Friday, May 25, 2012

Exam Review

See the review and outline for the exam at the bottom of the link below.

http://www.geographyrocks.ca/geography.html

Monday, May 14, 2012

Unit 5 Long Term Project

Here is the "to do" list for the Unit 5 Long Term Project. Lab time will be provided for a week. THE DUE DATE WILL BE Wednesday, June 6, 2012.:




http://www.geographyrocks.ca/geounittwo.html



1. Click on "Assignments" link and go to "Hydroelectricity: Is it good or is it bad?" Simply make use of the web sites provided and fill out the "Pro-Con" list. Disregard the text for the assignment.



2. Click on the "Project" link. Complete the assignment provided.



http://www.geographyrocks.ca/geounitthree.html



3. Click on the "Assignments" link. Complete the salmon poster and the GMO assignment provided.



4. Click on the "Test Review Sheet" link. Complete the review questions provided.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Important Dates Coming Up...

Besides the Unit 3 test, here are a few upcoming dates you will want to make note of:

Tuesday, May 22 - Unit 3 Project Due -- This is the website - 2500 words (Remember -- I will need all your html files, all your picture files and a word document with all of the text from your html files in  a folder with your name on it. This folder will be put in the drop box on the network.)

Monday, May 14 - Tuesday, May 22 (not including Tuesday, May 15 -- which is the Unit 3 test day) This is lab time for the Unit 5 project. Locations are as listed below:

Period 1 - Rm 227

Period 3 - May 14 and 16 - Rm 115; May 17 and 18 - class as usual with laptops; May 22 - Rm 227

Period 5 - May 14 and 16 - Rm 115; all other days Rm 227


Monday, May 28 - Wednesday, May 30 - Exam Review - Rm 227 ALL CLASSES

Unit 3 Test Is Coming....

Tuesday, May 15 is the day for our Unit 3 test. Study and enjoy.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Unit 3 Long Term Project

Today and Tuesday, you were introduced to the Unit 3 Long Term Project. You will be expected to pick a topic out of Unit 3 approved by me and prepare a web-authored, research-based presentation. The presentation must include images, and links to at least eight web-based sources of information and contain 2500 words. THE PROJECT IS DUE TUESDAY, MAY 22.




In future days, I will lay out some more specific parameters and a scoring guide to direct you in your work. However, for now you just need to be thinking about some topic possibilities and immerse yourself in the web design tutorials we have done.



What follows is a summary of what we did and what you need to know:



You learned about the basic structure of an html document at the site below:



http://www.ironspider.ca/basic_html/structure.htm



Remember, each web page you create will be made up of html code. The process for making a web page involves two applications -- a simple text editor (Notepad) to DO or write the page and a browser (Explorer) to VIEW the page.



To create a web page, simply complete the following steps:





1.Go to the Ironspider site above.

2.Scroll down and copy the html code in the box at the bottom of the page.

3.Open Notepad and paste the html code you just copied.

4.Add your own text and other html elements in the title tag and the body.

5.Save in Notepad in your My Documents folder, BUT REMEMBER to change the file extension to .html

6.Go to your My Documents folder and open your new html file to view it.

7.To update or make changes, remember to save in Notepad and reload in Explorer.





Key Things We Learned ...



•To make a hypertext link (your page to a website) use the tag structure at the link below...



http://www.2createawebsite.com/build/html.html#hyperlinks



•To make a hypertext link (your page to another one of your pages) use the same structure as to a website, but simply put the name of your html file in between the quotation marks where you would have put the web URL...



•Remember, to do the hypertext link as described above, you need to have two html documents that you have created! You learned how to insert an image onto your web page by using the IMG SRC tag. See the link below for a detailed description of your options in working with an image.



http://www.2createawebsite.com/build/html.html#images



•You also learned you could make the image clickable or a hyperlink by inserting the image tag in the area where you would normally put text for a hyperlink.





Below you will find some helpful tutorials:



http://www.2createawebsite.com/





http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/



This one is good for reviewing some of the do's and don'ts of website design...



http://www.homesteadconnection.com/WebSiteDesign.html

Thursday, April 12, 2012

You had Wednesday's class to read Unit 3. The following are the questions that were assigned today for Unit 3:


p. 85 1-3,6a and b
p. 86 1
p. 92 1-11
p. 97 1-5
p. 104 1-4, 7, 10, 11
p. 110 1-5
p. 120 1,3,4,6
p. 133 1,3-7, 9,10
p. 149 1-6
p. 158 1,3,5,6b,8

We will begin going over these questions on Friday.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Lab Time for Unit 3 Long Term Project

Please note that we will be working on your Unit 3 Project in Room 227 from April 23-April 27 inclusive.

Review Over and Unit 2 Test on Deck

We have now finished the Unit 2 review. The test will be written on Thursday, April 19.

Remember that on the day of the test, you will be required to hand in your chapter questions for Unit 2.

Also remember that the Road Trip project for Unit 2 is due on Monday, April 23.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Unit 2 Long Term Project

Here is the Unit 2 Long Term Assignment

Planning a Road Trip – Geography 20G Unit 2 Long Term Project

How much do you know about the geography of North America? What places have you visited? What do you know about each of the locations? Part of geography, the study of the earth and its features, inhabitants, and phenomena, is the study of places and regions. Today, with globalization, it is more important than ever to understand different places and regions around the world.

In this activity, you will learn about various towns, communities, and cities within North America by planning and taking a two-week trip. During your trip you must:

· Visit a major city
· Visit a state or provincial capital
· Visit a small town/community
· Visit a geographical landmark
· Visit a museum
· Take in a major or minor league sporting event
· Take in a collegiate sporting event
· See a play
· Attend a concert
· Visit the birthplace of a famous person
· Do it all on a $3000 budget

The project must be completed in a binder and will feature the following headings:

· Table of Contents
· Itinerary
· Budget
· Transportation
· What I Saw on My Road Trip
· Sources

The project will be graded using the following scoring:

· Table of Contents 5 marks
· Itinerary 10 marks
· Budget 20 marks
· Transportation 10 marks
· What I Saw on My Road Trip 100 marks
· Sources 10 marks· Spelling/Grammar* 20 marks
· TOTAL 175 marks

*Note: These are your 20 marks to keep. Every error results in a deduction of 1 mark to a maximum of 20.

Sources – You are required to use 10 different sources. Each is worth 1 mark. If you are using web sites, you must have 10 different domain names. Use the APA style guide

What I Saw on my Road Trip – Each item on the list of trip requirements is worth 10 marks and should cover roughly a page. In that page, you will be expected to write a description of what you saw (6 marks), include a picture (1 mark), and include suggestions of other things you might do while in the area (3 marks).

Transportation – Describe the vehicle you will drive. Write a review for it and include:

· A fuel economy rating (city and highway) (1 mark)
· An evaluation of the cargo space for your purposes (2 marks)
· A review of its performance capabilities (3 marks)
· A Summary of why you chose the vehicle (2 marks)
· A photo (1 mark)
· Sticker price (1 mark)

Budget - You will be required to make a full budget for the trip which includes a detailed estimate of costs for fuel (3 marks), lodging (5 marks), meals (5 marks), all entertainment/sightseeing costs (5 marks), and any incidentals (2 marks).

Itinerary – 1 mark for accounting for each of the 10 stops on your wayTable of Contents – 1 mark for each of the 5 headings

Please note: Standard margins and Times New Roman 12 point type. This is the default setting in Word. Don't change it.

You will have lab time for the remainder of the week.

THE PROJECT WILL BE DUE MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012.

Friday, March 23, 2012

On Your Return....

Remember the Unit 4 project is due on Monday after the break.

Also...

You will be in the lab for the week and the following Monday.

Period 1 - 227

Period 3 & 5 - 115

Enjoy the break.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Question? Question? 1,2,3?

You should now be finished reading Unit 2 (p. 17-78).


The following questions were assigned Wednesday.

p. 15 1, 2b
p. 26 1-7, 9,11,12a and b
p. 40 2-4, 7,10,13
p. 47 1-6, 8-9
p. 58 1a, 2-4
p. 66 1-3,5
p. 67 1
p. 68 2 and 3
p. 70 1,4b,c,d; 5b,c
p. 78 1a

We will be taking these up Tuesday next week. Be sure you have completed enough in order to stay ahead of that which we are reviewing.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Upcoming Due Dates...

Plan ahead... or things can get messy.









  • Global warming essay due Monday, March 12





  • Unit 4 Test - Tuesday, March 13





  • Unit 4 Long Term Project due - Monday, April 2

Monday, March 5, 2012

Unit 4 Long Term Project

Prepare a PowerPoint presentation that deals with a current urban development issue. Your presentation should be five to seven minutes in length and should:

• Clearly define and explain the issue you are addressing
• Present either through a “sell”/justify a position approach or clinically discuss several positions

You may use the site below to assist you in preparing your presentation.

http://www.actden.com/pp/

See the Presentation Rubric in the pick up box on the network for the evaluation methodology.

Presentations will begin shortly after this week’s lab time.



The following are potential topics. Others may be considered but must be approved by the instructor.

New Urbanism - What is it? What does it look like? Where is it taking place?

http://www.newurbanism.org/newurbanism/sitemap.html

Evaluate the proposal referred to as “Victory City”.

http://www.victorycities.com/

Discuss strategies for Downtown revitalization.

http://www.solutionsforamerica.org/viableecon/downtown-revitalization.html

http://www.examplesof.com/society/urban_renewal.html


Examine and discuss efforts to reuse “Big Box” stores that are no longer in operation.

http://www.bigboxreuse.com/


Debate whether or not sports facilities assist positively in urban renewal.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000300

http://www.naiop.org/foundation/ares07mixeduse.pdf


http://www.ualberta.ca/~bhumphre/papers/pfm2003.pdf

http://www.informedesign.umn.edu/Rs_detail.aspx?rsId=2265




THE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2012.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Lab Time for Unit 4 Project
















No... Sorry, Fido... not that kind of lab time

















No... Not that kind of lab time either...









Better. Now that we understand each other...


GET MOVING!
























Find your location and be there -




All Classes - March 5-9 Rm 227




Period 1 - March 12 - Rm 114





Period 3 & 5 - March 12 - Rm 115

Unit 4 Test Review

















The test is coming! The test is coming!







Tuesday, March 13 is test day...







Oh Joy







Your mission... should you accept it is to







  1. Assemble your list of terms from each chapter


  2. Make chapter guides/map"Write test" (list of terms)


  3. Find out what you need to learn and plan your studying


  4. Rinse and repeat until you know all the terms

Chapters 14 through 16 have been covered in previous blog entries. Chapter 17 is below:

The terms to know are:



  • land use

  • central business district (CBD)

  • suburban

  • middle order good/service

  • zoning

  • winter-city concept

  • urban sprawl

  • census tract

  • residential density

  • transect


Thursday, March 1, 2012

Unit 4 - Chapter 16 Settlement Patterns

In much the same way as we use mathematical processes to predict changes and patterns in population growth, there are a variety of strategies that can be used to identify and predict where a population is likely to settle. We can examine these trends nationally, provincially, or more locally. Invariably, there is a relationship between settlement patterns and geography. People tend to settle in places convenient for transportation, comfort, or perhaps where certain activities which can lead to work (mining, tourism, forestry, fishing, etc.).


Canada's development can be described as an interdependence between urban centers and hinterlands. The urban centers (cities) dominate the hinterland (rural areas). In the beginning, when the fur trade was conducted, Paris and its increasing demands for hats and other items made from beaver pelts drove economic activity in New France. On a smaller scale, Montreal and Quebec City served as centers through which trade was conducted and the raw materials (the beaver pelts) were collected for shipment to France where finished goods (fur hats and coats) were made to be sold at home and abroad.


As Canada grew and expanded westward after the fur trade, the trend of metropolitan dominance continued. Now southern Ontario and Quebec served as the center where manufactured goods were created and the West became the storehouse of raw materials that allowed the center to profit. The West provided wheat, oil, minerals, timber, and fish that could all be brought to the center for manufacturing and sale either back to the hinterland or beyond to the larger world. The metropolis gains wealth and supplies the hinterland with manufactured goods that it could not produce for itself while the hinterland gains consumer goods and convenience in exchange for its resources.



The net effect of metropolitan dominance and the country's geography can be seen in Canada's population distribution. Most settlement remains at the southernmost points and near the coasts.



























When describing what we see in the maps above, we usually use two terms:



Population distribution - the pattern of where people live



Population density - the number of people in a given space (square mile or kilometer)

Unit 4 - Chapter 15 - The Treaty Process

You have already written an essay dealing with content from Chapter 15. The question can be found below:

How did past treaties fail to meet the needs of First Nations people?


These papers have been graded and returned. Remember not to confuse your list of supporting ideas with the thesis! This was a common error.

Below are the terms for which you are responsible for this chapter:



  • treaties

  • aboriginal

  • Royal Proclamation of 1763

  • residential schools

  • assimilate

  • economic base

  • reserve

  • band

  • comprehensive treaties

  • ecotourism

  • specific claim

  • First Nations

  • self-government

Unit 4 - Chapter 14 - the Study of Population

A copy of material from Chapter 14 will be provided in the pick up box. Use it as needed to study for the upcoming test. If you know the terms, there is nothing that possibly could stump you on a test.


Key Terms:




  • demography

  • rule of 70

  • natural increase

  • dependency load

  • population growth rate

  • population pyramid

  • migration

  • doubling time


The key to understanding this chapter is the formula for population growth:




population growth = natural increase (births-deaths) + net migration (immigration-emigration)


We study population as a predictor -- using simple linear regression to predict how many people there will be going forward. This is useful for us to know when it comes to calculating needs for services, infrastructure and also the country's ability to pay for entitlement programs like Old Age Security.


Looking far forward, we can use such information to establish good predictors of when population doubles (doubling time). The rule of 70 takes what we've learned from linear regression analysis and simplifies it into a very basic and reliable rule of thumb -- divinding 70 by the population growth rate will tell us how long it will take for the population to double. As an example, Togo's growth rate is 2.4%. If we divide 70 by 2.4, we can expect that Togo's population will double in 29.17 years.


We can also use graphical representations like a population pyramid to assist us in predicting how things will look in the future.










Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Global Warming - Fantasy or Reality?

You have seen both Al Gore's, "The Inconvenient Truth" and the program called "The Great Global Warming Swindle."

You now have two options for your next assignment:


1.Write an explanation of why global warming is a problem caused by man that requires the collective action of everyone to save the world.
2.Write an explanation of why global warming is a farce created by people who are against progress and are anti-business.
Be sure to support your answer with sources which you cite under APA style guidelines.


Your work should by approximately 800 words. The assignment will be due Monday, March 12, 2012.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Essay

Over the last number of days, you have written an in class essay and you have been working on the objectives for each part of the essay.


Below is a summary of the class notes for this section:

The essay assignment typically comes in two forms -- a question or a directive.

for example:

What is the most important characteristic required to be successful in school? (question)

Discuss the most important characteristic required to be successful in school. (directive)



The most important thing to remember when writing the essay is to make sure you understand the question and answer the question directly.



Below you will find the objectives we discussed for the introductory paragraph (in order of importance - NOT appearance):



1. Answer the question (thesis statement)



2. List of supporting ideas (evidence which will serve to prove your thesis)



3. Introductory statement (this is the first sentence in your essay)






Next, you will find the objectives for the body paragraphs (in order of appearance):



1. Topic sentence (from your list of supporting ideas and relates to thesis)



2. Supporting details (logically prove why the thesis is true... between 5-7 sentences)

3. Transition sentence (make the connection from the present supporting idea/topic to the next supporting idea/topic)


Finally, the objectives for the conclusion are as follows:

1. Restate the thesis

2. Expand on the thesis (original thought)