Download Date: The Five Themes of Geography Aim: Do now: Studying the

DATE: ______________
THE FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
AIM:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DO NOW: Studying the geography of the entire world can be a huge task. You can make the task easier by using
the five themes of geography: location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and regions. The
themes are tools you can use to organize information and answer the where, why, and how of geography.
1.
Location answers the question, “Where is it?”
You can think of the location of a continent or a
country as its address. You might give an absolute
location such as “22 South Lake Street” or “40N and
80W.” You might also use a relative location, telling
where one place is by referring to another place.
“Between school and the mall” and “eight miles east of
Pleasant City” are examples of relative locations.

Chicago, Illinois,
occupies one
location on the
Earth. No other
place has exactly
the same absolute
location.
What is the absolute location of your home?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is the relative location of ACTvF?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you think absolute or relative location is a better way to determine a location? Explain.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE
Most maps contain imaginary horizontal and vertical lines of measurement. Horizontal lines, running east and west,
are called latitude lines. Vertical lines, running north and south, are called longitude lines. The lines are numbered in
degrees (shown by the symbol ).
Latitude starts at 0 known as the equator, where the Earth is at its widest. The Equator divides the Earth into the
Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Everything north of the Equator is in the Northern
Why is it important
Hemisphere. Everything south of the Equator is in the Southern Hemisphere. On the map
to know where you
below, label the Equator, and the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
are?
Longitude starts at 0, at the Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian divides the Earth into the
Eastern and Western
Hemispheres.
Everything east of the
Prime Meridian for 180
degrees is in the
Eastern Hemisphere.
Everything west of the
Prime Meridian for 180
degrees is in the
Western Hemisphere.
On the map below,
label the Prime
Meridian and the
Eastern and Western
Hemispheres.
8
Pacific Ocean - 10N 130W
Arctic Ocean - 70N 10W
Asia - 40N 90E
Atlantic Ocean - 30N 30W
Australia - 30S 130E
Africa - 10 N 20E
Indian Ocean - 10S 80E
Antarctica - 80S 0
South America - 10S 60 W
Mediterranean Sea - 40N 5E
Europe - 50N 20E
North America - 40 N 100 W
Directions: Analyze the map of the world above. Using latitude and longitude, clearly label the continents and
Earth’s major bodies of water.
DATE: ______________
2. Place identifies the natural and human features that make one place different from every other place.
You can identify a specific place by its landforms, climate, plants, animals, people or cultures. You might
even think of a place as a geographic signature. Use the signature to help you understand the natural
and human features that make one place different form every other place.


What might be a “geographic signature” of New York City?
How does where you live influence how you live?
9
DATE: ______________
LANDFORMS: POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE?
Directions: With your group, discuss the positive and/or negative impacts on humans of the following geographic
features. Fill in the chart below with your responses.
Landform
Positive Impact
Negative Impact
Mountain
Desert
River
Island
Plains
The third theme of geography is human-environment
interaction, which focuses on the relationship between people
and the environment. As people live in an area, they often begin
to make changes to it, usually to make their lives easier. For
example, they might build a dam to control flooding during rainy
seasons. Also, the environment can affect how people live,
work, dress, travel, and communicate.
Peruvians have
changed steep
mountain
slopes into
terraces
suitable for
farming.
 How do people change their environment? (Give
two specific examples not from the reading)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
 How do people adapt to their environment? (Give two specific examples not from the reading)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
THEME FOUR – MOVEMENT
Arab traders
brought not only
goods to Kuala
Lumpur,
Malaysia, but
also Arab
building styles
and the Islamic
religion.
Movement answers the question, “How do people, goods, and ideas move from place to place?”
Remember that, often, what happens in one place can
affect what happens in another. Use the theme of
movement to help you trace the spread of goods, people,
and ideas from one location to the next.


How can the movement of people, goods, and
ideas change an area?
Do you think interdependence is positive or
negative for a nation? Explain.
10
DATE: ______________
THEME FIVE – REGION
A region is a group of places that share common features. Geographers divide
the world into many types of regions. For example, countries, states, and cities
are political regions. The people in these places live under the same type of
government. Other features can be used to define regions. Places that have
the same climate belong to a particular climate region. Places that share the
same culture belong to a cultural region. The same place can be found in
more than one region. The state of Hawaii is in the political region of the
United States. Because it has a tropical climate, Hawaii is also part of a
tropical climate region.


Wheat farming
is an important
activity in
Kansas. This
means that
Kansas is part
of a farming
region.
What are several regions you think your city belongs in?
How might the Internet be changing our definition of regions?
Answer aim:
Notes:
I. _________ Themes of Geography
a. Location
1. Position on the Earth’s surface
a. ________________ ____________ – exact location of a
place usually measured in ____________ and ____________
1. Latitude – ________________ __________ that show
the distance ____________ or ___________ of the
______________
2. Longitude – ____________ __________ that show
the distance _________ or ________of the __________
________________
b. Relative location – position of a place in _____________
to _______________.
b. Place
1. _____________ and _____________ features of a location.
c. Human-Environment Interaction
1. People _____________ their environment
2. People _____________to environment
d. Movement
1. _____________ of goods from one place to ________________
2. Interdependence – nations ___________ _______ __________
___________ for goods and resources.
e. Region – area with unifying characteristics (________________,
__________________, ___________________).
11