Geography 7 World Regional Geography, Fall 2017
Wednesdays 6-9:10 p.m., Dr. M. Renfrew, L.A. Harbor College SCC 109
Required text: J. Nijman et al, 2016 7th Edition, The World Today: Concepts & Regions in Geography ISBN: 978-1-119-11636-3 Buy online and bring to class.
Tentative Calendar and Required Text Reading: Geography 7 is an opportunity to ‘travel the world’ in a semester! If you can catch the rhythm & study hard every week, you’ll learn a lot!
Homework is due weekly; + expect a test or quiz almost every week. Week topics overlap: when we finish one region, we start learning maps right away for the next, and studying the chapter.
8/30-9/6 Intro. to World Maps (‘Introduction’ chapter); China (Ch. 9), Pacific/Oceania (Ch. 11-12)
9/6-9/20 U.S. & Canada - Chapter 1; start Middle America – Chapter 2
9/20-10/4 Middle America - Chapter 2, shared characteristics with South America – Chapter 3
9/20-10/4 South America - Chapter 3. 3/15 Start Europe - Chapter 4
10/4-10/18 Europe - Chapter 4. Study Russia map (most of Russia’s population is in Eastern Europe).
10/25 Russia & Central Asia, Chapter 5 (shorter test). Study North Africa/SW Asia map.
11/1-11/15 North Africa/SW Asia (NASWA, ‘Middle East’), Africa as a continent - Chapters 6-7Sub-Saharan Africa - Chapter 7 (Map part will be continent as a whole.) Start S/E/SE Asia.
11/15-12/6 ‘Monsoon Asia’ as a whole (Chapters 8-10): South, East & Southeast Asia - shared characteristics and contrasts; India & South Asia - Chapter 8, East Asia/review China - Chapter 9, Southeast Asia – Chapter 10 (can skim); review World Patterns. Test & quiz dates TBA.
Final Exam: Be able to fill in 2-3 blank world maps with physical & cultural/human features:
MAPS AND TOPICS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR EACH REGION:
1. Physical features: Range of latitude (determines sun angle), climates, natural vegetation, relative land size, shape of coastline, major mountain ranges, major rivers, islands, etc.
2. Countries and large cities, regional names and associations.
3. Population density areas – Which areas are crowded and sparsely settled, and why?
4. Major economic activities – What are major crops, industries, specialized services or livelihoods that these regions/countries are known for? Comparative average income?
5. Major patterns of religions and languages
6. Everything gone over in class, possible required videos, study questions and homework.
Dr. Renfrew’s Office Hours: SCC 107/109 MW 4-5:30, Th 12:35-1+, after evening classes 30 minutes as needed. . 310-233-4557. Email or leave a message if you are sick or have an emergency.
Required Materials: pencils, eraser, 24 colored pencils (no markers or crayons), portable pencil sharpener, 10-11 883 Scantrons (with 15 matching on back), access to Internet, printer.
Grading and Policies: A 90% B 80-89% C 67-79% D 60-66% F 59%.
Point totals: 8-9 tests (30-75 pts.), quizzes (15-20), final, homework (10-25). If totals are close to or between 2 grades, I also consider ‘R.I.P.E.’: Respect, Improvement, Participation, Effort: good manners, listening, no cell phones except at the break, please no interrupting, swearing, nor walking in & out of class.
• 1 in 5 people have allergies, so please don’t wear or use strong scents; + it is a non-smoking campus.
• SCC building rule is “No food or drinks except water in clear bottles with screw tops.”
• No cheating or copying, ever: see LACCD Board Rule 9803.28 on Academic Honesty.
• EXTRA CREDIT only counts if test & final scores are C’s, & show improvement.
• No make-up quizzes; and no make-up tests without emergency or illness: notify me that day. (I do subtract 40 points from the total possible when making the final grade distribution to approximate 1 test.)
• If you need help, see me; & many offices help students, e.g. Special Programs & Services.
Student Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of Geography 7, students will be able to:
(1) Compare and contrast world physical features with world population distribution.
(2) Evaluate key geographical characteristics that differentiate 8-10 major world realms from each other.
(3) Demonstrate map knowledge about how tropical, temperate (mid-latitude), and high latitude (near Arctic) and mountain environments, climates and livelihoods differ.
(4) Compare world realms with their involvement in the world economy, in primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary economic activities.
Levels and examples of economic activities: For each regional chapter (what the textbook mentions), students will be making charts of economic activities which provide jobs: what people grow, make, & do; that is, some of the ways people of that region ‘make a living.’ These provide us with ways of comparing regions with each other, finding similarities in climates, crops, & cuisines, which regions are mostly primary-resource & cash-crop providers, which are especially high-tech, etc.
1. Primary economic activities involve extraction of natural resources (specific food or cash crops, types of farming, minerals, fishing, logging). Some are raw materials for:
2. Secondary activity is manufacturing into finished products (e.g., iron into steel, and then with plastics, upholstery and other materials into Volkswagen automobiles; cacao [cocoa] beans, milk, and sugar into Swiss chocolate). We think of this as “industry,” factories, machines, but the word “manufacture” originally meant, “make by hand.”
3. Tertiary activities involve the distribution of goods and services, the “service sector,” which includes trade, sales, transportation, communication, government, medical, financial, legal, and other services, recreation, education, etc.
4. Quaternary activities involve information processing: high-technology management of “data” (facts), advanced computer processing, research & development (“R & D”), etc.
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