Transcript 5 themes of geographyx - South San Antonio Independent

5 THEMES OF
GEOGRAPHY
DEFINITION OF GEOGRAPHY
ge·og·ra·phy
1 : a science that deals with
the description, distribution,
and interaction of the
diverse physical, biological,
and cultural features of the
earth's surface
Source-Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary
2
IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Geography is the study of
the earth and everything
on it.
3
Here are the 5 themes
Movement
 Region
 Human-Environment interaction
 Location
 Place

4
MOVEMENT
•Movement includes the movement of
people, things, goods, as well as
communications (the movement of ideas).
•We can describe a place by the type of
Communications, the main forms of
Transportation, as well as what goods are
exported and imported. These all come
under the heading of movement.
5
MOVEMENT
Things to think about.
Movement -- What are the patterns of
movement of people, products, and
information?
 A study of movement includes learning
about transportation or movement used by
people, an area's major exports and
imports, and communicate or movement of
ideas.

6
Movement
MOVEMENT
~more~
THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE, GOODS, AND IDEAS
How are people transported in this city?
How are goods transported in this city? What are
they? Who depends on them?
How are ideas transported in this city? (e.g.
communication)
9
REGION

Regions are areas that can be grouped or
united together by a set of things special
or common to that region. We have
countries, ruled by governments, areas
speaking the same language, or having the
same religion, and we have areas served by
a particular service, such as a school
district.
10
REGION-Things to think about.

Regions -- How can Earth be divided into regions
for study? Regions can be defined by a number of
characteristics including area, language, political
divisions, religions, and vegetation (for example,
grassland, marshland, desert, rain forest).
11

REGION
~more~
THE STUDY OF REGIONS
What other regions are there in the United
States besides this one?
How are they different?
How do these regions change over time?
(Descriptions of regions can include
information about the physical or cultural
characteristics. Physical refers to mountains,
deserts, climates, etc. Cultural refers to
history, religion, and language.)
13

.
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTIONS
This is about the relationship between people
and their environment, or how they work
together. It answers a lot of important
questions: What effects have the people had
on their environment? How has the environment
affected them, do they depend on it for
anything? What changes have they made to
their environment to make it easier to live in?
14
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTIONS

How people have been changed by the
environment can be called Adaptation. It is
the way humans change to suit their
environment.
An example of this is people who live in
very cold climates wearing well-insulated
clothes to keep warm. It can also include
the way people transport things, in a
desert the best way to transport some
things is by camel.
15
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTIONS

How the environment has been changed
or Modification is the way people change
their environment to suit themselves.
Artificially watering your lawn, if you live in
a dry area is one example, or on a grander
scale, creating fertile land in desert areas
to grow food crops. Another good example
is clearing forests to make room for
growing crops.
16
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTIONS

How people depend on the environment is
when people Depend or on their
environment for something.
Examples of this are using trees for
firewood, or coal to warm us in winter,
rivers to transport goods and natural
resources like oil and coal, to sell or
exchange for other needed items that are
not available.
17
HEI
 Human-Environment
Interaction or
how and why people change their
surroundings.

HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTION
~more~
HOW PEOPLE RELATE TO THEIR
ENVIRONMENT
What commodities do people depend on from,
and in this area?
How do people in Texas adapt to their
environment in terms of what they wear and how
they build their homes?
How do people in this city modify their
environment to accommodate them? (e.g.
building dams, changing landscapes)
20
LOCATION


Tells you exactly where a place is on the
earth or map
yYou can only find what you want if you know
from where you are starting. It's useful,
though, for describing things. If I just told
you that New York was located at 40o North,
73o West, you probably couldn't picture that
in your head. If I told you that it was in the
North-Eastern United States, you could
probably imagine it much better.
21
LOCATION

Absolute location is shown by an address
or with latitude and longitude. The
address can be any type of address that
gives an exact position. It is sometimes
called specific location

Here are some examples:
A Street Address:
1, Yo Momma Street, Anywhere Town,
Nowhere Place
A Map Address:
15o20' North, 20o15' West
22
Absolute Location
LOCATION

Relative location is shown by saying
where something is in relation to
somewhere or something else. It is also
known as general location.

Here are some examples:
ten minutes away by train
in front of the bank
24
Relative
Location
6.1A 6.17 B
Relative Location
The teacher
parking lot is to
the east of the
school.
6.1A 6.17 B
Relative location : a location
to help you find an absolute
location .
LOCATION
LOCATION
~more~
What is our Middle School’s exact latitude and
longitude?
What is San Antonio location in relation to
other major cities?
What is San Antonio’s relative location
compared to Austin?
27
PLACE
It is a description of what makes that place
different to others. If I was trying to tell you
about the bedrooms in a house, and I wanted
to explain to you exactly which one I meant, I
could say, "the one with two beds and one
window". If the other rooms had only one bed
each, or two windows, then you could easily tell
which room I meant.
 Place -- What makes a place different from
other places? Differences might be defined in
terms of climate, physical features, or the
people who live there and their traditions
(cultural).

28


PLACE
~more~
Physical differences, or characteristics, include things
that occur naturally, such as mountains, rivers, type of
soil, wildlife, climate etc.
 I might say that a place is flat with rich soil and
many rivers. I'm still being vague, but already you
can see a picture of it in your head, and maybe even
begin to imagine what the land is used for.
Human differences, or characteristics, are things that
have changed due to people, such as roads and
buildings, how people live and their traditions.
 This is where you can really go to town in your
description. You can discuss the cities, lifestyle,
culture and all sorts of other interesting facts that
make the place you are talking about different and
special.
29
PLACE
~more~

What physical characteristics exist in this city
such as plant and animal life?

What cultural (human) characteristics are
typical of this city?

Which ethnic, religious, or political groups live
here?
31
Quiz About
The Five Themes of
Geography
Question 1
Which of the following is NOT a
geography theme?
A. movement
B. human-environmental
interaction
C. region
D. race
Hint: MR. HeLP
33
Question 2
Which of the following is an example
of Human-Environmental Interaction?
A. getting the mail
B. watching TV
C. playing Gameboy
D. Rainforest
Clearing
34
Question 3
Which of the following helped create
the 5 Themes of Geography?
A. Geographica
Institute
B. National Geographic
Society
C. National Council
for Social Studies
D. Social Studies
Teachers of America
35
Question 4
Which of the following is an example of PLACE ?
A. Deep South
B. McDonalds
C. Dodge County
Middle School
D. Skating rink
Hint: physical or human
36
Question 5
Which of the following is NOT an example of
Location?
A. Springfield,
Missouri
B.
C. Georgia
D. the hills
Kitty Hawk Middle School
840 Old Cimarron Trail
Universal City, Texas 78148
Hint: absolute or relative
37
Question 6
Which of the following is an example of
region?
A. Georgia
B. South America
C. United States
D. The Midwest
38
Question 7
What is the name of a person who studies the
earth and everything on it?
A. Photographer
B. Cartographer
C. Geographer
D. Mapographer
39
Key
 1)
D
 2) D
 3) B
 4) A
 5) B
 6) D
 7) C
40
SUMMARY
Making Sense of it All
 Now that you have found out a little about the five themes, how can
you use them?
 Imagine for a minute that you are a newspaper reporter. An
important discovery of a lost land has been made, and you have the
chance to be the first person to interview the returning explorers.
Make a list of the questions that you might ask. Remember, the five
themes and ask the most important questions from each.
 Here are some questions to get you started:
 Where is it?
 Where exactly is that?
 What does it look like?
 How many people live there and where?
 What settlements (cities, villages) does it have?
 What sort of climate does it have?
 Does it have any extremes of weather?
 Is it prone to any type of natural disaster?
 What are the natural resources and how are they used?
 What type of agriculture is there?
 What are the main types of transportation and communication?
 What makes the people there different to people in other places?
 What sort of government does it have?
 Is it associated with any other place?
41
