lectures, and class discussions
Cartography (Map) activities
Worksheets and exam preparation
Current events
Document Analysis
Projects
ASSESSMENTS:
Major Assessments: Tests and Projects = 60%
Minor Assessments: Homework, Class Assignments, Quizzes = 40%
* Chapter tests will be based on the material covered in class. In order to do well on the tests, students need to complete assignments, listen and participate in class, take notes, be familiar with material in presentations, and review daily. The tests may include multiple choice, matching, true/false, maps, short answer, and discussion questions.
* Homework, class assignments, and writing assignments are given to reinforce the material.
* Quizzes will cover material that students have discussed in class, material that they have read, and/or videos that they have watched.
* When projects are assigned, students will be given a handout that will explain the expectations and requirements.
NO INDIVIDUAL EXTRA CREDIT IS GIVEN
HONORS CLASSES:
Honors students will have more detailed assignments and projects. Students will be expected to analyze and synthesize information in greater depth on assignments, essays, and tests.
MATERIALS:
Students should have the following materials in class or on eLearning days:
Chromebook
Chromebook Charger
Three-ring notebook with paper or Folder
Pens or pencils
Colored Pencils.
EXTRA ASSISTANCE POLICY:
Students can get help in class, email questions, or set up a time for extra help.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Students are allowed 5 parent excused absences and/or unexcused absences for this class. If they are over their 5 days, they are required to complete “seat time recovery” in order to receive credit for the course. Students must attend at least half of the class period for their attendance to count.
TARDY POLICY:
Students must arrive to school on time every day.
Students who are late to any class should report to the Attendance Office to obtain a tardy pass.
Only students who arrive late to school with a doctor’s note or legal document can obtain an excused late pass. A parent note is not accepted for an excused tardy.
Tardies to school/class are cumulative for the semester.
Each student will receive seven tardy passes with no consequence each semester. After the seventh tardy pass, a detention will be assigned.
Detention will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:50-8:35 or 3:50-4:35 in the ISS room. Failure to serve detention will result in a full day of In-School Suspension.
Students are given five minutes to transition between each class and should be prompt in reporting to class. Students are expected to physically be in the room when the bell rings.
MAKE-UP WORK POLICY:
Make-up work is defined as work not completed or turned in due to a student’s absence.
This policy is set by the district.
Students may be allowed to make up work due to absences that are excused, unexcused or related to discipline with no penalty within 5 days or a reasonable time according to GCSD board policy.
If a student misses work due to an absence, it is the student’s responsibility to coordinate time with the teacher within 5 days of return to make up the work. Any work not submitted within the 5 day makeup period will turn into “late work.”
Alternative assignments may be given for performance-based tasks that cannot be recreated in a make-up format.
If a student is present on the day a test, quiz or project due date is announced and then absent on the day of the test, quiz or project deadline, he/she must be prepared to take the test, quiz or turn in the project on the day he/she returns to school.
Field trips and participation in other extracurricular events (such as athletics) are considered attendance days. Work missed due to such events can be submitted electronically by midnight on the day that it is due. Items that cannot be submitted electronically should be submitted the following attendance day.
Students are encouraged to utilize the before and after school tutoring programs to complete make-up and late work in a proactive manner.
LATE WORK POLICY:
Teachers reserve the right to alter this policy based on extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances should be discussed with the administration.
Late work is defined as work not completed/turned in on time even though the student attended the class.
Any assignment which is not turned in on time will be deducted 10 points off of the original grade earned for each school day the assignment is late up to five days.
After five days, the student will be assigned a 0 for the assignment.
Late work will not be accepted after the end of a grading period.
Students who have 504/IEP/ESOL accommodations specifically allowing for extra time may exceed the 5 day window to maintain compliance with their respective educational plan.
Students are encouraged to utilize the before and after school tutoring programs to complete make-up and late work in a proactive manner.
RULES for CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR:
Students should refer to the handbook for general school rules and procedures that will apply in the classroom.
* Wearing masks at this time is optional.
* Sit in assigned seats.
* Bring materials to class each day and participate.
* Be seated when the tardy bell rings and remain seated until dismissed.
* Respect the opinions, feelings, and property of the teacher and other students in the classroom.
* Keep the room clean.
* Pay attention to the red, yellow, or green signs for cell phone use in the classroom.
* Do not groom in class – no application of makeup, lotion, perfume, etc. Do not spray anything.
DISCIPLINE PLAN:
Depending on the offense, students may have one or more of the following as consequences for their actions:
1) warning
2) phone call or e-mail to the parent or guardian
3) detention
4) referral to an administrator
* Some offenses require an immediate referral.
PARENT COMMUNICATION:
I will contact parents when students are having problems with their grades, attendance, or behavior. Parents can keep track of grades by checking progress reports and report cards. Parents can use BackPack to check grades, attendance, and messages from me.
Parents may contact me at any time by calling 355-2848 and leaving me a message on my voicemail or by e-mailing me at dfish@greenville.k12.sc.us. Email is the easiest way to communicate.
COURSE OUTLINE:
1st Quarter or 3rd Quarter
Unit 1: Thinking Like a Geographer
Unit 2: Population
Unit 3: Migration
Unit 4: Folk and Popular Culture
Unit 5: Cultural Interactions: Ethnicity
2nd Quarter or 4th Quarter
Unit 6: Cultural Interactions: Language
Unit 7: Cultural Interactions: Religion
Unit 8: Political Geography
Unit 9: Land Use (Urban & Rural)
Unit 10: Economic Development
Human Geography Videos By Unit
Mr. Sinn's Human Geography videos by topic
CNN 10 for current events
Unit 1 - Thinking Like A Geographer
1) Why We Need To Teach Geography (Jay Leno street interviews)
2) Can you answer these 3 Geography questions? (National Geographic; Soledad O’Brien street interviews)
3) Dr. Nagler's Laboratory: Longitude and Latitude
4) Understanding Time Zones
5) Three Gorges Dam (illustration of Human-Environment Interaction)
6) Glacier Calving - Holgate Glacier, Alaska
7) Why all world maps are wrong
Unit 2 - Population
1) The Eyes of Nye - S01 - Episode 07 - “Population” (Rated TV-G)
2) Population pyramids: Powerful predictors of the future
3) Is Africa ready for its population boom? | CNBC Explains
4) China's one-child policy explained - BBC News
5) China to allow three-child families as birth rate declines sharply - BBC News
6) 7 Billion People
7) Death Rate vs. Birth Rate
8) Interesting Facts on World Population
9) World Population Animation
10) Population Density with Minecraft
11) China’s Three-Child Policy Explained
12) The Japanese Government Wants You To Date
13) Japan Speed Dating
Unit 3 - Migration
1) Refugees helping refugees in Germany | DW News
2) Germany gets tough on refugees
3) Push and Pull Factors
4) Syria: The World’s Largest Refugee Crisis
5) America’s Sources of Immigration (1850 - Today)
6) Top 10 Fastest Growing States in America in 2021
7) What does it mean to be a refugee? (part of the 6 Causes of Forced Migration assignment)
Unit 4 - Popular & Folk Culture
1) 7 Aspects of Culture
2) The Rules of Jai Alai Explained
3) Russian Banya
4) Rick Steves - Venice and Its Lagoon
5) Rick Steves - Italy's Riviera - Cinque Terre
6) How Chocolate Is Made
7) First Taste of Chocolate
8) Maldives - Soneva Jani Overwater Villa
9) Glory or Death - Climbing Mount Everest
10) What Is AFL = Aussie Rules Football Explained
11) Stunning Haka vs Tongan Wardance
12) Capture The Flag in Japan
13) Folk Culture, Pop Culture, Indigenous Culture
14) What Fast Food Is Like Around The World
15) 37 McDonald's Foods You Probably Haven't Tried
16) Taiwan Fire Fishing
17) American Killed by Tribe on North Sentinel Island
18) The Darlings singing “Dooley” on the Andy Griffith Show
19) Roy Clark & Buck Trent - “Dueling Banjos”
Unit 5 - Cultural Interactions: Ethnicity
1) Race & Ethnicity: Crash Course Sociology #34
2) Race, Ethnicity, Nationality and Jellybeans
3) Video: Dominican Fest 2019 - Providence, RI
4) ESPN 30 for 30 - Once Brothers
Unit 6: Cultural Interactions: Language
1) Mapping How Americans Talk
2) Australia - Great Barrier Grief (2017)
3) Do You Speak American (Part 1)
4) Overwater Bungalow Tour + 19 Travel Tips to Tahiti!
Unit 7: Cultural Interactions: Religion
1) Animated Map of How World Religions Spread
2) The Five Major World Religions
3) Cleaning Up India's Holy River - BBC News
4) Ganges River Pollution
5) Disney’s Coco (Official Trailer)
6) Rick Steves - Israel
Unit 8: Political Organization of Space (Government)
1) Israeli settlements, explained | Settlements Part I
2) Can Israelis and Palestinians See Eye to Eye?
3) Forms of Government
4) From Spy to President - The Rise of Vladimir Putin
5) Will Putin’s Political Party Ever Lose An Election?
6) TransSiberian Railway - CBC News
7) TransSiberian Railway - 1st Class Wagon Tour
8) Countries Inside Countries (Bizarre Borders)
9) From ‘Special Administrative Region’ to a 'Police State' - How China Hijacked Hong Kong
10) Is Taiwan Part of China?
11) CNN - South China Sea Territorial Dispute Explained
12) CNN - China's Man-Made Island - High Stakes Surveillance Over The South China Sea
13) CBS News - Chinese Jet Intercepts US Surveillance Plane
14) The Origins of Gerrymandering
Unit 9: Land Use & Economic Development
1) Urban Geography- Why we live where we do
2) Hunting & Gathering with the San Bushmen
3) Japan's Micro Apartment Boom
4) The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course
5) Food Machine - America Revealed (PBS)
6) Is Desalination the Future of Drought Relief in California? (San Diego)
7) Inside the World's Biggest Water Desalination Facility (Saudi Arabia)
8) Urbanization and the Future of Cities
9) Video: Economic Development leads to higher energy consumption
10) Video: Finland Might Have Solved Nuclear Power’s Biggest Problem
11) Video: Yucca Mountain - US Nuclear Storage
12) Video: Top Solar Energy Producing Countries 1983 to 2018
13) Video: Denmark's $34BN Energy Islands Could Solve Europe's Power Problem