Chapter 3 Lesson 1 Regions Around You Social studies Chapter 3 Lesson 1 Regions Around You

What are regions A region is an area with at least one feature that makes it different from other areas A region may be large or small, urban, coastal, Spanish-speaking, a desert region or a mining region Regions depend on one another-People in urban regions depend on rural regions for farming and food (resources, products and services)-this is called interdependence

Kinds of Regions Kinds of Regions Political Region-A place where people share a government , every state, city and town is a political region, including the U.S.-people follow laws and share leaders Physical Regions Based on natural features (landforms, rivers, wildlife, natural vegetation, climates) based on nature (trees), DO not have exact borders Economic Regions-Based on the way people in an area use resources to meet their needs

Kinds of Regions Cultural Region-an area where people share a certain way of life (religion, language, main ethnic group that live there) An ethnic group is made up of people from the same country or who have a shared way of life What are the four main types of regions-physical, cultural, political, economic

Regions Change Regions change and connect-Regions change over time (natural events, or people modify them) Political regions-an example of change is going from 13 to 50 states Physical regions- an example of change is when people changed the flow of rivers, cleared trees, agricultural regions changed to manufacturing regions, cultural regions changed to urban regions

People Connect Regions Streets, highways, airports and railroads link/connect regions, this allows people to travel and trade ideas. Technology helps connect regions, it makes communication all over the world possible Communication- the way people send and receive information (cell phone, fax, computers, TV and radio)

Lesson 2 United States Regions The Northeast The Southeast The Midwest The Southwest The West

Regions Within a State Counties Cities Each state is a political region, most call them counties, parishes, or boroughs County seat-The town or city that is the center of a county’s government, they make their own laws, have their own government and police Cities are a political region, each city sets up its own municipal/city government The mayor leads the executive branch of the city government

Government Services There are three levels of government: federal, state and local Each level collects taxes to provide services for people Federal Government Services: Oversee the postal services, it represents all American’s, makes treaties/agreements (wars, trading, information) State Government Services: Roads and parks, public schools, colleges, provide food, healthcare and basic needs for those who are economically disadvantaged

Neighboring Countries Local Government Services: Build and repair streets, police and fire, libraries, public schools, local elections Neighboring Countries-Canada is the largest political region, Mexico is made up of states Mexico has a varied geography The Rio Grande makes up much of the border between the US and Mexico Central America and The Caribbean Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and Greenland are North American neighbors of the US