Welcome Message & Course Description
Dear Students,
I am very excited about being your Social Studies teacher this year. Social Studies is one of the most important subjects that you will study in school. It prepares you for the roles and responsibilities as an individual in a free society. Geography, a branch of Social Studies, is concerned with the earth’s surface, the relationships between places, and the connection between people and the environment. Geography is crucial for understanding the world that we are a part of and your relationship to the rest of the planet.
I view my primary responsibility as treating each of you with care and respect as an individual. My goal is to see each of you grow both emotionally and academically in the year that we will spend together. To accomplish these goals, this class will focus on establishing trust, openness and responsibility as well as on reading comprehension and writing. I intend to challenge you as individuals and as a class. I require that you give the work I assign your best effort. You will only learn and grow if you do the work. My expectation is that everyone in this class succeeds this year.
I am looking forward to an interesting, exciting and rewarding year. I extend a warm welcome to each of you!
Mr. Ethier
Course Description and Parent Information
Course Description The primary objective of the course is to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the relationship between humankind and the planet. The course will begin with the broad concepts and tools of geography including the five themes of geography, understanding maps, physical geography, including climate and vegetation, human populations and movement, culture, national development, political and economic systems, and natural resources. As we explore these key concepts of Geography we will explore how they relate to regions in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.
Once we have established the concepts of Geography, we will study the major regions of Asia in depth. The primary regions are East Asia (China & Japan), and South and Southeast Asia, (primarily India and Pakistan.) We will study the physical geography, history and culture of the countries in the region; however, we will look closely at the current standing of the major countries and how their future impacts the United States and the world. If time permits we will also look at Southwest Asia and the Middle East. Throughout the year, students will develop the skills necessary to evaluate, analyze, compare, and contrast various regions and nations of the world in relationship to each other and to the United States.
To the Parents:
If you want to check on your student’s progress throughout the year please use the Parent Portal available at http://www.torrington.org/, or e-mail me at [email protected]. You may also call me at 496-4050 ext. 2209. The best time to reach me is between 7:15 AM and 7:45 AM and between 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM. If you need to leave me a message please leave a call back number and the best time to reach you. I will almost always respond to an e-mail or telephone message within 24 hours, usually much sooner.
If you would like to know what homework assignments are due, please call my homework hotline – it is the message at 496-4050 ext. 2209. I faithfully update the hotline everyday between 3:00 and 3:15 PM. We usually have homework a few times a week in Geography.
Mr. Ethier