Do Now: Five Themes List the five themes of geography (without looking!) What is the purpose of these themes?

What is geography? The study of people, the environment, and their resources

THE FIVE THEMES To understand how our world is connected, some geographers have divided the study of geography into 5 themes: Location Place Human-Environment Interaction Movement Region

L-P-H-M-R Can you think of a mnemonic device?

1. Location Absolute location is measured in degrees latitude and longitude Ex: The absolute location of St. Louis, MO is 38°43' North 90°14' West Relative location depends upon a point of reference Ex: The relative location of St. Louis, MO is eastern Missouri along the Mississippi River southeast of St. Charles

2. Place A. Place is described in terms of physical and human features 1. physical includes climate, soil, plant life, animal life, and bodies of water (made by nature) 2. human means kinds of houses, language, and transportation (made by man)

Place Activity Describe a place to the person sitting next to you without naming it. Can you identify the place from the description alone?

3. Human-Environment Interaction A. Interaction between people and their environment. Humans: Adapt to the environment. Modify the environment. Depend on the environment.

Activity

4. Movement Movement of people, goods, and ideas

Activity Find the origin of manufacture of as many items as you can on your body or in your supplies. Examples: shirt, sneakers, jewelry, backpack, folders, pens pencils, and anything else you can find out the origin of manufacture. Make a mental list of the item and where it was made.

5. Region A region is an area of the world that has similar, unifying characteristics. The characteristics may be physical, human, or cultural. Language, climate, religion Regions can change over time (i.e., natural disasters, war) Types of Regions 1. Formal: defined by governmental or administrative borders (United States) 2. Functional: defined by function (newspaper service area) 3. Vernacular regions: defined by people’s perceptions (the South)

Activity What region do we live in? What type of region is it? What are its characteristics? What states do you define as the South? The Northeast? The Bible Belt? What characteristics and perceptions go along with these regions?

Five Themes of Geography Video