Download The Geographer`s Craft

The Geographer’s Craft
Chapter 1 section 2
Test Monday, August 10th
Types, Themes, Uses, Skills, Tools, Research
Methods, Related Subjects, Jobs
Geography and Geographers
• Geography is the study of the earth’s
physical and human features and the
interaction of people, places and
environment
• Geographers look for patterns and try to
explain how/why the patterns exist.
• Check BW definition
• List the two main types in the blank on the
right hand side
Two Main Types of Geography
• Physical geography
• Cultural geography
• Create BW’s for what you think each mean
Physical Geography
• Focuses on the Earth’s physical features like climate,
land, water, plants, animals and how they all interact with
each other and humans.
• Also focus on natural phenomena that shape the Earth’s
surface like volcanoes, hurricanes, and floods
• An example is climatology which is the study of weather,
climate, and how this affects people and places.
• Examine ecosystems:
– These are communities of plants and animals that depend on
one another and their surroundings for survival
– Study physical processes and human behavior that might
change or support ecosystems
– Look at the effects of people creating permanent features like
homes, bridges, and dams.
Take out BW slip for Physical
Geography
• Draw a picture
• Add/correct description if needed
• In blank on right hand side answer these
questions:
– What does this branch focus on?
– What is an example?
Cultural Geography
• The study of human activities and their
relationship to the cultural and physical
environments
• Focus on things like government, religion,
economy, population growth, urbanization, what
people eat.
• Geographers look at how people compete with
each other or cooperate to change or control
something in their physical world to meet needs
• Historical geography is an example and is the
study of places and human activities over time
and the geographic factors that shape them
Take out BW slip for Cultural
Geography
• Draw a picture
• Add/correct description if needed
• In blank on right hand side answer these
questions:
– What does this branch focus on?
– What is an example?
5 Themes of World Geography
•
•
•
•
•
Location
Place
Region
Movement
Human-environment interaction
Location
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
This is a specific place on Earth
Location is very important for geographers. (kind of like DATES are
for historians)
Absolute location is an exact position of a place on the Earth’s surface
and is found where a line of latitude intersects with a line of longitude
(Baton Rouge’s is 30 degrees 27 minutes N and 91 degrees 9
minutes W)
Relative location is a place in relation to another place, landmark,
direction, distance or time (ex: Baton Rouge is about an hour and a
half from New Iberia)
Its more common for people to use relative location to describe places
then absolute.
Guided Practice using text
Site is a term used to refer to an absolute location of a place like the
site that NISH was built is 1234 E. Admiral Doyle Drive
Situation is a term that can used when describing a relative location.
Basically it’s the position of a place in relation to another
place,landmark, etc
EX: NISH is situated near the new Wal-mart and the old Lowes
Place
•
•
•
This is a particular space with physical and
human meaning (we attach different emotions
to a place based on our experience=school)
Every place on Earth has its own unique
characteristics determined by the surrounding
environment and the people who live there
Geographers attempt to understand and
explain how places are DIFFERENT FROM
and SIMILAR to one so they group them
together into regions.
Region (BW)
• This is used to describe several places with similar characteristics
that can be physical or human.
• Examples of defining physical characteristics that might group
places into a region can be things like climate, landforms, soils,
vegetation, or animal life
• Examples of defining human characteristics that might group places
into a region: language, buildings, religion, political systems,
economic systems, and population distributions.
• THREE TYPES OF REGIONS:
– Formal: are those that are designated by official boundaries such as
cities, states, parishes, or countries (ex: New Iberia)
– Functional: a central place and the surrounding areas that have a
connection to it. Ex: the functional region for Cox cable includes all the
places it can provide service to
– Perceptual: when popular feelings and images group several places into
one region but have no formal boundaries
•
•
the Holy land for many Christians and Muslims is a region in Israel
the term the “Heartland” refers to a central area in which traditional values
are believed to predominate
Movement
• This is the act or process of changing
place or position
• People are constantly moving
• Movement of people, animals, and plants
can affect ecosystems
• When people move to new places, they
can also change existing cultures of the
new places by bringing with them different
ideas and practices that becomes part of
the culture they moved to
Human-environment interaction
• This is the study of how people and their physical
environment relate to each other
• Geographers examine
–
–
–
–
How people use/need their environment
How and why they change it
How they adapt to their environment
Consequences from these changes
• An example of physical environment effecting humans is
when mountains and deserts serve as barriers to human
movement/settlement
• An example of humans effecting environment is humans
building a dam stopping the flow of a river
• NOTE: by understanding how the Earth’s physical
features and processes shape and are shaped by
human activity georaphers help societies make informed
decisions.
The Uses of Geography
• It shows how physical features and living things
developed in past and interprets trends to plan for future
• Governments, businesses, and individuals use
geographic information in planning and decision making
like building cities, bridges, buildings, etc.
• Information on physical features can help determine
whether a site is suitable for people to live on or if it has
resources worth developing
• Planners can decided whether to build new schools or
highways based on pop growth or migration patterns
• Helps us plan and build a better future as we know more
about people, places, and environment
Booklet Assignment on 5 Themes
of World Geography& Its Uses
Take out BW slip on GEOGRAPHY
– List the 5 main themes of world geography
(will have to do so on test)
– Essay question that will be on your test:
• Define geography.
• What are the two MAIN categories geography can
be divided into?
• Which do you think you will prefer to learn
about?Why?
Create BW for Region
•
•
•
•
What is it made up of?
What can define a region?
Give some examples.
List three types.
Take Survey to see if YOU would
be a good geographer!
Skills for Thinking Like a
Geographer
• Asking geographic questions
• Gathering geographic information
• Organizing the information you have
gathered
• Analyzing the information to look for
patterns, relationships, connections
• Answering geographic questions to help
deal with real life situations and solve
problems
Tools Used by Geographers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Maps
Globes
Internet
Remote sensing
News media
Direct observation
Interviews
Reference books
Satellite images
Historical records
Field maps
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Databases
Statistic tables
Graphs diagrams
Summaries
Charts,
GIS
Spreadsheets
Sketch maps
Reports
Research papers
Oral or multimedia
presentations
Based on the skills need and the
tools used by geographers:
• Would you be a good geographer?
• Why or why not?
• In your answer show that you understand
what skills a geographer must have and/or
tools must use!
• Essay question on test!
Research Methods Geographers
Use (CM)
Direct Observation
• Use this to study the Earth and
patterns of human activities on its
surface by visiting a place to
gather information
• Like visiting the site of a volcano
or the Amazon Rain Forest
Remote sensing
• Use aerial photographs or
satellite images
• Like to locate mineral
deposits or determine sizes
of freshwater sources
Mapping
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
very important for geographers
Geographers are often also cartographers= mapmakers
The art of designing/making maps is cartography
Often maps show findings of geographers better than
written reports
Can take complex pieces of info and present them in a
more understandable way
Show location, features, patterns, relationships
Can visually compare to other places/regions
Ex: compare pop density maps of an area to determine
where to build new school
Interviewing
• Sometimes have to dig a little deeper
than what you see on the surface
• This is used to find out what people
think or feel about certain places
• May examine how people’s beliefs
and attitudes effect environment
• You choose a group of people to
study and contact a select sample to
represent the whole group
Analyzing Statistics
• Some information used by geographers is in
numbers like temperature and or percentage of
rainfall in an area
• Computers are used to organize these numbers,
present info, and analyze data to find patterns
and trends
• Ex: Census data can be used to learn about
age and gender makeup of the population
• Statistical tests can be used to check patterns or
trends to see if they are valid
Using Technology
• Geographers often use scientific instruments
• Satellites carry remote sensors, high tech
cameras, and radar to get info and images
related to environment, weather, settlement
patterns, and vegetation
• GIS is computer software that processes and
organize data and satellite images with other
types of info that has been gathered
• This information can be used for urban planners,
biologists, public safety officials, and mapmaking
Geographers often investigate
other fields of study to help in
their study of earth’s features.
•
•
•
•
•
History
Civics (Government/Politics)
Sociology
Anthropology
Economics
Geography as a Career
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Geography skills are useful in a variety of JOBS &
WORK ENVIRONMENTS.
MORE THAN 100 jobs require geography skills
These goods may be for the government, private
businesses or in education.
For example ecologists must know geographic
characteristics in which they is study living organisms
Travel agents need these skills to plan trips
Teachers from elementary to college level need these
skills
There is demand for those with geography training
throughout US
Specialized types of geographers
If you specialize in
physical geography, you
might find a job as a:
• soil scientist
• climate and weather
expert
• environmental manager
or technician and assess
impact of proposed
developments (this must
be done before any
construction can begin)
If you specialize in
cultural geography, you
might find a job in:
• Healthcare
• Transportation
• Population studies
• Economic development
• International economics
• As an urban planner for
local and state govt
agencies
• economic geography
• regional geography
Geographers can also find work as
writers or editors for publishers of
•
•
•
•
•
Textbooks
Maps
Atlases
News magazines
Travel magazines
PRACTICE/REVIEW FOR TEST
PP 26-27