World Geography Craig Jeppson

Geography is life! Geography explores the connections between land and people. The more knowledge you understand about these connections, the more you will understand the world around you. As your view of the world becomes clearer, the limits of your world will expand and you will see possibilities you never considered.

Knowledge and Skills: You learn more when you make connections from the classroom to your own life. I design learning activities to connect things you already know to new ideas. Assignments are also designed to develop skills that will increase your ability to find and organize information. Learning to use strategies and develop skills is like using a power tool instead of a hand tool. I call it “working smarter, not harder.”

Assignments: Most assignments will be done in class. You will keep all assignments in a folder or binder with three ring or tabs. For grading purposes, the folder will be kept in the classroom. However, if you did not finish an assignment or want to redo it for more points, you may take that assignment home and put it in the folder the next time you come to class. If you missed class or lost an assignment, you may go to my web page and print it off the assignment you missed or want to redo.The assignments kept in your folder/portfolio are worth forth percent of your grade.

Homework: You will have two homework assignments per week. It will be given to you on the first day of the week that you have geography. The assignment will be either a map or a list of key terms. For each map and list of key terms, there is a quiz posted at After you complete the map or key terms, you will log on to that site and take the quiz as many times as it takes to score ninety percent or better. You will include the completed homework assignment in your portfolio. Students desiring a higher grade than a B must do all homework and do high-quality work on tests and assignments.

Term Project: Projects are meant to help you apply the information from the book and from class in some relevant way. My goal is to help you see how the ideas we learn in class apply in real life. You will do at least one, sometimes two projects per term. The project portion of your grade is fifteen percent.

Quizzes: We will have regular (usually daily) quizzes. They will count for ten percent of your grade.

Tests: We will have at least two tests per term. Tests will cover the most important ideas of each unit. They will count for thirty-five percent of your grade.

GradingMost assignments are worth four points. Each point represents a level of learning.

4= mastery: You demonstrate understanding of the main idea and details. You can also apply the information

your life or to other real-life situtations.

3=proficient: you understand the main idea and can make observations but only show that you understand some

of the details that support the main idea. Evidence of conclusions and connections are missing.

2=somewhat proficient: you understand the main idea in part but still fail to show a thorough understanding of

the concept by providing details or making valid observations, conclusions or connections to the world.

1=not proficient: you lack even a basic understanding of the main idea.

Late work: Late work is accepted, however, you will receive a twenty-five percent deduction.

Remediation: The more you know the easier it is to learn. While using a strategy or skill will help you learn more in less time, there is something to be said for persistence. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved.” In harmony with that idea, I will allow you to redo any assignment that was turned in on time for full credit. You may also recover up to fifty percent of the points lost on tests by looking up the correct answers to the questions that were missed. If you choose to redo an assignment or retake a test, it must be within two weeks of the date it was originally given. Furthermore, I am willing to give help on an individual basis. Just talk to me and we can work out a plan to help you succeed.

Citizenship: I keep track of citizenship on my seating chart. On that chart, each student has nine empty boxes. Every time you come tardy, come unprepared, leave trash on the floor or show disrespect to me or anyone else, you will receive a mark in one of your squares. You maintain an H until you get a mark in the fourth square. You drop from an S to an N on square number seven and when all of the squares are full your citizenship drops to a U. There are rewards associated with each level of citizenship. When you lose citizenship you also loose privileges. You can erase one citizenship infraction by working for ten minutes for me during intervention time or after school.

Please refer to the Wasatch School District Safe Schools Policy (Parent Handbook pg. 12) and the Wasatch High School Citizenship Policyas a model for behavior and dress in class. The basis behind all behavior is that you demonstrate honesty and respect to all people that you deal with.

Materials Students are assigned a textbook. You will take it home and leave it there until the end of the semester. I have a classroom set of books for use in class. You will need to bring a folder with metal tabs or three ring binder to you’re your assignments in. You will also need lined paper and a writing instrument. We will use colored pencils from time to time. It would be convenient for students to have their own set. I will, however, provide colored pencils for use in the classroom.

Extra Credit I will accept extra credit once all homework assignments have been turned in. You can receive up to ten percent of your grade by doing extra credit that connects to the class. You will be able to get extra credit for extra reading, current events, videos, attending cultural events, museums or anything else that you can apply from the world to the classroom. All extra credit must be done by using the response format that I taught you the first day of class. Some extra credit opportunities will be listed on my web page.

Tips for success:

1. Read instructions at the moment you receive a new assignment.

2. Write the assignment and its due date in your student planner.

3. Ask question about anything you don’t understand.

4. If possible, do you assignments at the same time and in the same place everyday.

5. Hand assignments in on time.

6. Redo assignments. You can redo any assignment for full credit as long as you handed it in on time.

7. Review notes and study for tests.

8. Retake tests that you did not perform well on.

9. Do major writing assignments on a computer.

10. Write at least four separate drafts before you hand in a major writing assignment.

Other Issues Since a major part of our curriculum focuses on acceptance of the diverse religious, social and cultural dynamics that make the world what it is, we expect you to learn and understand respect for all people as well. If you or your parent/guardian have a problem with the discussion of religion or other sensitive social issues, or if there are issues that relate to you which you would like discussed, come and talk to one or all of us before you sign this waiver.

Sharing of student work is an important aspect of learner development. Displaying quality student work, students editing other student’s work and using student work as examples and non examples of how work should be done are all a part learning to be critical and analytical thinkers. If you have a problem with the use or display of student work please come talk to one of us. Otherwise, your signature below is considered as approval to use the work of your son or daughter for learning purposes.

You can contact me about any of the above issues at 801-319-9945 or via E-mail: . This disclosure is an assignment. Sign it, have your parents sign it and return this section below the dotted line by next class period. Keep the information above for future reference. Your signature below indicates consent of the policies and process agreement with all of the above information.

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