Unit 1

MEMORIZE & MAP:
For unit one we will be focusing on Central and Eastern Asia.You will have six weeks for this unit.
All the countries and geographical features have been hyperlinked for you to easily  access more information.  You must explore the links and write two interesting facts for each country. You must also be able to lable a map of the region from memory by the end of this unit.

Central Asia consists of the countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. In addition to labeling the countries (bonus points if you can name the capitals), you will need to be able to label the following on an outline map of the region: Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Amu Darya (river), Syr Darya (river), and the Tie Shan Mountains.

Eastern Asia is often divided into two regions.  Breaking them up this way may help you study without becoming overwhelmed. Remember, you have six weeks, but DONT try and wait until the last minute. Work a little every day.

Northern Asia contains Mongolia, China, Macau, Hong Kong, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.  For this region you will need to be able to label the Huang He River, the Yangtze River, Sea of Japan, East China Sea, Tibetan Plateau, and the Gobi Desert

South East Asia consists of the countries of Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and East Timor.  For this area you will need to be able to identify the South China Sea and the Mekong River, and Angkor Wat

SETERRA GAME play here

US BOOTS ON THE GROUND:
 1941-1945 Pacific War (6min)
 1950-1953  Korean War (5min)
 1965-1973 Vietnam War (5 min)
               
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED:
World Heritage sites in  China:
Forbidden City
The Great Wall
Terracotta Warriors
The Grand Canal

World Heritage sites in Indonesia:
Sangiran Early Man Site
Borobudur Temple Compounds
**Bali Temples of Besakih

World Heritage sites in Japan:
 Mt. Fujisan
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
**The Great Buddha of Kamakura

World Heritage sites in Kazakhstan:
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
Tamgaly Petroglyphs

World Heritage sites in Kyrgyzstan:
Silk Roads
Western Tien-Shan

World Heritage sites in Malaysia:
Guonung Mulu National Park
Lenggong Valley Archeology Site

World Heritage sites in Mongolia:
Orkhon Valley Cultural Site-Capital of Genghis Khan's empire.
Burkhan Khaldun Mountain- Sacred birth and burial site of Genghis Khan

World Heritage sites in the Philippines:
 Mt. Hamiguitan Wildlife Sanctuary
Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park

World Heritage sites in the Republic of Korea:
Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks
Seokgura Grotto & Bulguksa Temple

World Heritage sites in Tajikistan:
Proto-urban Site of Sarazm
Tajik National Park

World Heritage sites in Thailand:
Thungyai-Huai Wildlife Sanctuary
Ban Chiang Archaeological Site

 World Heritage sites in Turkmenistan:
Ancient Merv
Parthian Fortresses of Nisa

World Heritage sites in Uzbekistan:
Itchan Kala
Samarkand-Crossroad of Cultures

World Heritage sites in Vietnam:
 Imperial Citadel of Hanoi
Complex of Hue Monuments

Seterra
This is my favorite tool for memorizing places on a map. The program is free to download to your computer or you may download the app to your Apple or Android device from the App Store.

GeoBee Challenge
This is a great quizzing game to help you learn all kinds of geographic information.  It's not easy, but you will learn a lot. Play online or on your devices. Available free through the App Store and Google Play.

Geo Bee Now
You cant access this one on your computer, but you can find it free in both the Apple and Google Play app stores.  Much like the Geo Bee Challenge, but this one lets you challenge your friend so you can learn together.

Classes start August 5th!

Welcome to Human Geography! This is my favorite class to teach as it encompasses a little of everything I love.  Geography study ties into almost every topic. Are you fascinated by exotic places? Different cultures?  Foods? Religions?  Languages? Art? Politics? Economics? National security? Statistics? Computer technology? Social media? Medicine? Literature? The environment? Social justice?

Human geography covers all of these and more!

As we study this year you will learn a little in each of the areas mentioned above, but most importantly, you will be able to customize your education and see how to use your passions, whatever they may be, to explore the world around you. The world is so much bigger, complex, and beautiful than we can even imagine.  I cant give you the world in this class, but I can help open a window into it so you can place yourself in the bigger picture. 

So what exactly is geography anyway? I bet you always thought it was just about being able to identify countries, mountain ranges, rivers, and bays on a map.  That's what most people think.  But as we have already mentioned, geography is so much more. Geography is the study of where things are found on or near the earth's surface, why they are there, and how they are changing.  "Things" is a pretty vague term,  I know, but as you can see here  →
almost everything can be studied geographically, and almost everything connects to everything else spatially.  This is why I love geography. My interests in all other areas changes, but they all meet right here.

So what will this class look like?
We will cover seven major units this year.  Each multi-week unit will look at a theme in human geography (cartography, populations, religions etc.) and each unit will have a geographical region of study.  I'll talk more about the themes in a minute, but first lets talk about our regional studies.

When studying a region you will need to memorize and be able to place every country and major land feature and landmark in that region on a blank outline map. You can memorize that information any way you like.  I like to use a free online program called Seterra.  It is a game like interface and is a great resource. You can use it online, or download the app to your apple or android devices https://online.seterra.com/en. Memorizing this information will take time, but you can do it in just a few minutes each day.

Now for the part that you customize!  For each region you can pick ANYTHING you would like to focus on in that region for your unit project.
Do you like to cook? Try several recipes from one country or all of them.
 
Are you fascinated by military conflicts? Research past and present conflicts and prepare a power-point presentation to share with your family at the end of the unit.

Is medicine your thing?  What are the most common medical issues in the region? How are they being addressed?  What would be the most interesting way for you to share your findings?

Music? Learn to play some.

Literature? Read something by the country/region's most famous author or a modern fiction piece set in the culture.

Languages? Learn to speak a little.

You get the idea.  Follow your passions and see how they fit geographically to individual countries, or to the whole region.  You have a lot of free reign here. 

Ok, so what about the themes?  Over the course of the year we will study cartography, demographics,  religion, language, ethnicity and race, culture, politics, and economics.  Each unit will have a corresponding non-fiction book you will need to read during that unit.  Chapters will be assigned each week. Discussion is a huge part of this class, so be sure you are talking to people about what you are learning.  You will not have to read any type of text book  All the key information that would be covered in one of those will be presented through slides and videos linked to the weekly blog posts.  Take notes. There will be a midterm and final exam. The week before the exams you will have access to review pages that should be filled in and turned in to your parents before the tests.

Also note that there are pages with recommended literature and films. These are optional, but I highly recommend you use these resources to deepen your study and appreciation of the world.

I hope you have a great year!
Ms. Desmond