Missions Project

We're in the home stretch, guys. We have one more map test (an easy one) and the Missions Project...and that's it! I hope you guys enjoyed hearing Mrs. Jackie Kirkpatrick speak last week about her family's ministry in Macedonia. I think she gave some great first-hand information about missions.

Remember, that your remaining class days are project work days. Don't waste them. Mrs. Maggie Robe and I are available for editing, consulting, and other help needed on your project.

I have added Missions Project documents to the blog. If you lose something, you can print a copy from here.

As always, I'm available through Facebook, email, and phone. Let me know if you need help.

Have a fantastic week. Be excellent!

Week 13

I enjoyed hearing about the documentaries you watched for our "Five Themes" study. Most of the subject matter was intense. Although I hadn't planned for such intense subject matter, I hope it provoked you to think about our five themes, other cultures, our differences,...and our blessings. (I was glad to hear that most parents helped screen the documentaries for students. That is always wise.)

By now you should have chosen the topic for your Rivers Project and be in the process of completing your Research Proposal. If, at any time, you have questions about your project, please call me. You will not be the first. Feel free to look me up on Facebook and communicate that way if it's easier for you.

Homework:

• Study for the Europe Map Test. We will take that test Tuesday. Don't forget to map the 5 physical features you've chosen for an additional 5 points. Also, an extra point will be given for each country you freehand map.
• Complete the Research Proposal to turn in and discuss on Tuesday.
• Continue your research for the Rivers Project.
• Bring research work to do in class on Tuesday.

Week 12

This past week we learned about the Five Themes of Geography. Here's a reminder of those five themes:

Location

1. Location can be absolute:  I live at Latitude:  30.46 N, Longitude:  91.14 W. Or I can say, "I live at 39186 Cornerview Rd., Gonzales, LA  70737".
2. Location can be relative:  Meet me in front of the bank. Or, "Downtown is ten minutes by bus."

Place

Place is a description of what a place is like rather than its location.

1. Physical differences:  Bayous, high humidity, lush foliage, etc. set Baton Rouge apart physically.
2. Human differences:  We've built lots of bridges and ferries to cross all of our rivers and bayous. Many of the people here have a strong, Cajun accent. We love to hunt and fish here. We love our Mardi Gras.

Regions

Regions are areas that can be grouped together by a set of things that are special to those areas.

1. Government or physical characteristics:  Countries or continents.
2. Functions:  A school district, for example.
3. Loosely defined:  the South, the Far East, the Corn Belt, the Bible Belt, the Gulf states, etc.

Human/Environmental Interaction

Human/Environmental Interaction covers the relationship between people and the place they live.

1. How people have been changed by the environment:  Also known as adaptation. In the Northern states, the people wear well-insulated clothes to protect them from the cold.
2. How the environment has been changed by the people:  Irrigation, clearing forests, building dams, redirecting the course of a river, building buildings, etc. 
3. How people depend on the environment:  Using trees for firewood, using rivers to transport goods, farming the land to grow crops, etc.

Movement

Movement includes the movement of people, goods, and ideas. 

1. How do people get from one place to another? Cars, bicycles, buses, trains, planes, etc.
2. How do goods get from one place to another? Boats, trucks, planes, trains, etc.
3. How do ideas get from one place to another?  Letters, email, texts, phones, T.V., etc.

Your homework for this week:

1. Take Lesson 29-30 test.
2. Finish memorizing and freehand mapping Europe. Memorize 5 physical characteristics of your choosing and add them to your map of Europe.
3. Watch one of the documentaries found at this site: http://itvs.org/films?series=3 . Each of these documentaries is about an hour long. Remember, if you have trouble uploading one of these films, you are welcome to check out a similar documentary from the library to watch.
4. Fill in this document based on what you learn from the documentary and our five themes discussion.

Remember that we'll have a test on the Five Themes on Tuesday. Study! Please let me know if you have any questions between now and Tuesday.

Week 11

Junior, La., below New Orleans, on the Mississippi River, levee broken by ship, April 24, 1927

I enjoyed our discussion about the fate of New Orleans Tuesday. From that discussion, I hope you realized a couple of things:

1. Many of the world's problems have no easy answers. It takes discipline, thought and consideration to try to solve them.
2. Geography overlaps almost every other area of science in some way.

Homework for this week:

1. Take Lesson 27 and 28 test.
2. For Lessons 29 and 30, answer Review Questions in complete answers and write Vocabulary Words and definitions.
3. Memorize and freehand map Europe:  France through Montenegro (Yugoslavia).

Week 10

I've just posted new content to the blog, including:

• Under Mapping Pages on the sidebar, there are outline maps of each continent. (Make copies of these to help you study.)
• Syllabus for Fall (Revised)
• Syllabus for Spring

Also, don't forget the link on the right to Map Quizzes. This is a simple, but effective, way to help you study for map tests.

Homework for this week:

• Take Chapter 8 Test.
• Study Lessons 27 and 28.
• Memorize and freehand map Antarctica and Europe:  Iceland through Luxembourg.

Week 9

"O.K., Class. We're slowing down." (And there was much rejoicing.)

Homework:

Continue studying Chapter 8.
Continue memorizing and drawing the map of Africa and its countries and the five physical features you've chosen to memorize.

On Tuesday, I will give you the Africa map test. The map will have each country numbered (just like in your workbook). You will have a fill-in-the-blank, numbered sheet to write in the name of each country. You will also label the five physical features you've chosen.

BONUS:  Some of you could use some extra points. I will give you 50 points,*yes 50 points*, if you freehand draw the map of Africa and its countries.

I will send home your Chapter 8 Test on Tuesday.

I am working on a revised Fall syllabus and parameters for your "Rivers" project. See you Tuesday!

Week 8

Homework:

1. Memorize Ivory Coast through Western Sahara on Africa map.
2. Choose 5 physical features of Africa and memorize (EX:  Victoria Lake, Nile River, etc.).
3. Work on your freehand drawing of Africa, its countries and physical features.
4. Read Lessons 24, 25, 26.
5. Answer Review Questions.
6. Write Vocabulary Words and definitions.