Wednesday, December 18, 2013

even more exam questions

The questions continue to pour in as the hours tick down before the Human Geo exam!

Alexa, of the spectacular Section 1, asks: "Hi Mr. Schick!  For the exam, do we need to know how to do the math for figuring out all the death and birth rates?"

Ha!  Let's save the math for math class, okay?  I would rather that you know the concepts behind the population statistics, than have you get all bogged down in the arithmetic.  Thanks for your question, and good luck tomorrow!

Mailbag, Part Deux

Back to the ol' mailbag!

Phil P. of section 3 asks, "Hi Mr. Schick I was trying to do a rough draft for my essay but I couldn’t remember what section did we watch the video from the newsroom?"

Thanks for the question, Phil!  And I applaud your efforts in working on a rough draft!  Well, Phil, that video was a good illustration of the concept of nationalism, which was part of the Cultural Geography unit.  Good luck tomorrow - don't forget your lucky tie!

Hanna of the famous Section 7 has a question: "Mr. Schick, for tomorrows exam, are we going to be given the outline for what we have to write about? Or do we have to remember what we are going to write about, and all the topics? Because I might need to refresh the different topics so I don’t forget anything."

You know, Hanna, I won't be giving you an outline for your essay.  But I think the 100 questions will actually serve as a kind of outline, when you think about it.  Plus, I will be giving you a number of prompts interspersed throughout the test.  You're welcome!

Thanks for your questions!  Just think - in less than 15 hours you will be done with all your semester exams!  Woo-hoo!

Mr. Schick's mailbag

Hi, Human Geo fans!  Time to open up the ol' mailbag and see what you guys are up to!


Sara D. from the 03 section asks, "For the exam do we have to know the world leaders? Do we have to know all of the details about each president, and what they did in their childhood, and how they became president? Mainly do we have to know the details about the world leaders?"

You bring up a good point, "Sara!"  Yes, you need to know details about the world leaders.  But when you guys did those mini-reports, you all covered a LOT of ground.  And each section took their own approach.  So, I would suggest concentrating on the details in my PowerPoint, found here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1pzCMxtvURDZPqIfZotW_Aun2ocTNybeoZ5J4ledfaCI/edit#slide=id.p


Charlotte H. from section 07 asks, "I have a question about the essay on the exam tomorrow. Should explain each point like why you taught it to us or why you taught us that section in particular? I know this may seem confusing, but I felt the need to ask."

Great question, "Charlotte!"  There are five units that we covered this semester: Introduction (Excellence), Population and Migration, Cultural Geography, Political Geography, Economic Geography. 

So, on the essay, you should write five paragraphs: one on each unit.  It is somewhat up to you as to how you approach the essay.  Think about why I chose the material in each unit; what made this material important; how the different elements (vocab terms and a video, for example) worked together; what everything you learned in the unit meant to you personally.  It is okay to write in the first person if that helps.  If you feel like adding one last paragraph to sum up the entire essay, and wrap it up into one neat package, that might be something that would impress your teacher.

Thanks for all your letters, fans!  I'll be checking throughout the evening to see if there are any more letters.  In any case, good luck tomorrow!

Monday, December 16, 2013

exams begin tomorrow!

Good luck to all of you on all your exams!

The Human Geography exam is at 10:00 on Thursday.  One of your classmates, the immortal Grace, put together this awesome set of review questions that we used in class today, and allowed me to share it with the rest of you.  Very impressive, Grace, and I was glad to see Section 1 answer so many of these correctly!

No need to blog again until we come back in January.  Spend your time studying, and good things will happen.

*******
QUESTIONS

1.       List the names of the three main characters in “God Grew Tired of Us”.
2.       Name the tribe one of the boys was from (hint: the only tribe we talked about)
3.       Who was the war in Sudan fought between?
4.       Name the boys' route through the African continent (the countries they went to)
5.       Why was the Sudanese war fought in the first place?
6.       Explain why these “Lost Boys” ran away from home.
7.       Name some of the problems the Lost Boys faced while on the road to the refugee camps.
8.       Name some of the different jobs the boys had while in America.
9.       What was some of the boys' major accomplishments?
10.   Define
a.       Crude Death rate
b.      Total Fertility rate
c.       Rate of Natural Increase
d.      Net Migration Rate
e.      Crude Birth Rate
f.        Life Expectancy
11.   What does TFR stand for?
12.   What does RNI stand for?
13.   Whose net migration rate is higher- Mexico, the US, or Canada?
14.   What is the replacement rate?
15.   Pakistan’s TFR is 3.43. Is that higher or lower than the world’s average?
16.   If Japans TFR is 1.2, is their population increasing or decreasing?
17.   Name 3 push forces
18.   Name 3 pull forces
19.   Name 2 basic examples of the characteristics of culture.
20.   What is the official language of Brazil?
21.   Name a country with  more than one Official Language and then give those languages
22.   What is the language of business, finance, and commerce?
23.   Name one country that has merged ethnic groups peacefully, and one that has not.
24.   The Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, and Albanians coexisted in what country?
25.   Over 80% of India belongs to what religion?
26.   What main religion has the most members?
27.   Name the commonwealth realm based on the use of the euro
28.   Name the economic alliance between the US, Mexico, and Canada
29.   What is the name of the alliance formed between the US, England, France, Spain, Italy, and 23 other countries?
30.   Name the alliance that coordinates the policies of oil-producing countries.
31.   What is the name of the alliance with almost every nation on earth
32.   NAME THAT RELIGION
a.       Has the smallest number of members
b.      The predominant religion in India
c.       Was founded by a sage called Siddhartha Gautama
d.      Has the largest  number of members
e.      Over 87% of Indonesians practice this religion
f.        Along with Christianity and Islam, its an Abrahamic religion
g.       Its denominations include Sunnis and Shi’ites.
h.      Its holy book is the Qur’an.
i.         Its members try to follow the eight-fold path
j.        The oldest living religion
k.       Two denominations of this religion battled in Ireland.
l.         Its holy scriptures are the Vedas
m.    Was founded in the 7th century
n.      Primarily located in the Americas, Southern Africa, and Europe
o.       Holy books are the Talmud and the Torah
p.      Believe that “attachment to desire is the origin of all suffering”
q.      This religion has no real founder, and does not have a strict set of beliefs.
r.        The story of its central figure can be found in the New Testament
s.       They believe in observing the 5 pillars
t.        Believe in being reincarnated until you reach nirvana

ANSWERS  (Good to go!)

1.       John Bul, Panther, and Dan
2.       John was form the Dinka Tribe.
3.       The Muslims in the north VS. the Christians and Animists in the south
4.       Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya
5.       There was oil found in Sudan and the Muslims didn’t want to share it with the Christians
6.       The Muslims were attempting "ethnic cleansing."
7.       The boys faced lions, starvation, dehydration, and bombing attacks from the Sudanese government
8.       Sorting gaskets at a factory, developing checks at a bank, waiting tables at a hotel, working at McDonalds, working in a grocery store, security guard.
9.       Starting a school, and starting a medical clinic
10.   Definitions:
a.       The amounts of deaths per 1000 of a population
b.      The average number of children born to one woman
c.       The annual growth rate of a country without immigration (measured by subtracting the death rate from the birth rate)
d.  immigration rate minus emigration rate (if the number is positive, population increases; if it's negative, population decreases)
e.  number of births per 1000 population
f.      The average amount of years expected to be lived by a group of people born in a given area in the same year.
11.   Total Fertility Rate
12.   Rate of Natural Increase
13.   Canada’s
14.   2.1
15.   Yes, the world’s average is 2.27
16.   Their population is decreasing
17.   Push forces
a.       Civil war
b.       Oppressive or persecuting government
c.       Bad environment
d.      High unemployment rate
e.      Religious persecution
18.   Pull forces
a.       Good government
b.      Religious freedom
c.       High employment rate
d.      Better health resources
19.   Characteristics of Culture            
a.       Religion
b.      Ethnicity
c.   Language
20.   Portuguese
21.   Countries with more than one official language
a.       Canada
                                                               i.      French
                                                             ii.      English
b.      Switzerland
                                                               i.      German
                                                             ii.      French
                                                            iii.      Italian
                                                           iv.      Romansh
22.   English
23.   Countries that have merged peacefully- US, Switzerland. Countries that haven’t- Sudan, Yugoslavia, Germany
24.   (the country formerly known as) Yugoslavia
25.   Hinduism
26.   Christianity
27.   The European Union
28.   The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
29.   The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
30.   Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
31.   United Nations (UN)
32.   NAME THAT RELIGION
a.       Judaism
b.      Hinduism
c.       Buddhism
d.      Christianity
e.      Islam
f.        Judaism
g.       Islam
h.      Islam
i.         Buddhism
j.        Hinduism
k.       Christianity
l.         Hinduism
m.    Islam
n.      Christianity
o.      Judaism
p.      Judaism
q.      Buddhism
r.        Hinduism
s.       Islam
t.        Buddhism

Thursday, December 12, 2013

more info on next week's exam

The exam will consist of a 100-question objective (Scantron) section, and a single comprehensive essay. I will explain more fully what I am looking for in your essay when we meet tomorrow.

We need to have an efficient class tomorrow, in the event that bad weather keeps us from meeting - and reviewing - on Monday.

Also - and this is very important - your homework assignment for tonight is to give your parents a big hug.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

real-world applications - again

I just LOVE it when the things we are learning show up in the news!  If you click on this link you can read a story on malaria, titled "Malaria Deaths Hit a New Low."  There are several details in this story that we covered in class.  

As for the semester exam...

  • the test is at 10am on Thursday, December 19
  • Section 1 takes the test in Room 109
  • Sections 3 and 7 take it in the Brown Room
The test will cover the introductory material, Population and Migration, Cultural Geography, Political Geography, and Economic Geography.  More details will come as we review in class.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Well, THAT was refreshing!

You guys did a great job on that test today.  Average score overall was nearly 90%.  Very impressive.

I will enter the grades in PowerSchool this weekend.  Next week we will go over the test question by question, as we always do.  Then we will begin the process of reviewing for the semester exams, which is less than two weeks away.  All semester long I have been returning your tests to you.  My advice to you for this weekend is to go through your notes and your papers and try to find your tests; these will prove valuable to you as you prepare for the exam.

Have a good weekend, everybody!  Nice work!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

test on microfinance tomorrow

Sorry to post at this late hour, but I JUST got home from our Speech Tournament.

I wanted to make sure you saw that I posted my PowerPoint earlier today.  It's a good source of information for tomorrow's test.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Test Friday (but you knew that)

Today Sections 1 and 7 went over my PowerPoint.  This PowerPoint will be updated soon, and posted to my blog.  I'll let you know when it's ready to go.

Section 3 wrote out test questions in class, preparing them (hopefully) for the questions you all will actually see Friday.

Plus, here is the Semester Exam schedule, for your convenience:

Semester Exams – December 2013

Date
8:00 – 9:30 AM
(extended to 9:45 AM)
10:00 – 11:30 AM
(extended to 11:45 AM)
Tuesday, December 17
Math
World Language
Wednesday, December 18
Religion
Science
Thursday, December 19
English
Social Studies!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

students writing test questions?!?

Putting you guys in charge of the test questions is like letting the inmates run the asylum.  But so far, the results have been pretty good.  Rest assured that many of the questions you compose WILL end up on Friday's test.

Yes, I said FRIDAY'S test - the one on economic geography, microfinance, microloans, Kiva, developing nations, etc.


Thank you for reading.

Monday, December 2, 2013

microfinance in our macroworld

Nice work, sections 1 and 7, putting together Google PowerPoints to study microloans.  I think you learned a little more about microfinance by working on these presentations.  I definitely learned something, too: never have the entire class work on the same Google Doc at the same time!