Download Five Themes in Geography

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LOCATION
PLACE
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT
INTERACTIONS
MOVEMENT
REGIONS
(Absolute and Relative)
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Answers the basic question: “Where?”
Absolute and Relative location are two ways of
describing the positions of the earth’s physical
and cultural features.
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Absolute , or exact location tells us exactly
where something is.
A grid system representing latitude and
longitude is one way of showing absolute
locations.
Example: The absolute location of Mt. St.
Helens is 46 degrees N latitude 122 degrees W
longitude.
The absolute location of Maywood
Middle School is 14490 168th Ave
SE, Renton, WA, 98059.
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Another way of looking at location has to do
with the interaction of places.
Relative Location has to do with how a specific
location is connected to other places.
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In what Mountain range is Mt. St. Helens located?
Are there other volcanoes in that range?
What cities or highways are nearby?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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Using the picture-cards on your table,
decide as a group on one example of
Absolute Location and one example of
Relative Location.
Choose someone in your group to share
your answer with the class.
(Physical and Human
Characteristics)
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All places on Earth have special features that
distinguish them from other places.
Geographers usually describe places by their
physical and human characteristics.
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Physical characteristics are naturally occurring
(NOT man-made).
Los Angeles, California and its neighboring
communities, for example, are known for such
physical characteristics as sandy beaches,
abundant sunshine, and a mild climate.
What are some unique physical characteristics
of the place in which we live?
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Human characteristics (man-made, or
population-related) also help to define a
particular place.
Some human characteristics of Los Angeles
include the density of its population and the
ethnic makeup of its people.
What are some unique human characteristics of
the place where you live?
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Using the picture-cards on your table,
decide as a group on one example of
Physical Characteristics and one example
of Human Characteristics.
Choose someone in your group to share
your answer with the class. (Choose
someone who did not share the last
time.)
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Depending on the environment is when people
depend 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.
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Using the picture-cards on your table,
choose one card to represent each of
these categories:
Adaptation
 Modification
 Depending
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Choose someone in your group to share
your answer with the class. (Choose
someone new to share.)
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Movement includes the mobility of People,
Goods, and Ideas.
People everywhere interact. They travel from
place to place, they communicate, and they
depend upon other people in distant places for
products, ideas, and information.
How do you and your family depend upon
people in other places?
How does movement affect what you can buy
in stores in your city or town?
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In your group, use the cards on your
table to find examples of:
Movement of people
 Movement of goods
 Movement of ideas
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Choose someone (new) to share your
ideas.
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Regions are areas on the surface of the Earth that
are defined by certain unifying characteristics.
These characteristics may be physical…
Or they may be human.
For example, the peaks and valleys of the Rocky
Mountains form a physical region.
The corn belt, on the other hand, forms a human
region.
Regions provide an organized way to study the
Earth’s landscapes and peoples.
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Using your picture cards, find an
example of regions. Be prepared to
explain your choice.