e/2/

Geography What do you already know about Geography? What is geography? The word geography was invented by the ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes – Father of GeographyEratosthenes The word can be divided into two parts - Geo means the earth and graphy refers to writing. It literally means "writing about the earth."

So, Geography= The study of how the Earth affects the way people live and how people’s lives affect the Earth. Let’s look at the 5 essential elements of Geography.

#1 Location This means the World in spatial terms= the SPACE / PLACE where something is located … What continent is it on? What country is it in? Where is your favorite place to vacation or where have you traveled to in the past? yworld.jpg resort.com/images/photos/destin_beach_localpg.jpg

Location: The world is divided into Hemispheres… Northern Hemisphere Southern Hemisphere

Location: Hemispheres Continued Western Hemisphere Eastern Hemisphere

Hemispheres all together…

Location: What is the Latitude? Lines that run from east to west and never end Think… “ Lat is flat ” and Changes in latitude, changes in attitude… Like a ladder… think “latter” Always an equal distance apart The Equator is a very important line of latitude- it divides the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Lines of latitude are also called parallels.

Location: What is the Longitude? Lines from North Pole to South Pole Also called meridians The Prime Meridian is a very important line of Longitude and divides the Western and Eastern Hemisphere.

#2: Place and Region Place refers to the: Physical characteristics  mountain, desert, forest… Climate - hot or cold, wet or dry Animals and plants unique to that place. A region refers to a group of places that have the same things in common.

Let’s think about our vacation spot… What are the physical characteristics of the place? What is different there than here ? clothing, customs, jobs ? Why is “life” like that there? How do the physical features and climate of that place allow those differences to be there? What are the unique plants and animals of that place? Is there a group of places in this area?

#3 Physical system How do physical things effect and shape this place? What kind of catastrophic events affect this place? Example… hurricanes, volcanoes, glaciers What type of plants and animals are here? How do these plants and animals depend on that place?

#4 Human system How have people affected or shaped this place? What boundary lines have humans made? Where do people decide to live and why? What is the movement of people, ideas and goods in that place?

#5 Environment and Society How do people live in the environment of that place? How does the environment shape the people? How do people shape the environment?

So, in a nutshell, Geography gives us an understanding of: relationships among people relationships among places relationships in the environment over time past events preparation for future events. A crucial part of understanding and using Geography involves being able to use a MAP!

What is a map? A map is a flat drawing of a place or part of the world A map looks as if it were drawn from the view of someone sitting in an airplane, this is called an aerial view.

Parts of the map Title – what the map shows (could be Tallassee High School, United States, Eastern Hemisphere, etc. Compass Rose- shows direction North, East, South and West - draw one on your paper in the box… Include North, South, East, West, AND Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest. Legend/ Key- shows the symbols on a map and gives their meaning. Scale– shows how to measure distance on a map