This document contains notes from an American geography class, including: 1) A review of trends in American families and leisure activities. 2) Discussion of American college students' concerns about the environment, gun control, and other issues. 3) Notes on positive and negative effects of the U.S. economy in the 1980s. 4) Direction to complete a KWL chart in partners about American geography and a review of key facts about the country's landscape, climate, resources, transportation systems, and regional industries.

1. AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY
Reading British &
American Culture
Week 10
Professor Hayashi

2. TODAY’S CLASS
• attendance
• article presentations – CHAT CHAT!
• review: the american people
• KWL chart
• American Geography
• 010-6279-1872

3. Review
• American families • Rise in one
parent families
• More single
mothers
• Household Expenditures
• More on health
• Less on
travel/food
#
1

4. Leisure & Sport
• Most popular participation sports:
MEN- swimming
WOMEN- walking
• Both enjoy cycling
• Aerobics are more popular for
women
• Fishing & basketball for men

5. American College students:
• Top concern
- environment
• New concern
- government hand-gun control efforts
• More conservative about
- drugs & crime
• More liberal about
- abortion

6. Pop Music/Economy
• Rap and heavy metal were under attack
Positive Changes Negative Changes
- GDP doubled during the 1980’s - GDP doubled through borrowing
- lots of people prospered - national debt tripled
- 20 million new jobs were created - corporate & personal debt soared
- booming international trade is spreading
wealth around the world
- widening gap between rich and poor
- poverty increased
-new jobs were low paid service positions
- USA was the world’s biggest creditor
then largest debtor

7. K-W-L Table
• Know – Want to know – Learn
K W L
http://docs.google.com/viewer?
a=v&q=cache:waD_rFqaBXQJ:users.manchester.edu/Studen
t/GJTribbett/Webpage/Example%2520KWL
%2520Chart.pdf+kwl+chart+example&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=A
DGEESj5ZWAxXkoQgO3HHZZoxFafLWnraMh2Fo1YksvqZP
_GdKH9rqYCTw34vuZtd5b2vJFIc7pqesPPq_Mr1zdLNM9kJv
LAvzr7px-TcJ1LgDpFk7Rga58hFy0Gf-jMmtgkwP4Edv-
y&sig=AHIEtbQMfkPIabzlU19jbhufPEXjGOIcGw

8. KWL Chart
• In partners, write down what you know
about American geography
• Next, write down what you want to know,
what you’re curious about
• Go through the chapter together and write
down what you’ve learned

9. Important Facts
• the 50 states – 48
continental/conterminous
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=WhDrGnjacvA
• Surrounded by the Atlantic & Pacific
Oceans
• Coastal Plains – East, long, gently rolling
lowland
• Rockies – high, discontinuous chain of
mountains containing metals
• Appalachians – West of Atlantic coastal
plain, low, unbroken, contain iron, coal

10. Important Facts
• Mount McKinley in Alaska is the highest point;
Death Valley in California the lowest
• Longest river: Missouri
• Population 245,000,000 (307 M now)
• flow chart – pg. 59
• most of country has humid continental climate
– hot summers/cold winters
• US has ¼ of world’s coal, 1/7 of petroleum

11. Important Facts
• People go by cars, trucks, planes
• Commercial goods go by trucks
• Freight goes by rail

12. Important Facts
• Main industrial area: midwest
• Banking & Insurance: New York
• almost half of the land (47%) is farmland
• Midwest: agriculture
• South: traditional crops
• West: cattle, wheat farming
• Texas: cattle, sheep, cotton and rice