The Five Themes of Geography By Mr. Worm

In a tiny Native American fishing village, a small group gathered around a man who began to draw in the sand. They watched closely as Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer, drew a sweeping line on the ground. The line represented the coastline where they stood. The local chief drew additional lines. A young man added piles of rocks to represent the village and nearby settlements. When they were done, they had an informal map of the local area. Champlain and the Native Americans he met on Cape Ann in Massachusetts in the 1600s did not speak the same language. Yet, they both understood the basic language of geography. Why Geography is important

Location

Describes where places are on earth. Types of Location: –ABSOLUTE: exact location on earth (fixed) Doesn’t change –Latitude/Longitude –Hemispheres –Grid System – Address –RELATIVE: compared to other places (variable) Changes dependent upon where you’re comparing it to. –Miles –Distance –Direction

Let’s Study Our Location! 1. What is Sandy’s absolute location (Longitude and Latitude)? 2.What is Union Middle School’s relative location to the South Towne Mall in Sandy?

Place

PLACE Physical Differences and Human Differences Physical differences, or characteristics, include things that occur naturally, such as mountains, rivers, type of soil, wildlife, climate etc. Human differences, or characteristics, are things that have changed due to people, such as roads and buildings, how people live and their traditions

Drawing your Place On your paper, draw Utah and fill it in with symbols which represent your state and what makes your state unique.

Place in early America History

Human- Environment Interaction

The relationship between people and their environment. –Adaptation is how people change (clothing and housing) because of the environment –Modification is how the environment has been changed by people. –Dependence is how people depend on the environment.

Within your group brainstorm about how humans have changed and altered the environment around them. Come up with three positive human impacts and three negative human impacts. Everyone in the group needs to be participating and be able to answer questions if called upon

Region

“A region is the basic unit of study in geography. A region is an area that displays a coherent unity in terms of the government, language, or possibly the landform or situation. Regions are human constructs that can be mapped and analyzed.” The 5 Themes of Geography, by Lisa Keys-Matthews, retrieved June 16,

There are three basic types of regions. Formal regions are those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (i. e., United States, Salt Lake City, Canyons School District). These regional boundaries are not open to dispute, therefore physical regions fall under this category (i. e., The Rockies, the Great Lakes States). Functional regions are those defined by a function (i. e., Delta Airlines Service area or a newspaper service area, Real Salt Lake). If the function ceases to exists, the region no longer exists. Vernacular regions are those loosely defined by people's perception (i. e., The South, The West). The 5 Themes of Geography, by Lisa Keys-Matthews, retrieved June 16,

What region do we live in? Formal Functional Perceptual What are the characteristics or this region?

Region Questions How do you think people in the united states characterize your region (Utah)? What region do we live in? What type of region is it? What are its characteristics? What states do you define as the West? Great Basin? Rocky Mountain?

Movement

How do people, goods, and ideas move? Movement includes the movement of people, goods, and communications (the movement of ideas). How has this changed in the last two hundred years?

Examples

Review

Question 1 The Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn are both located 23.5 degrees north and south of the equator. What are they an example of Longitude or latitude ?

Question 2 Native Americans were among the first civilizations to farm. Before they farmed they had to move from place to place in order to get food. Their ability to adapt to their environment is an example of which of the five themes of geography? A)Place B)Interaction C)Movement D)Region E)Location

Question 3 Which of the following is not an example of region? A)The Great Lakes States B)The Soda-pop states C)The California state D)The New England states

Question 4 Which of the following devices does not give you absolute location? A)Cell phone B)GPS C)Car D)Ipod

Question 5 When they landed on American soil, European explorers, like Columbus, brought with them slaves, small-pox, and horses. This is known as the Columbian exchange and is an example of what? A)Place B)Interaction C)Movement D)Region E)Location

Question 6 As you study this year you will need to think geographically. For practice, let us see how population trends throughout the history of the United States relate to the five themes of geography. When the United States won its independence in 1783, it was made up of 13 states located on the Atlantic coast (_________). The majority of the population lived along the coast or near rivers ( ________), where water transportation was easy (________). The Appalachian Mountains and other geographic features limited westward movement (_______). In 1790, the nation’s center of population was located in Maryland.

Question 7 Which geographic theme would be most concerned with trade among nations? A)Place B)Interaction C)Movement D)Region E)Location

Unscramble each of the clue words. Copy the letters in the numbered cells to other cells with the same number.