Approach - Organisation
and Reading
Approach - Organisation - Paper
It is really important that you organise your notes in a logical way so that when you come to the exam your notes are clear to revise from. Chronological order is always good and remembering to write the 'geographic inquiry statement' along with the 'geographic knowledge and understanding statement' at the top of your page will help you to cross reference with the syllabus what has been taught. I would recommend that you get the following items and bring them to every class so that you are always fully prepared for anything.
Approach - Organisation - Digital
As Geography is a dynamic subject you will be using both paper and digital resources. The digital resources once found or created can be a challenge to refind if it is not put in a sensible or logical place. While I can understand you mocking the organisation level of the cupboards in the Geography focused classrooms it does mean I can find everything with ease and this is what we also need to be able to do online.
Google Chrome
We are a Google school and therefore all the documents you produce on your computers tend to be created using a specific Google application. So lets start at the very beginning and make sure we all have Google Chrome as a search engine downloaded on your computer. Especially if you use more than one device if you are always using Google Chrome your bookmarks and documents will automatically sync.
- Download Google Chrome on to your computer by searching for Google Chrome.
Google Drive
It is very easy to 'lose' things in Google Drive if you don't either give your document a useful title or it is not filed in a logical way. When you create a document try and follow a standardised convention of naming it = Date>Subject>Unit>Focus for example 11/09/19 - Geography - Core - Poverty Reduction.
To give your Drive some sort of organisation work your way through the following points.
- Make a DP folder.
- Within your DP folder make a separate folder for all of your subjects as well as CAS, TOK, Global Affairs and Homeroom.
- Within your Geography folder make three more folders.
- Paper 1 - Geographic Themes
- Paper 2 - Global Change (Core)
- Paper 3 - Global Interactions (Higher Level only)
- Within your Paper 1 - Geographic Themes folder create two more folders if you do Standard Level and three if you do Higher Level.
- Food and Health
- Freshwater
- Extreme Environments (Higher Level only)
Approach - Bookmarks
We all use the internet to search for key information and it is important that once you locate a useful resource that you can find it again. If it is a newspaper or magazine article then it could be (should be) flipped into our '2019-2021 Geography' Flipboard Magazine. But not everything comes in a specific newspaper article and websites are just as useful. One way to organise your finding is to use bookmarks. We will be using the Google Chrome extension 'Google Bookmark Manager'. We are doing this as Google will sync and back up your bookmarks regardless of which device you are using and it will also sync the extensions.
- Either search for 'Google Bookmark Manager' or click on the link - Google Bookmark Manager
Image One - Bookmark Manager
- Then create a series of folders that reflect the structure of the syllabus. It works just like Google Drive.
Image Two - Step One - Bookmarking
Image Three - Step Two - Bookmarking
Approach - Reading
Geography is a dynamic subject and therefore it is important to be reading about current affairs. Articles that you read can then be used to form the basis of your case studies, detailed examples or examples. One way to keep up-to-date with what is happening in the world and to share what you have found with your peers is to use flipboard. Flipboard is an online magazine that the group can all contribute to. It can save you time trawling through magazines and newspapers as key articles can be found in one place.