Prepping for the APHG Exam
Ken Keller
NCGE Webinar
March 23, 2011
kellek@danbury.k12.ct.us
KK’s Vitals…
•Teaching 14 years at Danbury HS, Danbury, CT
•Teaching APHG since its inception, 2000-2001
•Teaching Honors U.S. History
•Teaching Intro to Geo at WCSU since 2009
•Member of APHG TDC, 2006-2010
•Member, CGA Leadership Team
•Vice Chair, City of Danbury Planning Commission
•Past President CCSS, 2006-2007
ELECTRONIC FILES OF ANYTHING COVERED IN THE NEXT
HOUR IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST 
What you can have students do as review?
•Have your students create review guides.
•Define every single vocabulary term from each of the
FIVE major APHG textbooks.
•Show application of terms as well as elaborative
examples.
•Create these review guides as students move
throughout the course.
Call up review guide
.
What you can have students do as review?
•Use photos, imagery and mapping concepts related to analyzing
“cultural landscapes” and “built environments.”
•You can also have one student or a group of students become “experts”
In a particular concept, model, etc…and have them present information to
their fellow students.
•Have students take the literal out of an image or map, interpret what they see
And encourage them to LOOK BEYOND THE OBVIOUS 
•Do a concept analysis with students having them look at
the key components of our course, such as: Economic,
Social, Political, Human-Environment interaction, to
reinforce the interconnectivity inherent in APHG. For
example: Urban landscapes, Japan Earthquake.
•“I see something and I know that, so this must mean?”
What you can have students do as review?
•Create a critical thinking map of all these vocabulary terms.
•Have students make connections between different terms from
different units.
•Have your students create an “odd one out” critical thinking
activity where they create groups of four terms across units and
then have them choose which term from each group is the odd
one out.
•*I will show you an example later on in our
session as well as other ways to use this
activity.
Gotta Make it Real 
•Real-world examples are musts in an APHG
class.
•Geographic theories and models are of
relatively little use to most high school
students without real examples upon which
to connect this academic knowledge.
•By connecting the real world to academic
knowledge students will have a better
chance of understanding and using the
model or theory.
Gotta Make it Real 
•Additionally, the student might be able to criticize or even
refute a given model.
•When a student can, through a process-oriented
discussion, make arguments and demonstrate how the
model does not apply, he/she is thinking critically.
•Critical thinking and application skills are the
most important elements every APHG student
should be able to effectively and competently
employ.
What you can have students do as review?
•Create a Jeopardy review
game for students. Have them
create their own Jeopardy
questions. There are a number
of free templates teachers can
use to create these games.
•Use an old trivial pursuit board
and create questions for six
categories or seven categories
related to the different units of
our course.
What you can have students do as review?
Divide your class into small groups giving each group
one of the following concepts. Have them brainstorm
what is meant by this term and what would be some
examples. Have them list factors that they would include
on a large piece of paper and display them around the
room:
•Social Factors
•Political Factors
•Cultural Factors
•Economic Factors
•Ecological Factors
•Demographic Factors
•Socioeconomic Factors
The students then present their listings. A good
discussion can develop.
Using AP Central…(More to come later…)
•Using previous Free Response
Questions and their grading rubrics
(found at AP Central) discuss how to
approach answering the FRQ’s from a
geographic perspective.
•We also discuss these following two
terms as a class after going through
the “factor” review…
•Cultural Landscape
•Globalization
What Do Models and Theories Represent?
Demographic Transition Model; Rostow’s Stages of Growth
Gravity Model; Concentric Zone (Burgess)
Hoyt Sector Model
Multiple Nuclei Model
Central Place Theory (Christaller)
Weber Model of Industrial Location (least – cost theory)
Von Thunen’s Agricultural Model
Epidemiologic Transition Model
Core Periphery Model
Domino Theory
Heartland and Rimland Theories
Neocolonialism
Thomas Malthus (Population)
Modernization & Dependency Theories
Sustainable Development
World Systems Theory
Bid-Rent Theory
Rank Size Rule and Urban Primacy
Deconstructing the different parts of the
APHG exam
Free (Focused, Constructed)
Response Questions – FRQs
•There are three Free (focused) Response
Questions (FRQ) on the APHG Exam.
•Each question is designed to elicit a student’s
geographic knowledge and how well one can
APPLY geographic knowledge.
•Of course, each question seeks to challenge
students on three different topics. However,
each question is looking for the examinee to
demonstrate different skills.
•APHG free response questions are typically
written to test students’ ability with specific skills.
Skills Addressed on
Free Response Questions
Definitions/terminology/content knowledge –
description using basic terminology is needed, but
depth and applied examples must be used.
Connections – making intricate geographic
connections to real-world situations.
Critical Thinking – taking difficult concepts,
explaining these concepts and then pulling
information, which is not necessarily in the
question, and developing it. Critical thinking
questions are those where students should string
together information they have learned from 3, 4,
5 or even more chapters from their APHG text.
Skills Addressed on
Free Response Questions
•Critical thinking questions are also opportunities
for students to use pieces of knowledge learned
from:
• field trips
•computer mapping and models
•supplementary readings (e.g. NY Times, The
Economist, The Week Magazine, TIME, Global
Policy Institute, National Geographic, etc.)
•current event discussions in class
•class research projects
•personal experiences
Practice Critical Thinking …Odd One Out
•This activity requires students to pick the odd word out
of a list of words.
•The strategy can be used to initiate a conversation on
a topic or as a diagnostic to measure student
comprehension of geographic concepts.
•The strategy is good to help students become familiar
with concepts, to see similarities and differences
between key terms, and helps you, the instructor, to
see student thought processes.
Example: Population and Migration
APHG FRQ Example: connection question from 2005
& 2006 exam.
Call up WORD document
Practice Critical Thinking …Concept Maps
•Concept Maps
This strategy helps students to organize their ideas and to present
coherent, sophisticated explanations of geographical patterns, processes,
and events.
Students, working in groups or individually, are given concept cards which
they use to create graphic organizers. These graphic organizers are
visualizations of the relationships between concepts that constitute a
geographical issue.
Students are required to sort, categorize, make links
between concepts, and lay them out to create a cogent
whole which they explain, first orally and then in writing.
By exploring the interrelationships between the parts,
students gain a fuller understanding of issues and are
better able to explain them.
Practice Critical Thinking …Concept Maps
•Students can be encouraged to develop their own list of
10-15 key concepts after reading text (e.g., chapters in
multiple textbooks).
•They can then challenge other classmates to create
concept maps using their lists.
•The important goal is for students to link related
concepts and to explain the nature of the
relationship(s) in clear sentences.
Call up WORD document
Example: The Food Supply System
APHG FRQ Example: definition question
from 2007 exam.
Practice Critical Thinking …Living Graphs
•Living Graphs
Call up WORD
document
Using any line graph, develop a number of
statements relating to events or think people
might have said or done that relate to the context
of the graph. Students decide where on the
graph (at what point in time) the statement
occurred.
Example: The Demographic Transition
APHG FRQ Example: synthesis question from
2003 exam. Demographic Transition Model.
In APHG We Do Not Write DBQs 
•U.S. History, European History and World History are the
AP courses typically taught in social science/studies
departments in most American high schools.
•The above-mentioned courses have their distinct
differences but are generally similar when it comes to
preparing for the AP Exam.
•For example, AP U.S. History, European History and
World History focus on writing styles, which must be
followed while writing about the desired content.
•Writing a thesis and developing the thesis plays a major
role in these three AP history courses. However, writing
style is not scored in APHG.
In APHG We Do Not Write DBQs 
•The APHG Exam is more content-based.
•The student is only asked to answer the question using cogent
constructs. Therefore, the APHG teacher must teach students to write
in a process-oriented style, which speaks to the main ideas of the
question.
•Most students who have trouble on the APHG exam simply do not
answer the question which has been posed.
•In short, APHG exam students should get to the point of
the question and supply appropriate content with proper
examples as possible. Remember, writing style is simply
not an issue.
Summary of main FRQ writing tips…
•You should try to avoid writing “dump” essays where you
“dump” or empty your brain of everything you can think of
on to the paper.
•Remember to try and integrate geographic themes in your
response. For example, using a point from several
different units of study in your answer.
•PLEASE answer the question in the same format that it is
written. For example, if the question has three parts which
are labeled A, B and C, you need to answer in the same
format.
•You can sometimes “explain” in a sentence or two. You
should not belabor a point. Please be direct and use
evidence to support your argument. However, try to use
Geo “vocabulary” wherever it is relevant.
Summary of main FRQ writing tips (cont.)
•Please do not rewrite the question in
your response and make sure you
answer what the question asks!
•Please, NO THESIS statements,
introductions or conclusions.
•DO NOT use bullets in your answers.
•As noted, there are no DBQ’s on the AP
Geo exam.
Outlines are your friend 
•OUTLINING the questions is an important tool
that will help students tremendously!
•As soon as students get the FRQ’s, they should
spend a couple of minutes outlining the main
points for their answer right on the questions
sheet.
•This way, when they go to write their full
response they will have a baseline of
information/important points to send them on their
way!
Outlines are your friend 
•Students who have created outlines in the past
have told me it has really helped them be
successful on the exam!
•I have my students do this throughout the
course of the school year.
•Even though students balk at doing this,
especially those students who struggle with time
management and always think they will run out of
time and not finish, they find by the end of the
year that this strategy is a big help for them.
Miscellaneous FRQ Tips …
•Answer the question students think is the
easiest first than they should go on to the
next easiest, etc... This way, they leave the
hardest one for the end where they have
more time to answer. It doesn’t matter if the
questions are in order when they write them
in their answer booklet.
Miscellaneous FRQ Tips …
•Students should be as neat as possible when writing
their responses. Remember, this is not their
classroom APHG teacher who is used to reading their
hieroglyphics that will be reading your response 
•In the same vain, skip a line in between each line
of your answer to the FRQs. You have plenty of
space in the answer booklet and you can then go
back and add information if need be.
Key WORDS/PHRASES to understand
the meaning of with regard to
answering FRQ’s
APHG Verbs
•Effective answers to essay questions depend in part
upon a clear understanding (and execution) of the
meanings of important directive words.
•These are the words that indicate the way in which
the material is to be presented.
•For example, if students only describe when they
are asked to compare, or if they merely list causes
when they have been asked to evaluate them, their
responses will be less than satisfactory.
APHG Verbs
•An essay can only begin to be correct
if it answers directly the question that
is asked.
•Individual teachers can provide what
AP Examinations cannot — help with
the meanings and applications of
some key terms like the following on
the next few slides:
APHG Verbs
1. Analyze: determine their component
parts; examine their nature and
relationship [usually answers the question
"why?"]
2. Assess/Evaluate: judge the value or
character of something; appraise;
evaluate the positive points and the
negative ones; give an opinion regarding
the value of; discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of.
3. Compare: examine for the purpose of
noting similarities and differences.
APHG Verbs
4. Contrast: examine in order to show
dissimilarities or points of difference.
5. Describe: give an account of; tell about;
give a word picture of.
6. Discuss: talk over; write about; consider or
examine by argument or from various points
of view; debate; present the different sides
of.
APHG Verbs
7. Explain: make clear or plain; make clear the
causes or reasons for; make known in detail; tell
the meaning of. If you are asked to explain
something, make sure to read carefully as to what
you will be explaining and how many or what
specifically you are asked to address. Do not try
to read between the lines of the question.
ONLY ANSWER WHAT YOU ARE
SPECIFICALLY BEING ASKED TO ANSWER!
To earn a “5” elaborating on your basic
premise is KEY!
Other prompting terms/words:
Define: If you are asked for a definition, make sure you
specifically define the term or concept.
Choose either/or: You don’t have to pick both!
Pay attention to how many examples the question is
looking for if a specific number is noted!
Key Features or factors: Discuss TWO or THREE
ideas in detail. Look for a specific number of
examples that the question is asking for.
List: No elaboration needed.
Identify: Point out and you will then most likely
have to discuss.
PREDICTING THE APHG FRQ TOPICS
Disclaimer: This is only guesswork and should not substitute for
preparation on all possible topics. That said, we have guessed
‘wisely’ on most topics over the last few years!
Topics: (Topic 1/Nature and Perspectives is embedded in all
the FRQ exams, it will not appear on its own…)
2/POPULATION
3/CULTURE
4/POLITICAL
5/AGRICULTURE-RURAL LAND USE
6/ECONOMICS AND DEVELOPMENT
7/URBAN LAND USE AND SERVICES
PREDICTING THE APHG FRQ TOPICS
Examine the FRQ exams from the previous years.
•How many questions used graphics or maps?
____________________ (no graphics in 2001)
•What are you being asked to DO with the graphics/maps?
___________________________________
______________________________________________________
___________________________
•List the active verbs used in each question by
year and Note the level of difficulty using the Free
Response Questions Tasks handout (LC – less
challenging, C – challenging, MC – most
challenging)
Call up WORD document
Summary of key MCQs
answering strategies
There are 75 multiple choice questions
on the APHG exam, each with five
answer choices. Students have 1 hour to
answer them.
Types of MCQs:
•Definition questions.
•Synonym questions.
•All of the following EXCEPT questions.
•Stimulus questions (some type of visual).
Summary of key MCQs
answering strategies
•Students need to make sure they read
the entire question carefully.
•There should be some phrase or clue in
the question to lead students in the right
direction.
•Students should not linger on answering
any given question. If they are not sure of
how to respond to a question they should
move on as they can always come back to
it.
Summary of key MCQs
answering strategies
IMPORTANT: starting with this
year’s exam, students will only
get credit for the questions they
answer correctly and will NOT
lose a ¼ point for those they get
wrong.
Exam MC Question Analysis Review
Get Students to Break Down Questions
1. STIMULUS MATERIAL CAN SOMETIMES THROW YOU OFF YOUR
GAME
2. WHAT WORD(S) SHOULD YOU FOCUS ON?
3. PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
4. TO SKIP OR NOT TO SKIP?
5. MORE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION and ANSWER LENGTH
6. PAY ATTENTION TO CANADA IN YOUR TEXTS
7. WHO SAYS STUDYING VOCAB IS NOT IMPORTANT?
8. WHICH WORD(S) DO YOU FOCUS ON and
KNOWING THE NUANCES OF RELIGIONS?
Call up WORD Document
Exam MC Question Analysis Review
Get Students to Break Down Questions
9. AND THE APHG PROPHET SAID, “KNOW HOW THOU MODELS WORK – NOT
JUST WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE!”
10. AGAIN, KNOWING WHAT A MODEL AND ITS PARTS LOOK LIKE IS NOT
ENOUGH; NOW, THE QUESTION…
11. PROCESS OF ELIMINATION, SOME HISTORY AND EVEN MORE COMMON
SENSE – LOOK FOR THE CLUE
12. STUDY THE OLD APHG EXAMS – THIS ONE IS A MULTIPLE
CHOICE VERSION OF FRQ #2 FROM THE 2001 APHG EXAM –
ALSO, WATCH FOR POSITIVE WORDS IN “NOT” QUESTIONS
13. FOCUS ON WHAT THE QUESTION IS ASKING
14. INTERPRETING PHOTOGRAPHS IS IMPORTANT
Exam MC Question Analysis Review
Get Students to Break Down Questions
15. CONNECT GEOGRAPHER NAMES TO THEIR WORK
16. THERE ARE NO T-F QUESTIONS ON THE APHG EXAM – BUT THIS IS TO
TEACH MY STUDENTS ABOUT USING OTHER TEXTBOOKS
17. STATEMENT ANALYSIS QUESTIONS ARE POSSIBLE (BUT WITH 5 ANSWERS
ON THE APHG EXAM)
18. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY HAS LOTS OF TERMS
19. I AM CONFIDENT THIS TERM WILL BE ON THE 2011 APHG IN SOME FORM
ie…Subsistence Agriculture 
20. QUESTIONS WITH NEGATIVE WORDS IN THEM NEED TO
BE READ SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY – IT IS USUALLY SMART
TO COME BACK AND CHECK THESE
Exam MC Question Analysis Review
Get Students to Break Down Questions
21. KNOW MULTIPLE NAMES FOR THE SAME TERM (SWIDDEN, SLASH and BURN,
SHIFTING CULTIVATION, MILPA)
22. DO YOU KNOW YOUR MODELS WITHOUT LOOKING AT THEM?
23. CAN YOU READ A SCATTERGRAM?
24. NOPE, IT’S NOT AN OLD KEVIN BACON MOVIE
25. KNOW EXAMPLES OF THE TERMS YOU HAVE LEARNED
26. THIS IS A VERY HARD QUESTION – GRAPH ANALYSIS, GRAPHS WHICH LOOK
COMPLICATED CAN BE SOLVED BY READING, RE-READING AND
TIME
27. PLACE GEOGRAPHY IS IMPORTANT!
Scoring FRQs in your Classroom…
Try to scale your own exams based on
previous year scaled scoring. For
example, the top 20% of your students
earn a five, next 15% earn a 4, next 10%
earn a 3, etc….This way, giving your
students an idea throughout the year as
to where they stand come May.
KK’s Online Event and
Helpful Websites for Review
Keller Online Event for College Board – files to be provided upon request 
Review Websites I Have Used in the Past (Thanks to fellow teachers for
permission):
http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/snyderd/APHG/index.htm
http://www.glendale.edu/geo/reed/cultural/cultural_lectures.htm
http://pewresearch.org/interactive/
http://www.gapminder.org/
http://www.macalester.edu/geography/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/sets/7215
7624812674967/with/4981441877/