Human Geography

What can you expect from this session?

• We will come to understand the course in general:
• Goals of the course
• Using the AP® Central website for AP Human Geography
• Completing the course audit
• Using the Course and Exam Description (CED)
• Pacing, textbooks, and syllabus

• We will deconstruct the 3 big ideas of the course and learn how to help students use them to “think geographically.”

• We will examine the 5 skill categories outlined in the CED to understand the role they should play in teaching the course.
• Content Understanding
• Spatial
• Data Analysis
• Scale Analysis Relationships
• Source Analysis

• We will do “deep dives” into each of the seven content units of the course. During these analyses we will uncover the hidden curriculum which is not explicit in the CED.

• We will learn instructional strategies specific to each of the skill categories and receive sample lesson activities which use them.

• We will use application activities to understand several of the key geographic models identified in the CED.

• We will explore key resources beyond the textbook (and how to use them) necessary to teach the course: outside readings (and how to adapt them) and internet resources (some rich in information, others just plain cool).

• We will learn how to best use AP Classroom and the Question Bank.

• We will learn how to write and use free-response questions as an instructional technique in the classroom.

• Additionally, a number of optional readings will be shared with participants that provide content background. These include book chapters, articles, and the writing of notable geographers that will strengthen the geographic perspective of any instructor.