AP Human Geography
Explore free resources that align with your AP Human Geography curriculum.
CFR Education offers a range of free resources that can supplement your AP Human Geography curriculum. Browse readings, timelines, videos, and simulations that help students explore how humans have understood, used, and changed the surface of the earth.
Skills students learn with CFR Education Human Geography Resources:
- Understanding information shown in maps, tables, charts, graphs, images, and infographics
- Connecting geographic concepts and processes to real-life scenarios
- Seeing patterns and trends in data and in visual sources such as maps and drawing conclusions from them
- Understanding spatial relationships using geographic scales
Unit 1: Thinking Geographically
| Reading | Throughout the modern history of the Americas, the United States has been the region’s preeminent economic, military, and political power. |
| Reading | Learn more about the promises and perils of artificially manipulating the environment to combat climate change. |
| Reading | Explore how colonialism enriched empires and fundamentally reshaped countries such as India. |
| Reading | Climate change can amplify itself through feedback loops. It can also trigger catastrophic “tipping points.” |
| Reading | Is there a global water crisis? In this free resource, learn how climate change is causing water scarcity to worsen worldwide. |
| Reading | Explore how eleven countries are adapting to the effects of climate change in this free resource. |
| Reading | Europe has a reputation for its high living standards, given its wealth, promotion of human rights, commitment to social spending, and democratic institutions. |
| Video | In this educational video, learn why the climate is changing, how it affects us, and what we can do about it. |
| Reading | In the aftermath of the Cold War, East-West relations had a chance at a reset. |
| Reading | How do greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming? Learn why the world is getting warmer in this free climate change resource. |
| Reading | From Saudi-Iran rivalries to Arab-Israeli normalizations, learn how ten key relationships define the region. |
| Reading | Learn how turning toward cleaner energy sources means factoring in economic and energy needs alongside environmental ones. |
| Reading | Sub-Saharan African countries hold roughly 25 percent of the seats in the UN General Assembly, making the region’s voice important on global issues such as climate change and drug trafficking. |
| Reading | Understand where migrants come from, where they go, and why migration is increasing through maps, charts, and data. |
| Reading | The long tensions between India and Pakistan, involvement of foreign powers, and climate change shape geopolitics in the region. |
| Reading | Learn how the world’s nearly two hundred countries came to be, and whether the map is set in stone. |
| Reading | East Asia and the Pacific is the world’s largest region, accounting for nearly one-third of the global population. |
| Video | When fires in the Amazon affect countries around the world, is there a need to rethink a centuries-old understanding of sovereignty? |
| Reading | Territorial disputes, historical animosities, powerful militaries, and nuclear weapons make for high-stakes geopolitics in the region. |
| Reading | Are countries less democratic than they used to be? Learn how democratic principles like checks and balances, free elections, and freedom of the press are under threat around the world. |
| Reading | An increasing number of countries recognize same-sex marriage, but discrimination and persecution persist. |
Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes
| Reading | In this free resource, explore how climate change disproportionately affects certain communities and could drastically increase global inequality. |
| Reading | Is there a global water crisis? In this free resource, learn how climate change is causing water scarcity to worsen worldwide. |
| Reading | Learn how culture, demographics, and social trends shape everyday life in the region. |
| Reading | Understand where migrants come from, where they go, and why migration is increasing through maps, charts, and data. |
| Reading | With over one billion people living in forty-nine countries, sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most diverse regions. |
| Video | Why do people migrate? Understand why migration means different things for individuals, countries, and economies in a globalized world. |
| Reading | South Asia is densely populated and immensely diverse. |
| Reading | What is the difference between immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers? Explore how contested definitions of migrants have a profound effect on the rights and protections of people leaving their homes. |
| Reading | East Asia and the Pacific is the world’s largest region, accounting for nearly one-third of the global population. |
| Video | When migrants seek work abroad, what does their home country gain and lose? Explore one example of a country shaped by emigration, the Philippines. |
| Reading | Explore how severe inequalities and disparities in wealth and income can harm individuals, countries, and the global economy, and how some governments implement policies to reduce inequality. |
Internally Displaced Persons: Migrants Who Do Not Cross a National Border Reading |
Who are IDPs and how are they different from refugees? Understand what happens to people who are forced from their homes but remain inside their own country through country case studies. |
| Reading | Is the global population declining? Learn how changes in birth, death, and migration rates affect society, economics, and politics around the world |
| Video | How do governments help people everywhere become healthier and wealthier? Many countries have made great strides in global development progress but challenges remain. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States respond to the massive influx of Cuban migrants? Explore this historical simulation set in 1980. |
| Reading | The Americas are an incredibly diverse region with a population defined by an array of cultural heritages, including millions of indigenous peoples living across North and South America. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States assist small island nations facing disasters? Explore this simulation. |
| Reading | From the history of vaccines and medical quarantines to the origin of the World Health Organization, explore how innovations in global health increased human longevity and prepared the world for COVID-19. |
| Reading | Extreme weather and climate change effects could drive millions of people to migrate. Government leaders can take steps to address those flows of people and prepare the communities at their destinations. |
Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes
| Reading | The Americas are an incredibly diverse region with a population defined by an array of cultural heritages, including millions of indigenous peoples living across North and South America. |
| Reading | Europe has a reputation for its high living standards, given its wealth, promotion of human rights, commitment to social spending, and democratic institutions. |
| Reading | Learn how culture, demographics, and social trends shape everyday life in the region. |
| Reading | With over one billion people living in forty-nine countries, sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most diverse regions. |
| Reading | South Asia is densely populated and immensely diverse. |
| Reading | East Asia and the Pacific is the world’s largest region, accounting for nearly one-third of the global population. |
Unit 4: Political Processes and Patterns
| Video | In this educational video, explore three fundamental questions that shape a country’s relationship with the world through foreign policy. |
| Simulation | |
| Video | From direct and parliamentary democracy to authoritarianism, learn how rulers take power—and who decides. |
| Video | In this educational video on foreign policy, explore how U.S. relations with Japan have changed over the past century, from Pearl Harbor to a peaceful alliance. |
| Simulation | |
| Reading | Learn about different forms of government—including democracy, authoritarian rule, and monarchy—and how their distinctions aren't always so clear. |
| Reading | Europe has a reputation for its high living standards, given its wealth, promotion of human rights, commitment to social spending, and democratic institutions. |
| Simulation | |
| Reading | Are countries less democratic than they used to be? Learn how democratic principles like checks and balances, free elections, and freedom of the press are under threat around the world. |
| Reading | Learn how culture, demographics, and social trends shape everyday life in the region. |
| Reading | Explore the powerful political movements that can reshape forms of government. |
| Reading | With over one billion people living in forty-nine countries, sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most diverse regions. |
| Reading | The Americas are an incredibly diverse region with a population defined by an array of cultural heritages, including millions of indigenous peoples living across North and South America. |
| Reading | South Asia is densely populated and immensely diverse. |
| Video | What is conflict? Explore the reasons why tensions, violence, and war break out and what the consequences are for the world in this video. |
| Reading | East Asia and the Pacific is the world’s largest region, accounting for nearly one-third of the global population. |
| Timeline | Sovereignty is sacred. But when lives are in danger, does that principle still apply? |
| Timeline | What is NATO? Trace NATO’s history and learn how the organization’s mission has evolved over seventy-five years, from the end of World War II to Russia’s war in Ukraine. |
| Reading | Without a country to call their own, millions of people experience discrimination and persecution. |
| Reading | Learn how the world’s nearly two hundred countries came to be, and whether the map is set in stone. |
| Video | How did sovereignty become part of world history? In this educational video, learn why kingdoms turn into countries after the Thirty Years’ War. |
| Simulation | |
Understanding the Constructive and Destructive Natures of Nationalism Reading |
Nationalism can unify diverse societies. But when taken to extremes, it can also fuel violence, division, and global disorder. |
| Reading | Explore how colonialism enriched empires and fundamentally reshaped countries such as India. |
| Simulation | |
Tanks, Sanctions, and Separatists: The Various Challenges to Sovereignty Reading |
A government’s authority within its borders gets challenged all the time. Here is how. |
| Timeline | From the Cold War and decolonization to globalization, learn how recent historical developments shaped today’s world. |
| Simulation | |
| Video | Understand the principle that has underpinned world order for the past four hundred years. |
Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes
How Did Mass Production and Mass Consumption Take Off After World War II? Reading |
Discover how consumer goods have become cheap and ubiquitous in the global era. |
| Reading | Is there a global water crisis? In this free resource, learn how climate change is causing water scarcity to worsen worldwide. |
| Mini Simulation | Should the United States consider the use of solar geoengineering to combat climate change? Explore this simulation. |
| Video | Globalization’s effects can appear where you least expect them—including on your plate. |
| Mini Simulation | Should the United States take action to stop deforestation in the Amazon to combat climate change? Explore this simulation. |
| Reading | Explore how eleven countries are adapting to the effects of climate change in this free resource. |
| Simulation | |
| Video | In this educational video, learn why the climate is changing, how it affects us, and what we can do about it. |
| Simulation | |
| Video | In this educational video, learn how climate change's effects on agriculture can have serious economic consequences for the world. |
| Reading | Agriculture is warming the planet. Changing how we farm and manage land can decrease greenhouse gas emissions. |
| Video | The modern era of global trade began just after World War II. |
| Reading | A world with free trade yields net benefits for all participants. But that world does not actually exist— countries impose free-trade roadblocks for a number of reasons. |
| Video | As Great Britain’s Industrial Revolution and India’s Green Revolution have shown, technological innovation can drive extraordinary development. Explore how digital advancements are further driving progress today. |
| Reading | In this free SDG resource, learn about the formation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and review the opportunities and challenges for meeting them. |
Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes
| Timeline | From the printing press to Instagram, technological advances shape how people communicate. |
| Reading | Extreme weather and climate change effects could drive millions of people to migrate. Government leaders can take steps to address those flows of people and prepare the communities at their destinations. |
| Video | In this educational video, learn why the climate is changing, how it affects us, and what we can do about it. |
Protecting Global Food and Water Supplies in a Warming World Reading |
Discover how climate change is diminishing global food and water security, and how the world can adapt to those vital resource challenges. |
| Reading | Three innovations shaped how people and goods move around the world today. |
| Reading | Electrifying the economy may play a crucial role in the fight against climate change. |
| Reading | What is the Paris Agreement? In this free resource, learn what actions countries are taking to address the global threat of climate change. |
| Reading | Severe weather is causing costly disruptions. To protect the energy grid, countries need a smarter plan. |
| Video | How do governments help people everywhere become healthier and wealthier? Many countries have made great strides in global development progress but challenges remain. |
| Reading | In this free SDG resource, learn about the formation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and review the opportunities and challenges for meeting them. |
| Reading | In this free resource, explore how climate change disproportionately affects certain communities and could drastically increase global inequality. |
| Reading | Learn how culture, demographics, and social trends shape everyday life in the region. |
| Reading | Follow the global supply chain across borders and into your pill bottle. |
| Reading | With over one billion people living in forty-nine countries, sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most diverse regions. |
| Video | Explore examples of globalization to understand the benefits and challenges of our increasingly interconnected world in this video. |
| Reading | East Asia and the Pacific is the world’s largest region, accounting for nearly one-third of the global population. |
| Reading | Explore how eleven countries are adapting to the effects of climate change in this free resource. |
| Reading | The buildings we live in cause emissions. Changing our edifices can set up a more sustainable future. |
Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes
| Reading | The buildings we live in cause emissions. Changing our edifices can set up a more sustainable future. |
| Video | How do governments help people everywhere become healthier and wealthier? Many countries have made great strides in global development progress but challenges remain. |
| Reading | Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy can help mitigate climate change. |
| Reading | Has life gotten better for people around the world? Learn how improvements in health, education, and income are measured and explore three countries' opportunities and challenges with development. |
| Reading | The ways we move around the world are making it hotter. Electric vehicles and other innovations offer climate change solutions. |
| Video | As Great Britain’s Industrial Revolution and India’s Green Revolution have shown, technological innovation can drive extraordinary development. Explore how digital advancements are further driving progress today. |
| Reading | Industrial emissions pose big challenges for the climate. Innovative industrial solutions can make a difference. |
| Reading | In this free SDG resource, learn about the formation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and review the opportunities and challenges for meeting them. |
Protecting Global Food and Water Supplies in a Warming World Reading |
Discover how climate change is diminishing global food and water security, and how the world can adapt to those vital resource challenges. |
| Video | Why do developed and developing countries disagree about who is responsible for climate change? Explore the history of industrialization and its impacts on climate in this video. |
What Are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund? Reading |
What's the difference between the World Bank and the IMF? Understand two institutions that undergird global development and the international monetary system. |
| Video | Climate change poses energy security challenges, but building more renewable sources and taking other steps can help strengthen supply and lower risks. |
| Video | The modern era of global trade began just after World War II. |
| Reading | Learn about the Industrial Revolution and how technological innovations from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries continue to shape society today. |
| Reading | Electrifying the economy may play a crucial role in the fight against climate change. |
| Video | When local concerns drive national trade policies, there are global consequences. |
How Did Mass Production and Mass Consumption Take Off After World War II? Reading |
Discover how consumer goods have become cheap and ubiquitous in the global era. |
| Reading | Learn how energy storage can provide reliable renewable energy. |
| Reading | The United States thought it was directing the show when China acceded to the World Trade Organization. Instead, China wrote its own script. |
| Reading | Explore how severe inequalities and disparities in wealth and income can harm individuals, countries, and the global economy, and how some governments implement policies to reduce inequality. |
| Reading | A world with free trade yields net benefits for all participants. But that world does not actually exist— countries impose free-trade roadblocks for a number of reasons. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States employ foreign aid to help a country in crisis? Explore this hypothetical simulation. |
| Reading | The WTO system is the foundation of modern global trade. But as trade becomes more connected, with new challenges constantly emerging, trade agreements are adapting in order to keep up. |
| Mini Simulation | How should the United States leverage trade to respond when a rivalry between growing trade partners threatens regional stability? Explore this hypothetical simulation. |
| Reading | What is foreign investment, and what does it have to do with trade? An economics expert explains. |