Full course description
Course Description
World Geography A is the first semester in a two-semester series that investigates the complex interactions between humans and their environment. As students explore the regions of the world, they will come to understand how a place can affect how people live and the ways in which people live can affect a place. In World Geography A, students will explore both the physical and human geography of multiple regions of the world, including North America, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Additionally, this course provides students the opportunity to develop analytical skills by interpreting a variety of different maps, charts, and graph to answer geographic questions.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
UTHS courses are designed in alignment to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) which define the skills and content to be taught in each course and grade level in the state of Texas.
Semester Topics
- Unit 1: Introduction to Physical Geography
- Unit 2: Introduction to Human Geography
- Unit 3: Physical and Human Geography of the United States and Canada
- Unit 4: Physical and Human Geography of Latin America and the Caribbean
- Unit 5: Physical Geography of Europe
- Unit 6: Human Geography of Europe
- Unit 7: Physical and Human Geography of Africa
- Unit 8: Special Topics of Africa
Course Objectives
Upon completing this course, you will be able to—
- describe different types of regions, including formal, functional, and perceptual regions;
- investigate the dimensions of cultural groups as defined by language, religion, ethnicity, and gender, and how these characteristics can change over time and spatial distribution;
- explain the processes that have caused changes in settlement patterns, including urbanization, transportation, access to and availability of resources, and economic activities;
- explain how elevation, latitude, wind systems, ocean currents, position on a continent, and mountain barriers influence temperature, precipitation, and distribution of climate regions;
- identify physical and/or human factors such as climate, vegetation, language, trade networks, political units, river systems, and religion that constitute a region;
- explain the effects of rapid urbanization and explore possible solutions;
- explore how people have adapted to the environment in the region;
- analyze the effects of physical geography on human geography, particularly the way that physical geography has influenced migration patterns and shaped the distribution of culture groups today;
- interpret maps to explain the division of land into separate political units such as cities, states, or countries;
- interpret maps to answer geographic questions, infer relationships, and analyze change.
Required Course Materials
Please visit the Computer Requirements page to view minimum device, internet, and application requirements for all UT High School courses. Generally, a desktop or laptop device five (5) years or newer with access to an office suite, such as Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, will be adequate to participate in most UTHS courses.
Unless otherwise noted, students are responsible for purchasing or securing all the following course materials:
- Textbook: A textbook is not required for this course.
- Interactive Notebook: A paper or digital composition book is acceptable. For paper composition books, please also have the following items on hand:
- Pens or Pencils
- Tape or Glue
Course Organization
Students must complete the course in sequence: You will not be able to access the next unit until all work in the preceding unit is completed. You may take your final exam only after completing all units and submitting all graded assignments.
- Units: Each unit includes multiple lessons and graded assignments as well as ungraded practice quizzes to help you check your understanding of the material.
- Summative Assessments: Each course includes two online, virtually proctored summative assessments testing your understanding of the material presented in the preceding 2-3 Units.
- Format: Online, Multiple-choice
- Time Allowed: 1 hr 30 min
- Final Exam: Each course includes an online, virtually proctored final exam testing your knowledge of all material presented in the course.
- Format: Online, Multiple-choice
- Time Allowed: 3 hrs 20 min
Course Grade Weighting
Your final course grade is calculated by weighting the three assignment groups displayed in the table below:
| Assignment Group | Total Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Graded Assignments | 12-18 | 50% |
| Summative Assessments | 2 | 25% |
| Final Exam | 1 | 25% |
Online Proctored Exams
All course exams, including both summative assessments and the final exam, must be completed online. Students must test online with Proctorio and are required to add the Proctorio extension to either their Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome browser—installation instructions are provided in the student's course. Proctorio uses a student's computer, web camera, and microphone to record video of both the student and their desktop during the exam. Then, UTHS instructors review the student's exam video data collected by Proctorio. Only authorized UTHS staff and instructors can view the exam recordings. Student data is not shared with any persons or organizations outside of UTHS and are deleted after one year. We encourage you to visit Proctorio's Data Security and Privacy site pages to learn more about how we protect student date.