Lesson Graphic Organizer Theme Location Where is it? Questions What is its absolute location? What is its relative location? Place What is it like there? What are its natural characteristics? What are its human characteristics? Human/Environment Interaction How do people interact with the environment? How have people used the environment? How have people adapted to the environment? How have people modified or changed the environment? Movement How is the place connected to other places? How and why have people, goods, and ideas moved in and out of the place? Regions How might common geographic characteristics help us understand this place? How can the place be divided into regions? To what regions does the place belong? Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 1 of 8
Big Idea Card Big Ideas of the Lesson 4, Unit 1 The five themes of geography provide a framework, or tool, for studying different places. The five themes can be applied to places as small as a neighborhood or to places as large as the Earth itself. The five themes are Location, Place, Human/Environment Interaction, Movement and Regions. A good way to remember this is MR. HELP (Movement, Region, Human/Environment Interaction, Location, and Place). Each theme is connected to a series of questions geographers ask about places. Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 2 of 8
Word Cards 11 five themes of geography an organizing framework for geographic inquiry Example: The five themes of geography are location, place, human/environment interaction, movement and regions. (SS060104) Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 3 of 8
CHART PAPER SET-UP: FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY LOCATION: Where is it? PLACE: What is it like there? REGION: How might common characteristics help us understand this place? MOVEMENT How is this place connected to other places? HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: How do people interact with the environment? Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 4 of 8
Categorization Activity Category Cards: LOCATION PLACE REGIONS HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION MOVEMENT Question Cards: How can we divide the Earth into separate places? How have increasing levels of interaction in communication, travel, and foreign exchange impacted the Earth and its people? How does climate affect water availability and vegetation? How does a water deficit or surplus in a place impact people? How does soil affect agriculture types and crops? How do humans respond to geographical advantages and limitations? Why are certain features or places where they are? How do people decide where to locate new human features? How does global interdependence impact people as consumers and producers? What imprints do religion and human belief systems leave on places? How can the Earth be viewed as a single environmental system? What role does technology play in the modification of the environment? What factors are shaping current human migration? How do cultural attitudes toward use and conservation of the environment differ? What is cultural diffusion and how does it impact the exchange of ideas? How has technology allowed us to shrink space and distance? What patterns do physical processes like traveling weather patterns, flowing water, and plate tectonics create? How is population affected by factors such as birth rate, death rate, and population growth? Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 5 of 8
Questions Sample Categorization Location Why are certain features or places where they are? How do people decide where to locate new human features? Place How does climate affect water availability and vegetation? How does soil affect agriculture types and crops? How does a water deficit or surplus in a place impact people? What imprints do religion and human belief systems leave on places? Human/ Environment Interaction How do humans respond to geographical advantages and limitations? How can the Earth be viewed as a single environmental system? What role does technology play in the modification of the environment? How does a water deficit or surplus in a place impact people? How do cultural attitudes toward use and conservation of the environment differ? How does soil affect agriculture types and crops? Movement How has technology allowed us to shrink space and distance? How have increasing levels of interaction in communication, travel, and foreign exchange impacted the Earth and its people? What factors are shaping current human migration? What is cultural diffusion and how does it impact the exchange of ideas? How does global interdependence impact people as consumers and producers? Regions How can we divide the Earth into separate places? What patterns do physical processes like traveling weather patterns, flowing water, and plate tectonics create? Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 6 of 8
Describe the Earth Using the Five Themes Location Where is the Earth? One significant Natural Characteristic: Place One significant Human Characteristic: One way people have used the Earth: Human/ Environment Interaction One way people have adapted to the Earth: One way people have modified the Earth: Movement One way the Earth is connected to another place: Regions One way to divide the Earth into regions: Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 7 of 8
Describe the Earth Using the Five Themes Sample Answers Location Where is the Earth? The Earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system of nine planets. Earth is in the Milky Way galaxy. Regions Movement Human/ Environment Interaction Place One significant Natural Characteristic: Mt. Everest The Sahara Desert The Oceans The Amazon Rainforest One significant Human Characteristic: Large cities like Shanghai, China The Great Wall of China The United Nations Headquarters The pyramids of Egypt One way people have used the Earth: People have used the soil for agriculture all over the Earth. People have used forests across the Earth for lumber, firewood, etc. People have used the oceans for shipping, food, and water. One way people have adapted to the Earth: People have used technology such as air conditioners to cool their homes in the summer and furnaces to heat their homes in the winter. People wear layers of clothing in the winter when it is cold and lighter clothing when it is hot. People build their homes differently and with different materials based on the climate and the types of natural disasters that happen there. One way people have modified the Earth: People have sped up climate change. People have cut down many different kinds of forests. People have filled in wet areas and coastal areas to create more land for building. People have killed off some species of animals which are now extinct. One way the Earth is connected to another place: The Earth has been connected to the moon. The Earth is connected to other planets in the solar system. One way to divide the Earth into regions: Hemispheres Continents Language regions Cultural regions Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 8 of 8