Lesson A: Mapping The Course
Geography is a way of reasoning, not a list of places. Today you will learn the class’s explanation engine, practice it on something familiar, and begin building notes that you can use again and again.
Note: If Media Window is activated, it shows a placeholder. Later we can replace it with a short video, interactive map, or guided steps.
Quick opener: “What do you think geography is?” Write two sentences, then we’ll pair-share. The point of this exercise is not to be right, the point is to surface starting assumptions.
If you get stuck, start with: “Geography is…” or “Geography helps us…”
When we talk in this course, we will practice moving from opinion to explanation. That means we point to something checkable (a map, a photo, an observation, a data layer, a cited source), and we explain why that support justifies the claim.
This course runs on a weekly rhythm. Tuesday (Lesson A) builds tools and concepts, then you practice with a controlled task. Thursday (Lesson B) applies the tools to a real case and produces a short evidence artifact.
Course Evidence Card
- Claim: specific and checkable, not broad (Example: “The campus bus loop favors the front entrance.”)
- Support: points to something visible (map mark, photo, data layer, cited source, observation)
- Reasoning: explains why the support justifies the claim (the “because” logic)
- Uncertainty: names what you still need (Example: “We need ridership counts by stop,” or “We only mapped one time of day.”)
Academic Sentence Frame
Use these stems in discussion and writing to keep your thinking precise.
My claim is… because…
My evidence shows…
What I still need to know is…
If you disagree, use: “I see it differently because…” and then point to evidence.
These questions are the class’s explanation engine. Keep the phrasing verbatim all week, then reuse it all semester. You do not need to memorize definitions first, you need repeated use with evidence.
Question 1
Location, spatial distribution, and scale. What is the pattern, and at what level (campus, city, county, region)?
Question 2
Site and situation, processes, constraints, and opportunities. What pushed or pulled it into that specific location?
Question 3
Impacts and trade-offs. Who benefits, who is burdened, and what changes if the pattern stays the same?
Question 4
Flows, networks, diffusion, interdependence. What moves through this place (people, goods, money, ideas, water)?
Question 5
Time, trends, feedback loops, risk, and resilience. What is changing now, what might change next, and what signals would prove it? This question turns a map into a living system instead of a static picture.
Start with a simple annotated map of a familiar place. Mark what you notice first, then attach the five questions to what you marked. This helps you generate evidence before you write, and it reduces blank-page stress.
First, share what you mapped. Then the class uses the same five questions in three settings. Respond using sentence stems: My claim is… because… My evidence shows… What I still need to know is…
Urban
- Where do people gather (plazas, bus hubs, downtown), and what pattern shows that?
- Why are key services located where they are, and who can access them easily?
- What flows are most visible (transit, commerce, ideas), and what changes over time?
Suburban
- Where are corridors (schools, shopping centers), and what does that pattern suggest?
- Why there (roads, land costs, zoning), and who benefits, who is burdened?
- What connects these places (cars, buses, deliveries), and what is changing now?
Rural
- Where are access points (churches, gas stations, county fairgrounds), and why those locations?
- What networks matter (water, broadband, roads), and where are dead zones?
- What changes (risk, resilience), and what signal would prove it?
This is a live model. Your job is to capture the structure. Later you will build your own explanations with the same structure. Each field below will become an active submission later.
Where is it?
Relative to highways, population centers, floodplain, and zoning.
Why there?
Access, land cost, political decisions, historic development.
Why it matters?
Workforce pipeline, commute burden, equity of access.
How it connects?
Bus routes, feeder high schools, employers.
What changes?
Expansion plans, road widening, housing growth, time trends.
You will start this in class and finish it for homework. Expectations are high on purpose. Starting strong is easier than trying to repair weak habits later.
Minimum Viable Version
- Five annotations with simple “I notice…” evidence
- One short paragraph using the sentence frame
- One named uncertainty (missing data, scale limits, alternative explanations)
Extension (Advanced)
- Add scale (street, campus, city) and explain what changes
- Add one data layer (flood zone, roads, land use, parcels)
- Add one counter-claim and a reason it might be true
You are allowed to start low-tech. You are also allowed to explore more advanced tools at your own pace. Your job is to produce visible evidence.
Low-Tech
- Printed campus or community map, transparent overlay paper, sticky notes
- Colored pencils, highlighters, ruler
- Phone camera (photograph your annotated map for submission)
Mid-Tech
- Google My Maps (pins with annotation text)
- Google Slides (single-slide map canvas, screenshot a map, then annotate)
- Padlet or your LMS board (post map image + paragraph explanation)
High-Tech (optional)
- ArcGIS Online (if available), QGIS (usually too heavy for Week 1)
- County GIS layers (flood, zoning, parcels, transportation)
- Layer logic: question first, then layers, then conclusion, then limitation
Base Map Sources
- Google Maps (satellite + terrain)
- OpenStreetMap
- Local city or county GIS open data portal (if available)
The World Builders spread can be printed or used digitally. It mirrors the five questions and keeps your notes organized. This lets you reuse the same structure throughout the semester.
Suggested Layout (Issue 01)
- Cover: Title + identity for the unit
- Table of Contents: quick navigation for the week
- Page 3 onward: Question 1 across the top as a title, left side has Urban, Suburban, Rural panels, right side has Notes
- Repeat: the same structure for Questions 2–5
- Page 8: Vocabulary capture space that revisits and grows all semester
Add relevant vocabulary as you see it in maps, discussions, and cases. This is not busywork. Vocabulary is how you label patterns precisely.
These guidelines protect your work from becoming vague, and they help you earn points through clarity. Read them like a checklist you can actually use.
Non-Negotiables
- Use the five geographic questions verbatim all week
- Produce an artifact with visible evidence, not only talk
- Uncertainty is acceptable when named clearly
Evidence Quality
- Claim: specific, checkable
- Support: observable or source-based
- Reasoning: explains why support justifies claim
- Uncertainty: names missing data or alternative explanations
If time allows, end with a short “Why maps matter” video. If time runs long, replace the video with discussion using evidence norms. Either way, the goal is the same: maps are tools for decisions.
Video Placeholder
Add your 3–5 minute video here later. A strong close is short, clear, and tied to evidence.
Generate creates a single organized notes document from everything you typed. Save downloads it. Copy for Teacher places the notes on your clipboard, so you can paste them where your teacher requests. Later, we can swap these actions to submit to a Google Form automatically.
Reminder: Your mini-lab map is started in class and finished for homework. Photograph or export your map so it can be submitted with your written explanation.
Use the five geographic questions verbatim. Point to visible evidence. If you are unsure, name the uncertainty instead of guessing.