There are five themes of geography: location, place, region, movement, and humanenvironment interaction. These themes are important to geographers. The themes help them describe places. They help geographers answer questions about places, too. WHERE IS IT? Location describes where a place is. Absolute location and relative location are ways to describe location. Absolute location is exact. It is like a dot on a map. Latitude and longitude help describe absolute location. For example, you can find the exact location of Florida with latitude and longitude. Relative location is in relation to other locations. For example, Florida is north of the Caribbean islands. WHAT IS IT LIKE? Place describes the characteristics of a location. It describes what the location is like. It describes whether it is similar to or different from other locations. Physical characteristics include a location s environment, landforms, and size. It also includes climate and plant and animal life. Human characteristics include a location s buildings, population, and businesses. It also includes culture, religion, government, and more. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER AREAS? Region describes areas with similar characteristics. Regions divide the world. They are easier to cover than talking about the whole world at once. Regions can be based on physical or human characteristics. Physical characteristics include plant life and landforms. The Sahara Desert is an example of a physical region. Human characteristics include economic, social, political, and cultural attributes. For example, the Corn Belt is a region. It stretches from Indiana to Nebraska. It is where a lot of corn is grown. HOW ARE PLACES CONNECTED? Movement describes how people, goods, and information came to a certain place. People and goods are always moving around. Movement focuses on things like immigration, transportation, and shipping. It also looks at how ideas and information spread around the world. Communication is one example of the movement of ideas and information. People can send texts and letters across the world. ENVIRONMENT? Human-environment interaction describes how people change the environment. It describes how they ve changed to survive in the environment. Humans depend on the environment for their basic needs: food, shelter, and water. Humans adapt to their environment to survive. For example, people who live near water eat lots of fish. Humans change the environment as they interact with it. For example, they build buildings and cut down trees. Word Count: 395 Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 33
There are five different areas or themes of geography: location, place, region, movement, and human-environment interaction. These five themes help geographers describe and explore places around the world. They help us answer important questions about different places. WHERE IS IT? Location describes where a place is. Absolute location and relative location are the two ways to describe where something is. Absolute location describes precisely where a place is like a dot on a map. Latitude and longitude help describe absolute location. For example, you can find the exact location of Florida using latitude and longitude. Relative location describes where a place is in relation to other locations. For example, Florida is southeast of Georgia and north of the Caribbean islands. WHAT IS IT LIKE? Place describes the characteristics of a location. It describes what the location is like. It describes whether it is similar to or different from other locations. Physical characteristics include a location s natural environment, landforms, size, climate, and plant and animal life. Human characteristics include a location s buildings, population, businesses, culture, religion, government systems, and more. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER AREAS? Region describes areas with similar characteristics. Regions divide the world up. Regions are smaller and easier to describe than talking about the whole world at one time. Regions can be split up in different ways. They can be based on physical or human characteristics. Physical characteristics include plant life or landforms. The Sahara Desert is an example of a physical region. Human characteristics include economic, social, political, and cultural attributes. For example, the Corn Belt is a region that stretches from Indiana to Nebraska. It is where a great deal of corn is produced. HOW ARE PLACES CONNECTED? Movement describes how people, goods, and information came to a certain place. People and goods are always moving around. Movement focuses on things like immigration, transportation, and shipping. It also looks at how ideas and information spread and change across the planet. Communication, such as texting or sending a letter, is one example of the movement of ideas and information from one place to another. ENVIRONMENT? Human-environment interaction describes how people have changed the environment. It also describes how they ve changed to survive in the environment. Humans depend on the environment for their basic needs: food, shelter, and water. Humans adapt to their environment to survive. For example, people who live near water eat lots of fish. People who live near the plains likely eat more beef from cattle. Humans change the environment as they interact with it. They change it as they use the resources in their environment. For example, people construct buildings, cut down forests, and add irrigation systems. Pollution is an example of a negative consequence that people have on the environment. Word Count: 467 Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 34
There are five areas or themes to focus on in geography. They include location, place, region, movement, and human-environment interaction. These themes help geographers describe and explore places around the world. They also allow them to answer important questions about different places. WHERE IS IT? Location describes where a place is on earth. Absolute location and relative location are the two ways to describe where something is. Absolute location describes precisely where a place is, like an exact dot on a map. Latitude and longitude are often used to describe exactly where a specific place is located. You could easily find the exact location of Florida on a map using latitude and longitude. Relative location describes where a place is in relation to other locations. For example, Florida is located southeast of Georgia and north of the Caribbean islands. WHAT IS IT LIKE? Place describes the human and physical characteristics of a location. It describes what it s like in a location that makes it similar to or different from other locations. Physical characteristics include a location s natural environment, landforms, size, climate, and plant and animal life. Human characteristics include a location s buildings, population, businesses, culture, religion, government systems, and more. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER AREAS? Region describes areas with similar characteristics. Regions divide the world up into areas that are smaller and easier to describe. They can be classified by physical or human characteristics. Physical characteristics include plant life or landforms, such as the Sahara Desert. Human characteristics include economic, social, political, and cultural attributes. For example, the Corn Belt is a region that stretches from Indiana to Nebraska where a great deal of corn is produced. HOW ARE PLACES CONNECTED? Movement describes how people, goods, and information came to a certain place. People and goods are always moving from one place to another. Movement focuses on things like immigration, transportation, and shipping. It also looks at how ideas and information spread and change across the planet. Communication, such as texting or sending a letter, is one example of the movement of ideas and information from one place to another. ENVIRONMENT? Human-environment interaction describes how people have impacted the environment. It also describes how they ve adapted to survive in the environment. Humans depend on the environment to provide their basic needs: food, shelter, and water. Humans adapt to their environment to survive. For example, people who live near water eat lots of fish, while those who live near the plains likely eat more beef from cattle. Humans change the environment as they interact with it and use the resources they are able to find in their environment. For example, people construct buildings, cut down forests, and add irrigation systems to the land. Pollution is an example of a negative consequence of the interaction between people and their environment. Word Count: 478 Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 35
There are five different areas or themes to think about when you are studying geography, including location, place, region, movement, and human-environment interaction. These five themes were outlined to help geographers describe and explore places around the world, and they help us answer important questions about different places. WHERE IS IT? Location describes where a place is on earth. Absolute location and relative location are the two ways to describe where something is. Absolute location describes precisely where a place is, like an exact dot on a map. Latitude and longitude are often used to describe exactly where a specific place is located. You could easily find the exact location of Florida on a map using latitude and longitude. Relative location describes where a place is in relation to other locations. For example, Florida is located southeast of Georgia and north of the Caribbean islands. WHAT IS IT LIKE? Place describes the human and physical characteristics of a location. It describes what it s like in a location that makes it similar to or different from other locations. Physical characteristics include a location s natural environment, landforms, size, climate, and plant and animal life. Human characteristics include a location s buildings, population, businesses, culture, religion, government systems, and more. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER AREAS? Region describes areas with unifying characteristics. Regions divide the world up into areas that are smaller and easier to describe, and they can be classified by physical or human characteristics. Physical characteristics include plant life or landforms, such as the Sahara Desert. Human characteristics include economic, social, political, and cultural attributes. For example, the Corn Belt is a region that stretches from Indiana to Nebraska where a great deal of corn is produced. HOW ARE PLACES CONNECTED? Movement describes how people, goods, and information came to a certain place. People and goods are always moving from one place to another. Movement focuses on things like immigration, transportation, and shipping, and it also looks at how ideas and information spread and change across the planet. Communication, such as texting or sending a letter, is one example of the movement of ideas and information from one place to another. ENVIRONMENT? Human-environment interaction describes how people have impacted the environment they live in and how they ve adapted to survive in the environment. Humans depend on the environment to provide their basic needs, such as food, shelter, and water. Humans adapt to their environment in order to survive. For example, people who live near bodies of water eat lots of fish, while those who live near the plains likely eat more beef from cattle. Humans change the environment as they interact with it and use the resources they are able to find in their environment. For example, they construct buildings, cut down forests, and add irrigation systems to the land. Pollution is an example of a negative consequence of the interaction between people and their environment. Word Count: 493 Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 36
Location, place, region, movement, and human-environment interaction are the five different areas or themes to think about when you are studying geography. These five themes were outlined to help geographers describe and explore places around the world, and they help us answer important questions about different places. WHERE IS IT? Location describes where a place is on earth, with absolute location and relative location being the two ways to describe where something is. Absolute location describes precisely where a place is, like an exact dot on a map, with latitude and longitude being the terms that are often used to describe exactly where a specific place is located. You could easily find the exact location of Florida on a map using latitude and longitude. Relative location describes where a place is in relation to other locations. For example, Florida is located southeast of Georgia and north of the Caribbean islands. WHAT IS IT LIKE? Place describes the human and physical characteristics of a location, and it also describes what it s like in a location that makes it similar to or different from other locations. Physical characteristics include a location s natural environment, landforms, size, climate, and plant and animal life, and human characteristics include a location s buildings, population, businesses, culture, religion, government systems, and more. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER AREAS? Region describes areas with unifying characteristics. Regions divide the world up into areas that are smaller and easier to describe, and they can be classified by physical or human characteristics. Physical characteristics include plant life or landforms, such as the Sahara Desert, and human characteristics include economic, social, political, and cultural attributes. An example of a region that is classified by human characteristics is the Corn Belt, which is an area of land where a great deal of corn is produced that stretches from Indiana to Nebraska. HOW ARE PLACES CONNECTED? Movement describes how people, goods, and information came to a certain place. People and goods are always moving from one place to another. Movement focuses on things like immigration, transportation, and shipping, and it also looks at how ideas and information spread and change across the planet. Communication, such as texting or sending a letter, is one example of the movement of ideas and information from one place to another. ENVIRONMENT? Human-environment interaction describes how people have impacted the environment they live in and how they ve adapted to survive in the environment. Humans depend on the environment to provide their basic needs, such as food, shelter, and water, and humans adapt to their environment in order to survive. For example, people who live near bodies of water eat lots of fish, while those who live near the plains likely eat more beef from cattle. Humans change the environment as they interact with it and use the resources they are able to find in their environment. For example, people construct buildings, cut down forests, and add irrigation systems to the land. Pollution is an example of a negative consequence of the interaction between people and their environment. Word Count: 516 Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 37
TEXT-BASED EVIDENCE QUESTIONS Name Directions: Answer these questions after you read the passage. Remember to begin your answer by restating part of the question, use direct evidence from the text, and explain your thinking. KEY IDEAS & DETAILS 1. According to the first paragraph of the text, why are there five themes of geography? RI.1 2. Explain the difference between absolute and relative location. RI.3 3. Explain the different ways that regions can be defined. RI.3 4. Describe what the human-environment interaction theme of geography refers to. RI.3 5. List the five themes of geography. RI.2 Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 69
TEXT-BASED EVIDENCE QUESTIONS Name Directions: Answer these questions after you read the passage. Remember to begin your answer by restating part of the question, use direct evidence from the text, and explain your thinking. CRAFT & STRUCTURE 6. Explain the meaning of the theme movement. RI.4 7. How is the passage organized? (Chronological, cause/effect, comparison/contrast, description, problem/solution). Use evidence from the text to explain your answer. RI.5 INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE & IDEAS 8. What is the key idea that the author wants readers to understand from this text? Use evidence from the text to support your reasoning. RI.8 Teaching is the Sweetest Thing 70