History with a Geographical Perspective The Five Themes

Did You Know? Everything is what it is because everything was what it was. Jonathan Safran Foer

Location Absolute location The exact location on a globe. Relative Location Location in relation to another location. Absolute location uses vertical lines of longitude and horizontal lines called latitude to form a grid on the globe. One easy way to remember the difference between the two is to think of the lines running from the poles as the long lines; while the lines running around the middle of the globe are like the rungs of a ladder hence latitude. Lines of longitude meet at the poles. Lines of latitude never touch. Lines of latitude are sometimes called parallels because they never touch. Parallels measure distance north and south of the equator which is designated as 0o latitude. Lines of longitude are sometimes called meridians. Meridians measure distances east and west of the Prime Meridian located in Greenwich, England. The Prime Meridian is designated 0o. Click on the globe in the PowerPoint presentation and enjoy the song. Relative location uses other locations to pinpoint a specific area of interest. For instance, if you were giving directions to the school it would be awkward to give the absolute location, so you might say the school was located just west of the Casino and just east of the Eustace Road. Click on the sign post and watch the creepy movie. (lol) It will explain the difference between the two types of location.

Place Physical Characteristics What does the land look like? Human Characteristics What is the culture of the people? In geography (the study of the earth), place is defined by the human and physical characteristics that give a location its distinct identity. Physical characteristics come from the earth. They include: weather, landforms, vegetation, soil, and animal life. Human characteristics come from people and include: language, religion, clothing, economies, and governments.

Human/Environmental Interaction How do humans adapt themselves to live in a place? How do humans change the environment of a place? If you live in a cold environment, you wear warm clothes, have dark roofs (to absorb heat), and use travel methods adapted to the climate (like skis). If you live in a hot environment, you might paint your house white to reflect the sun and wear clothes that are light and allow the body to breathe. These are all examples of how humans adapt to the environment. Sometimes humans change their environments. For instance, rivers might be diverted to bring water to dry land. Trees might be cut down to clear land for farming. Levies might be built so that people can live below sea level. Whether humans change their behavior or change the physical environment, this theme of geography is very much in the news these days. Click on the woman in the slide to view a short student-produced video.

Movement People Goods/Services Ideas People move for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes people migrate for work or to escape oppression, war, or famine. Goods and services move every day. Take a second to play “TAG”. Look at the tags on your clothes. You may be surprised to see just how far they have come to get to you. Ideas like religion, government, and innovation move too. It used to take years for this to happen; now ideas move with the click of a button via the Internet.

Region Formal Functional Places connected by physical characteristics. Places connected by human characteristics. Functional Places connected by physical characteristics. A formal region is something created by humans; whereas, a functional region is created by nature. A good example would be this. Michigan is formal region created by the government. The Great Lakes are a region created by nature. Click on the city and---the forest in the slide show to see a teacher-created video about California’s regions.