This is a full-curriculum World Geography class that looks physical, political, and cultural geography. Since it covers such a broad range, we will focus on introducing and covering the basics of a lot of topics but we won't have time to go into lots of depth. This class is modeled on the technique of scaffolded learning, meaning I will teach a concept, we will practice it together, and then students will be asked to apply that concept on their own. That being said, there are lots of assignments and activities in this class as well as lots of lecture days. I try to make the class relevant by tying abstract concepts to facts of daily life for teens so that they can see geographic concepts in action. I am looking for responsible students to take this class. Students who have no interest in geography or learning about the world and people around them will not enjoy this class. However, students who do have an interest in these topics will find that this class has much to offer. I would like to include discussion, activities, and games into this class as much as possible, but my ability to do so will depend on the temperament and culture we create as a class. 

*CLASS OVERVIEW:
This class follows the Utah core standards for world geography and is broken up into 5 strands: 

WG Strand 1: HUMANS AND THEIR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
-Map skills: Students will learn basic components of a map (compass rose, legend/key, and scale). They will learn about longitude and latitude lines, different map projections and distortions, different map orientations, topographical maps, political maps, thematic maps, cartograms, flow line maps, and perceptual maps.
-Map reading practice: students will practice reading maps with practical applications (choosing a hike, finding out where to vote, figuring out zoning and who owns what land in your community, and how to use a street map).
-Earth systems: We will discuss how different functions and movements of the Earth impact climate (Earth's rotation and revolution, what causes the seasons, latitude zones, weather vs climate, tropic vs temperate vs polar zones, wind patterns and water currents, plate tectonics, and natural disasters).
-Physical forces that shape the Earth: We will look at what forces are influencing the physical shape of the Earth and how (plant erosion, ice erosion, wind erosion). We will also look at how different environmental factors and landforms influence the lives of people that live in those areas. 
-Landforms: We will go over major landforms and bodies of water so that students know their definitions and can recognize them. Landforms include: island, glacier, isthmus, canyon, peninsula, archipelago, plateau, valley, volcano, continent, moraine, plain, basin, delta, alluvial plain, lake, river, strait, bay, tributary, mouth, and fjord.
-Ecosystems and biomes: We will discuss what makes up an ecosystem and how ecosystems are organized into biomes. We will learn about the 5 different major biomes (aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra). We will learn about what life is like in each of the biomes and how humans interact with the ecosystems and biomes around them. 
-How do humans interact with their environment?: We will look at Japan and several countries in Europe to see examples of how people's lives are impacted by the physical shape of the Earth around them as well as by the climate. We will also look at how people have impacted the environment in different ways in those countries.
-Europe From Above: the Netherlands: We will watch an episode from the TV series "Europe From Above" that talks about the Netherlands. We will look for different landforms that we've talked about as well as highlight different ways that the people in the Netherlands are interacting with the environment.
-No deforestation without representation: We will look at how animals are being impacted by human changes to the environment and what is being done about it. 
-Research a problem: We will look at some examples of problems that occur as a result of human-environment interaction (the impact of natural disasters, pollution and litter, habitat loss, etc.). Students will be asked to pick one particular problem, research it, and either write a letter to the proper authorities with a suggestion about how to solve the problem OR create a brochure for families about how to prepare themselves to mitigate the effects of one of these problems.
-Custom World Physical Map: Students will have a chance to create their own world. They will shape the continents and name all the rivers and landforms. Their world will need to operate under the same set of rules as our world (rivers start at higher elevations and flow towards the ocean, etc.) and they will be asked to include certain features and landforms. 

WG Strand 2: POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND MIGRATION
-Population growth: Students will learn about the various stages of the demographic transition model, what factors cause a country to transition from one stage to the next, and the pros and cons of living in each stage. Students will also learn how to read population pyramids and determine what stage of the demographic transition model a country is in by looking at that country's population pyramid. 
Population density and distribution: As a class, we will discuss patterns of population distribution across the globe and why it is that people are not evenly distributed. We will learn what factors cause people to want to live in one area vs. another and look at several examples. We will also learn the definition and equation for determining population density. We will compare and contrast life in densely populated places vs sparsely populated places. 
Migration: We will dive in to try and answer the question of why some people move at great personal risk to themselves and their families. We will discuss the push and pull factors that motivate people to migrate. We will look at several examples of migration across the globe. We will explore the environment, demographic, and social consequences of migration. We will look at examples of migration also within one's own country.
Asylum/Migration Murder Mystery Game: We will learn about the process of seeking asylum and explore how immigration policies can have both intended and unintended consequences. Then we will play a murder mystery game to practice using the terms we have learned and look at a dramatized example of what we've been talking about. 
Disney migration examples: Students will review what they have learned about push and pull factors of migration and the consequences of migration by watching clips from several popular Disney movies.

WG Strand 3: CULTURE
-Intro to culture: We will overview important vocabulary like cultural hearths, cultural diffusion, cultural regions as well as introduce the 5 major components of culture (language, religion, social groups, government, and economic activities).
-Language: We will talk about how language is created and changed over time and look at several examples of language evolution. We will explore how the same word can have different meanings even to people who speak the same language. We will explore slang and language changes over time. We will also look at language families and dialects to see how language is impacted by space and proximity. We will also be looking at idioms as an example of how language is a cultural construct. 
-Religion: We will start by generally discussing why people practice religion and how it impacts culture and society. We will look at examples of art, music, and architecture that are influenced by religion. Then we will look specifically at the 5 major world religions. We will take a secular and historical approach to learning about these religions. No one religion will be promoted over the others and no religion will be shown as worse than the others. The focus of this class is learning about religions as a part of culture. We will try to see how people's beliefs affect their daily life. We will learn more about the most popular religions in an attempt to relate to people and cultures across the world. The topics in this class are sensitive because religion is close to people's hearts. We will do our best to create a class culture of respect. If a student is being offensive and disrespectful in class, I will attempt to talk to that student privately to resolve the issue. If the issue cannot be resolved, I will remove the student from the remaining sessions of the class in an attempt to maintain an environment of safety and respect in the class.
For each religion we will look at their origin, basic beliefs, key practices, holy texts, and religious symbols.
Hinduism: major gods, overall goal, samsara, moksha, Hinduism and cows, Atman, dharma, karma, caste system, regions where it's predominantly practiced, the Vedas, and om
Buddhism: who is Buddha, Nirvana, lilies and Buddhism, Theravada vs Mahayana vs Tibetan Buddhism, the 5 precepts, the 4 Noble Truths, the 8 Fold Path, the Dalai Lama, regions where it is predominantly practiced, the Sutras, Tripitaka, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and dharma chakra
Daoism: who is Lao Tze, Daoism and pain, the meaning of the Chinese character Dao, and yin yang
Confucianism: the life of Confucius, the analects, 5 major teachings
Judaism: antisemitism, monotheism, covenants, Abraham, the Messiah, synagogues, Rabbis, Tanakh, Torah, Talmud, bat/bar mitzvahs, prayer shawls, shabbat, kosher, significance of Jerusalem, the Western Wall,  regions where it's predominantly practiced, Star of David
Christianity: relationship to Abraham, Jesus Christ, baptism, apostles,  miracles of Jesus, crucifixion, resurrection, atonement, the great schism, the trinity, prayer, sacrament/communion, sin, repentance, Satan, salvation, significance of Jerusalem, regions where it's predominantly practiced, Old and New Testaments, the cross, and the ichthys fish
Islam: relationship to Abraham, Muhammad, sharia, jihad, the Koran,  the Hadiths, Allah, Five Pillars, mosques, succession, Sunni vs Shia, halal and haram, head coverings, significance of Jerusalem, regions where it's predominantly practiced, and the star and crescent
-Government: We will discuss the purpose of government as well as how ideas about the rights and responsibilities of government vs citizens often determines the style of government. We will be looking at 10 of the most common forms of government (democracy, communism, socialism, oligarchy, aristocracy, monarchy, theocracy, colonial, totalitarian, and military dictatorship). For each of these forms of government, a definition will be given as well as a real-world example. 
-Economic Activities: We will look at definitions and examples of Gross Domestic Product, imports, and exports. We will also introduce the three main economic systems (capitalism, socialism, and communism). For each of these systems we will define it, outline how it works, explore the pros and cons, and ask ourselves how living under that economic system impacts the daily lives of people. 
-Kolejka/Monopoly: To review, we will play two games based on life under different economic systems. Kolejka is a game put out by the Polish Institute of National Memory where players are supposed to shop for the things they need in a simulated communist economy. We will also play Monopoly or the card game scum to simulate shopping in a capitalist economy. These games are meant to help students look objectively at the pros and cons of living under different economic systems.  
-Globalization: For this lesson, we will focus on how the world is becoming evermore interconnected. Students will be asked to examine aspects of their own lives to see how they've been impacted by globalization (where does their food come from? where do their clothes come from? etc.). We will discuss the pros and cons of globalization on prices, jobs, and the environment. 
-Physical geography and culture: Here we will look at how our physical environment impacts our culture (place usually impacts options for economic activities and can be closely tied to religion). We will also look at how location plays into the stories we tell each other, using ghost stories as an example. 
-Diplomat Assignment: Students will pretend that they are an assistant to a diplomat that has just been assigned to a new country. They will review what they have learned about culture by researching the culture of one particular country to help their diplomat learn everything they need to know before moving so they don't make any social faux pas. 

WG Strand 4: POLITICAL SYSTEMS
-Levels of government: We will look at how government is split into different levels (local, state, federal, and international). We will talk about the benefits of splitting government responsibilities into different levels and then learn what each level is in charge of. We will then look at examples of problems handled by government and try to decide which level would be in charge of managing that problem. We will also look at international organizations like the EU, NATO and the UN and their roles in international politics.
 -Political boundaries: in order to learn about the various factors contributing to the existence and shape of political borders, students will be asked to draw their own. They will be given information about a fictitious continent (placement of mountains and rivers, languages spoken, predominant religions in regions, etc.) and will have to decide how to split the continent into 3+ countries. They will then get together in groups, compare their maps, and create a new map splitting the continent into countries based on their discussion. We will then all talk about all the different factors that can be taken into consideration when deciding political borders. We will also look at examples of interestingly shaped political borders from around the world as well as some of the history behind them. 
-Security council: to review what we have learned about international governmental organizations, students will participate in a mock session of the U.N.. For this session, students will be assigned member countries of the U.N. to represent. They will be given a current event and asked to research their country's opinion on it. They will then meet together to discuss the current event and try to find a solution works for everyone. 
-Custom world political map: to review what students have learned about political geography, students will now make another map of the custom world they already created. This map will be a political map instead of a physical map. This means that the map will now be split into countries. The countries will be named and given major cities and capitals. 

WG Strand 5: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
-Stages of economic development: We will start with an activity where students will be assigned a country and given statistics about that country (average annual income, healthcare spending per person, doctors per 100,000 people, average life expectancy, access to clean drinking water, infant mortality rate, children in school, etc.). Students will be asked to step forward or step back if the statistics on their card show that their country has reached a certain level of economic development. This activity is meant to show students what sort of things economic development impacts as well as the global disparity between advanced and struggling countries economically. We will then break down the three stages of economic development (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and learn what sets the economic stages apart from one another. 
-Material world: students will look at pictures of families with all of their material possessions standing outside of their home. They will use the clues they see in these pictures to determine the stage of economic development of the country that the family is living in. 
-Dollar Street: Dollar Street is a project that was started by a researcher in Norway where she and her team went around the world and took pictures of people's houses and their everyday lives. They have compiled these pictures into a data base so that you can compare people from different countries and different economic classes from around the world. The point of this project was to show Norwegian students that even though most of them felt middle class, they were actually all very well off compared to the rest of the world. It was also meant to show that how much you make might matter more than where you live in determining your lifestyle because of globalization. Students will watch the TedTalk explaining the project and then explore the website to learn about it for themselves. 
-Custom world encyclopedia entry: to further review what students have learned about human and cultural geography, they will take one of the countries they created in their custom world and write an encyclopedia entry about it. They will give it a government and a major religion and a language. They will also come up with major holidays, total population, population density, and net migration. 

REVIEW: 
-To review everything we learned in class, we will spend a week looking at what we've learned to learn about the Latin America, Africa, Asia, Oceana/the Caribbean, and Europe. For each of these will look at their physical geography and point out major landforms. We will also look at examples of government, what religions are most predominant their, population pyramids of countries within that region, etc. 
-The last day of class will be a fun day where we play a game from another country. 

**This schedule is a rough outline and is subject to change based on the discretion of the teacher. Schedule changes may be made due to pacing and class sizes of individual sections.**