Welcome to APHG!

WELCOME TO

AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY!​

​But wait...

What is "geography," anyway?

Poll

What do YOU think GEOGRAPHERS do?

• They memorize all the countries and their capitals.

• They study which countries produce what goods.

• They study rocks and minerals.

• They study spatial patterns and processes.

• They make maps, and that's it.

Geographers...

• interpret and explain the occurrence, distribution, and interactions of natural and cultural [human-made] features on the earth.

Geography is...

• "The science of place in space" (AAG)

• "The science of Where" (Esri)

• "The art of the mappable" (P. Haggett)

• An approach to understan​ding the world

Geography is...

​The SPATIAL approach

​Geography has two main branches:

• PHYSICAL geography is the study of spatial patterns and processes of climate, land forms, soils, vegetation, and other natural features of the earth.

Geography has two main branches:

• HUMAN geography is the study of spatial patterns and processes of phenomena involving human activities.

Geography asks...

• WHAT is WHERE?

• WHY THERE?

• WHY CARE?

​Key tool to answer geographic

questions:​

​MAPS!

​Many types of map

​Many types of map

​What's "wrong" with this map?

​Many different map projections

​Does this map seem "right" to you? Why?

​Examples of geographic questions:

• Why do certain economic activities tend to be located in certain places or zones? Are there patterns in, for example, the arrangement of agricultural production?​

​The

von Thünen Model

​Examples of geographic questions:

• Which states are gaining/losing people?

• Are there patterns that help us understand what processes are at work, and why?​

​Examples of geographic questions:

​

• What happens when we change our SCALE of analysis​?

  • This is NOT the same as the map scale!!

  • Check out Texas, for example​

​Examples of geographic questions:

• What is the relationship between climate change, food insecurity and international migration?

​Food insecurity

July-Sept. 2022:

• ​stressed

• crisis

​Examples of geographic questions:

• How can ethnolinguistic identity and voting patterns help us understand the war in Ukraine?

Overview of APHG content

​Unit 1: Thinking Geographically

Unit 2:​ Population & Migration P&Ps

Unit 3:​ Cultural P&Ps

Unit 4: ​ Political P&Ps

Overview of APHG content

​Unit 5: Agric. & Rural Land-Use P&Ps

Unit 6:​ Cities & Urban Land-Use P&Ps

Unit 7:​ Industrial & Econ. Dev. P&Ps

​

​APHG does not focus on memorizing:

• ​rivers

• mountain ranges

• capital cities

• etc.

​

​

​BUT... APHG exam does reward knowing names & locations of:

• ​U.S. states

• countries

• oceans

• continents & major regions thereof​

​

​AP Exam

• ​More details later

• Material not super-difficult, but a LOT!

• Based on interp. & analysis

• Can't just memorize vocab, must apply it t

• task verbs: ID/describe/compare/explain

• so exam is pretty hard​

​Miscellaneous items

• Who already has text and/or workbook​?

• AP Classroom -- must have account

• We use many websites & online platforms​

• Daily agenda/HW sheet (Google ​Doc)

  • access it via folder in BB or assignment​

​Elephant in the room?

​

Why is a WL person teaching APHG?

• Sr. C. has a degree in Econ. Geography

• Fi​eldwork in U.S., Quebec, Mexico (2x), Colombia, etc.

• Some training in remote sensing​