world geography 234
ms. holderread
Attendance: Please come to class on time, as we'll start promptly when the bell rings. If you know you'll be missing class in advance, please speak with me to make arrangements prior to your absence.
Participation: This is vital to your individual success, as well as the class as a whole. The ideal class participant contributes to a discussion without dominating it, listens well, and is respectful to others. In this classroom, we will strive to create a comfortable atmosphere which promotes learning, as well as an appreciation of diversity.
Preparation: Keeping up with assignments will be crucial. The text for this course is a college-level text, so it may take longer for you to digest. Underlining and highlighting your text is a start, but notetaking is more helpful.
Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of class. No late homework will be accepted unless arrangements have been made in advance or if you were absent due to illness.
Academic Integrity: The work you complete for this course must be your own. I will follow and enforce New Trier's academic integrity policies which are outlined in the student handbook.
Daily Routines: Please deposit all excursion cards and reentrances on my desk before class starts. I'll sign them and return them to you at the end of class.
There will be a variety of assessment types to accommodate different learning styles and preferences. Each assignment is point-based, which reflects its degree of difficulty, importance and length. The grading scale is shown below:
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100-93%
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A
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92-90%
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A-
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89-88%
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B+
|
|
87-83%
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B
|
|
82-80%
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B-
|
|
79-78%
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C+
|
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77-73%
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C
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72-70%
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C-
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69-68%
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D+
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67-63%
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D
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62-60%
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D-
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59%
and below
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F
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Texts: The required textbooks for the course are Bergman and Renwick's Introduction to Geography: People, Places and Environment, 2nd edition, and Goode's World Atlas, 20th edition. It's important that you get these, and not older, editions. Please bring both of these books to class each day unless told otherwise.
It is also strongly recommended that you purchase A Pocket Style Manual, which may also be required for your English class. Since we'll be doing a lot of writing, having this manual will be beneficial.
Other stuff: You may find find use for some colored pencils. Additionally, you may also need to purchase glue, an exacto knife and some foamboard for projects.
Three-ring binders are also helpful, since I'll be giving you a lot of material not found in your text.