AP Human Geography, WHS 2012-2013

Virginia's Senate is split evenly 20-20 between Democrats and Republicans, which is why Republicans waited until Democrat Senator (and Civil Rights leader) Henry Marsh was in Washington for the Inaguration to raise and vote on a bill to redraw Virginia's districts to add a Republican District and eliminate at least one Democratic seat. 

So Republicans cheat again to gain a stronger foothold and the state, nor country, can do anything about it but bitch. 

This is gerrymandering at its worst and the sole reason Republicans (who were outvoted nationally by over 5 million votes) hold a strong majority in The House of Representatives. 

Questions to Ponder: What housing patterns are you drawn to?  How come?  What are the advantages for the residents to live in that type of community?  What are the impacts that the housing pattern has on the physical environment and the urban system?  What systems are most profitable for developers?  How does the layout of the neighborhood alter the sense of place?

Planned Developments and their effects on geography

My favorite is the one with wide roads for your own airplane to get home.

This 6-minute video clip is a good way to help students understand the ethnic and geopolitical context of the Mali conflict.  What impact did the superimposed borders of colonialism have in creating the conflict? 

Tags: Mali, Africa, borders, political, conflict, war, colonialism, National Geographic.

La crisi propera no es deixa fer prou atenció als canvis geopolítics a l' Africa.

   This video clip that is great for learning not only about the situation in Mali, but how history leads to the events of today and how much one country can affect another country.

   When Europe colonized  Africa they created borders that separated groups of people that should have stayed together, and they put different ethnic groups together that should have been separated. With this alone comes great conflict because ethnic groups and neighboring tribes that have had conflicts for years now have to operate under the same government somehow and no one is ever really happy so conflicts arise.

    Also, the Arab Spring broke out which brought on all these new ideas and opportunities for the people to revolt and change their country, and some of the people left Libya after the fall of Gadaffi and went to Mali bringing their weapons and anger with them. All of these events led to the Mali crisis today, and it is interesting to see how much one country affects another country and as a history major I am greatly interested in how the history of the country brings about the events of today.

I love it... I am seeing an extra credit project with this... feed the teacher and make it educational too!

Now here's an interesting activity for students!

Now THIS is geographical food for thought! Talk about conquering a nation!

First, this shows how India has changed. Many people left India in search of a new life and jobs and the opportunities promised in Great Britain and America. However, one generation later, the immigrants children are moving back to India. India is becoming more Western and its economy is growing and therefore has a lot of opportunities and in many ways more opportunities than America and Great Britain. Parents moved out of India for a better life and children are now moving to India for a better life. India is growing, and it is growing rapidly.

     Also, the article shows how children of immigrants are almost at a disadvantage because they are seen as Indian in the eyes of the British or Americans, but they are not truly Indian because they do not know the full culture as their parents do. It is a new situation for many children, and it has both advantages and disadvantages. They grow up with a snapshot of the culture of their parents at home, but with western culture in school. They know that they are Indian in ethnicity, but they do not really know the culture so they move to India to learn where they come from.

    Finally, India is moving toward becoming a new developed country and a real power in the world. They have a lot of people and the resources to do so. Both Great Britain and America are invested in India as they give many children of Indian immigrants visas to live in India and start companies and help build that country. However, although India is growing, it still has a lot of problems. India has a very large population that the government has trouble supporting so there is a large portion of the population in poverty. These people moving back to India may be able to help out with this problem because they have the resources to start new companies and create more jobs. Overall, this teamwork between America, Great Britain, and India, I think, will benefit India greatly because it will help India grow more and it will help these people find their identities.

"Iran sits smack in the middle of one of the most important geopolitical regions on Earth. Much of its western flank is bordered by either Iraq or the Persian Gulf, and it has considerable control over one of the world’s most important waterways for oil shipping and trade, the Strait of Hormuz." 

Given it's context, Iran is a country that students should know beyond the three main facts that that most Americans are aware of (Iran has an Islamic-based government, an emerging nuclear program and a ton of oil).  This article is a good starting point. 

Tags: Iran, political, Middle East.

Des cartes pour comprendre le monde: comprendre la projection Mercator avec ce puzzle en ligne.

This is great fun! A little tricky at first though:)

Great site to show projection and changes in perception on maps.  

This Super Bowl commercial for trucks also doubles as a tribute to a rural America of yesteryear in general, and for farmers more specifically.  While some may object to the overtly religious references of video, I feel that it reflects the cultural ethos of the Midwest, but more importantly, the market research shows that this religious appeal would resonate with the truck-purchasing demographic that this commercial is trying to influence.  This commercial was cleverly critiqued in this video, "See God made a (Latino) Farmer" and in this irreverant parody.  

Tags: agriculture, labor, rural, unit 5 agriculture.

Religion et société aux EU: un document introductif pour le chapitre, pub du Superbowl 2013, à destination d'un public ciblé... 

These landscape at really breathtaking! I hope to one day be able to visit some of them myself and take pictures of my very own! By the way the photo of the Gullfoss in Iceland is now my computers background image. :)