FLEX World Geography for the Curious- Part 1

In this 13-week flex schedule class, there will be no set time for meeting.   Each week students will be given a weekly reading challenge via e-book, video with multi-media presentation, discussion questions, challenge activities and supplemental video links designed to enrich their study of the World Geography.  

Specifically, this Part 1 course highlights the Foundations of Geography- the inner workings and climates of the earth, as well as the diverse cultures and their interactions, patterns and connections with the environment for North America: United States/ Canada, Latin America and Europe.   A focus will be made on the usage of natural resources and their varying economies, creation of political boundaries, natural disasters and population growth with its subsequent challenges.  Maps, charts and tables continue to illustrate our understanding of the natural world and will be heavily resourced. 

Each flexible schedule class has a syllabus that will be available upon enrollment that details further the weekly topics, reading and discussion assignment, supplemental reading material, challenge activities as well as relative history specific video links.   If you have any further questions about whether a flex class will work for your learner, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Foundations to Geography
Week One: Themes & Tools of Geography, Relative vs. Absolute Location; Kinds of maps: relief, political, physical, topographic; Atlas; Reading a map: compass, legend, scale, color

Week Two: Solar System; Pangea; Inner Earth: Core, Mantle, Crust; Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere; Landforms; Hydrologic Cycle; Hotspots, Plate Tectonics: Divergent, Subduction, Convergent, Transformative; Seismographs, Richter Scale, Epicenter; Mechanical and Chemical Weathering; Erosion: Karst Sinkholes, Water, Wind & Glacial

Week Three: Hemispheres, Solstice, Equinox; Weather vs. Climate; Precipitation: Frontal, Orographic, Convectional; Climate Factors: Wind & Ocean Currents, Latitude, Altitude; World Climates; Factors to Climate Change; Ecosystems, Biomes

Week Four: Innovation, Diffusion, Acculturation, Language Families, World Religions; Dynamic Populations

Week Five: Urban Land Planning: urbanization, megalopolis, CBD; Types of Production; Opportunity Cost, Specialization of Labor; Levels of Economic Opportunity; Natural Resources: Renewable/ Nonrenewable; Infrastructure

United States and Canada
Week Six: North America Physical Geography- Rocky Mountains, Appalachians, Great Plains; Continental Divide; St. Lawrence Seaway, Intercoastal Waterway, Lock Systems; Tornado Alley; Oregon & Santa Fe Trails; Transcontinental Railroad

Week Seven: North American Human Geography- American Colonization: Early Settlements & Lands: Western Expansion; Agrarian, Industrialization, Information Ages; Democratic Republic, Free Market Economy; Subregions: New England, South, Midwest, West; Immigration: Melting Pot, Cultural Diversity

** Please be advised that during week seven we discuss European and American Imperialism with its subsequent outcomes of invasion, land theft, genocide and disease.  The effects of warfare and its destructive outcomes continues to be a part of the human story which I've chosen to include in this study of Human Geography if we are not to repeat the same mistakes.

Week Eight: Canada Human Geography & Today's Issues- Inuit, Vikings; Hudson Bay Company; Provinces, Yukon Gold Rush; Imports, Exports; 50th Parallel, Subregions: Atlantic, Core, Prairie, Pacific and Territories; Today's ISSUES-  Terrorism: 9/11

** Please be advised that we do discuss the historical event of 9/11 and the impact of terrorism around the world as referenced in the text- Specifically, we will answer questions as covered in the reference text: How has terrorism affected the policies of the United States and its allies? What are some of the weapons used by terrorists to further their objectives? and What might become a problem for democratic governments waging war against terrorism?  Age-appropriate supplemental video links will be provided at the end of class time for the learners to view with parental discretion. 

Latin America
Week Nine: Latin America Physical Geography- New Spain; Simon Bolivar; Andes Mountains, Amazon River; Llanos, Cerrado, and Pampas; Caribbean: Bahamas, Lesser & Greater Antilles; Medicinal Plants of the Rainforest; Climate Zones of S. America; Slash & Burn Agriculture, Terracing; Urbanization & Tourism

Week Ten: Latin America Human Geography & Today's Issues- Nazca, Olmec, Maya, Spanish Mission, African, Inca Heritage; Reggae, Calypso, Samba, Capoeira; Mercosur Trade Group; Treaty of Tordesillas; Carnival, Rain Forest and Resources; Political History: Revolutions & Governments; Panama Canal; Giving Citizens a Voice: Coup de-etat, Junta, Caudilla

Europe

Week Eleven: European Physical Geography- Peninsulas: Balkan, Iberian, Scandinavian, Italian, Jutland; Mountain Ranges: Apennine, Alps, Pyrenees, Balkan; North Europe Plain, Land of the Midnight Sun; Dark Forest; North Atlantic Drift, Mistral, Sirocco; Peat, Fjord, Acid Rain; Dutch Seawork, Dike, Polder, Terpen; Venice: Gondolas

Week Twelve: European Human Geography & Today's Issues- Civilizations: Rome, Greece, Byzantine; Christianity and Islam Influence: Crusades, Renaissance; Bubonic Plague; Martin Luther, Bonaparte; WW2- Nazis, Axis, Allies, Berlin Wall; Nordic Countries; European Union; Yugoslavia: Serbs, Croatia, Ethnic Cleansing

** Please note that we discuss the social injustice of ethnic cleansing and discrimination this week.  The effects of warfare and its destructive outcomes continue to be reflected as Today's Issues as it continues to be a part of the human story during and after WW2.  From military dictators and monarchies to republics- those whom are our government officials should reflect private as well as public virtue. With the creation of the US Constitution and subsequent republics formed around the world, we have seen HUGE leaps of progress in creating equality in law for all- in quoting the words of John Locke- "Where-ever the law ends, tyranny begins." The social contract between government and man continues to be developed and improved where laws can be passed which sustain an economically stable environment to provide equal opportunity for all regardless of nationality, ethnicity or culture. 

Week 13: Kahoot Review & Final Presentations!