1. The 5 Themes of Geography

2. Location: WHERE something IS
There are two different ways to tell someone where something is: one is accurate & one is vague but useful in daily life.
1. ABSOLUTE location.
DEFINITION: This is using exact coordinates
EXAMPLES:
when you play Battleship you are using absolute location… C3 (or when you play BINGO…B-12)
My house is at 241 5th Street.
The high school is at 42` N, 92` W
RELATIVE location.
DEFINITION: This is describing a where a location is in comparison with things around it.
My battleship is in the corner of the board.
My house is near the fairgrounds.
The high school is up the hill from the middle school.
The playground is east of our school.
Notice that you have no idea what the school or my house or the playground is like, because this is LOCATION, not PLACE.

3. Place: WHAT something is LIKE
DEFINITION: Words that give you information about what a place is like or what it is used for.
EXAMPLES:
The pool is about the size of a basketball court.
The pool is below the ground.
The pool is filled with clear water.
The pool has a white concrete floor.
The pool is used for swimming.
Notice that you have no idea where this pool is – because this is PLACE, not LOCATION.

4. Movement: WHAT MOVES THROUGH the Location
DEFINITION: the movement of people, animals, goods, vehicles, ideas, and information through a location.
EXAMPLES:
Students in 7th and 8th grade pass through Mrs. Wente’s classroom every day
Electricity flows through the wires and cables in Mrs. Wente’s room.
Mrs. Wente shares information with students each day.
Students share ideas on group projects.
Sunlight shines through the windows during the daytime in her classroom.

5. Human-Environment Interaction: How PEOPLE affect the EARTH, and How the EARTH affects PEOPLE
DEFINITION: how humans have changed planet Earth, and also how planet Earth changes people’s behaviors.
EXAMPLES:
Humans knock down forests to build a shopping mall
Humans drive polluting vehicles that change the air quality and climate
Humans plowed up prairie and farm it
A desert is too dry, so few humans live there.
A volcano erupts, killing local villagers
It gets cold during winter, so people put on coats.

6. Region: What places have in COMMON
DEFINITION: a group of places or locations that have something in common
EXAMPLES:
The Southern Hemisphere is a region because all locations in the Southern Hemisphere are south of the equator—they have that in common.
The Midwest is a region because there are certain jobs, values, climate, and customs that we have in common.
The Waverly-Shell Rock school district is a region because everyone who lives in it is supposed to go to school at WS-R.

7. Absolute Location Relative Location Place Human-Environment
Birds migrate through it
It’s near the Mississippi River
Place
Human-Environment
Interaction
Hot, swampy, filled with mosquitos
Lots of Mosquitos, have to put on bugspray
Movement
It’s in the American Southeast
Region
It’s at 412 River Road, Pleasant Valley, Alabama