Course+Syllabus


 * Bedford Middle School **
 * Department of Social Studies **
 * 6th Grade World Geography **

Room 213, Bedford Middle School 440 East Watson Street Bedford, PA 15522 Phone: 814-623-4200 ext.2213 Email: lewisd@bedfordasd.org Class Website: http://bms-geo6.wikispaces.com
 * Teacher - Mr. David Lewis, MS Ed. **

__ Course Description __ In Sixth Grade Social Studies, students develop their knowledge of the Five Themes of Geography to understand how physical, cultural, political, and economic conditions contribute to the uniqueness of countries and communities in the seven continents of our world.

In order to study world geography, students will develop map, globe, reading, writing, and mathematics skills. They will learn how to read, analyze, and present information in the form of graphs and charts. Computer and internet skills will be a major part of this course.

Students will learn how to use the five themes of geography. Those themes include location, place, human-environment interactions, movement, and regions. The concept of the interdependence of nations will be stressed. Our studies also will include research skills and current events to increase understanding of the diversity of human experience.

This course will cover the basics of the Geographer's tools, our planet Earth, landforms and bodies of water, how climate affects vegetation, wildlife, and human inhabitants. We will touch on population and migration, culture, language, economics, and political systems around the world. We will then study the regions of North America, with a particular focus on our own Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Bedford County.

☺ Treat every person with respect. ☺ Pay attention by listening carefully and looking at the speaker. ☺ Be polite to everyone. ☺ Act like someone you would be proud to know. ☺ Ask questions, take notes, and participate in class discussions. ☺ Do your own work on the day it is assigned. ☺ Read and follow the //Student Rights and Responsibilities// handbook.
 * Expectations **
 * __ Conduct: __**

☺ Teachers do not give grades. Students //earn// their grades by participating in class. ☺ Students earn points toward their grades by completing assignments and class activities, as well as tests. ☺ The number of points earned divided by the total points possible for the marking period, equals the student’s percentage grade. ☺ Grades will be posted to the BASD online gradebook (MMS) as soon as possible, and parents are encouraged to check their child’s grades regularly. ☺ Cheating, plagiarism, and copy & pasting from the Internet will not be tolerated. All written work must be //‘in your own words’//. ☺ If you use any information from online sources, you must give credit to the original author of that information //(which is NOT Google).// This includes text, pictures, music, and video. Specific instruction on how to cite your sources will be given to the class before the first research project. ☺ Consequences for Academic Dishonesty are outlined in the //Student Rights and Responsibilities// handbook. Please read it.
 * __ Academic: __**

Students are not required to provide any special materials for this class, other than pencils and a willingness to learn. A folder for organizing papers will be provided by the teacher. Some students may find the use of a 3-ring binder and their school agenda book to be helpful.

We expect every student to grow in knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the world we live in throughout this course and to achieve the 6th grade Common Core standards for World Geography.

// If you should have any concerns, please contact Mr. Lewis by email, // // phone, on the class website, or in person, before contacting the school administration. //   // ~ Thank You! ~ //