Geography 9

This page is a resource for students studying Geography at Unity Christian. At this point it will merely be an aid to help students prepare for tests. The development of this page will be slow so please be patient with me.

Mr. Kotman

Crossword Puzzles

Before many tests I will give students a crossword puzzle review of the material. Many of the clues in the crossword puzzles are test questions themselves (with only slight wording differences). To make sure that students take advantage of this useful review, they are not to receive help from others (students, parents, or myself). If a student figures out the answer but not the wording, I will give the exact wording.

Crossword Puzzle Format: Crossword puzzles are given at the end of a unit and usually have around 20 to 25 questions. Students can use books, notes, or the internet (just not another person). Crossword puzzles are typically due the day of the test at the beginning of class .

Tests

At the end of every unit I give a test. I try to keep the amount of information manageable by having frequent small tests. Review sheets are handed out a day or two prior to the test but are not necessarily complete. If this is not enough time, I recommend taking notes and studying a small amount each night. Some of the material taught in class may not appear on the review sheet or in the book so it is crucial that you pay attention in class and ask questions when confused.

Test Format: Tests are typically one page in length (both sides). I tend to ask short answer questions with some fill in the blank (almost never do I have multiple choice). I require students to answer questions with complete sentences unless the answer is sufficiently answered with one word.

Examples:

Who is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? David Cameron (good)

Where is the Taj Mahal? India (good)

What is Honduras' nickname? "The Banana Republic" (good)

What is the world's largest coral reef and where is it located? Great Barrier Reef, Australia (good)

Why does it make sense that Haitians show resistance to Christianity?

Many Haitians believe in Voodoo and zombies, so they could believe that Jesus is a zombie since

he rose from the grave. (good)

NOT...

Voodoo (bad)

NOT...

Jesus is a zombie. (bad, complete sentence but not a complete answer)

Countries

The first unit I teach in Geography is on learning the countries of the world. I expect every student to know all the countries of the world throughout the year - not just on one test day. To encourage students to learn and remember them, I give periodic "pop" Map Tests.

Test Format: Students are shown a numbered map and must identify the numbered countries without the aid of a wordbank. The number of countries tested range from an entire continent (up to about 50) to a "pop" Map Test of usually 10 randomly chosen countries.

Below is a useful flash game for learning most of the countries of the world that I expect students to know.

Country Learning Website (For learning Location)

Country Learning Website (Without the help of a "Word Bank")

Country Learning Website (Yet another great quiz site)

Famous Sites

As I cover different regions of the world I expect students to learn some of the "Famous Sites", man-made or natural, that are in these regions. Examples of these "Famous Sites" range from the very familiar Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon, Eiffel Tower, and Leaning Tower of Pisa to the less well-known Totem Poles of British Columbia, Pont du Gard of France, Uluru of Australia, and Abu Simbel of Egypt.

Test Format: Students are shown a slide show of numbered photos and must identify the name of the famous site and the location (state/province/or nation). The number of famous sites varies by region.

Below is a table of the possible famous sites broken up by test.