F IVE T HEMES OF G EOGRAPHY

BELLWORK Please take out your composition notebooks. You remembered them, right? I’m going to come around and initial them. You get points for having it on time!

BELLWORK Discuss with your neighbor: How have people changed the world? Write down three examples on your whiteboard.

L OCATION Geographic location refers to a specific point or area on the Earth’s surface Relative Location: location described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another and may associate a particular place with another. Absolute Location: location is latitude and longitude coordinates (global location) or a street address (local)

P LACE Geographic place often has an ambiguous boundary relying more on human/social attributes Human Characteristics: these characteristics are derived from the ideas and action of people that result in change s to the environment, such as buildings, roads, clothing and food habits Physical Characteristics: these characteristics include mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife (natural)

H UMAN -E NVIRONMENTAL I NTERACTIONS How humans adapt to the environment around them. Think Alaska vs Hawaii. Humans Adapt to the Environment: humans wear clothing that is suitable for varied weather summer and winter; rain and shine, etc. Humans Modify the Environment: humans heat and cool buildings for comfort Humans Depend on the Environment: depend on environment for water, food, etc.

M OVEMENT People move a lot! People: Humans occupy places unevenly on Earth because of environment, but we’re also social beings. We interact with each other through travel, trade, information flow and political events. Goods: imports and exports and mass communication have shaped the world Ideas: fashions and fads, technology

R EGIONS Region divides the world into manageable units for geographic study. Regions have some sort of characteristic that unifies the area. Formal: those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (i.e. USA, Phoenix, Arizona) Functional: those defined by function (i.e. school districts) Vernacular: those loosely defined by people’s perception (i.e. The Southwest, The Middle East, Sunbelt, Bible Belt)