The Five Themes of Geography Our Lens of Study this Term

Location : Position on Earth’s Surface This geographic theme answers the question: Where is it?

Location : Position on Earth’s Surface Absolute Location: The exact position of something on Earth’s surface, identified by using a grid system of latitude and longitude Relative Location: Relative location is the relationship of one place to other places – how near or far they are to each other.

Place: Physical and Human Characteristics Physical Characteristics come from geographical, hydrological, atmospheric, and biological processes. They include: landforms, bodies of water, climate, soils, natural vegetation, and animal life. They form the natural environment. Human Characteristics come from human ideas and actions that result in changes to the environment. They include: buildings, farms, and other human environments that people create. This geographic theme answers the question: What’s it like there?

Human/Environment Interactions: Shaping the Landscape This theme addresses the question: What is the relationship between humans and the environment? Humans depend on the environment. Humans modify the environment. Humans adapt to the environment.

Movement: Humans Interacting on the Earth This theme addresses the question of: How and why are places related to one another? Movement of People: People travel –moving from one place to another. Movement of Goods: People rely on goods that come from beyond their own environment. Movement of Ideas: People communicate with each other

Regions: How they Form and Change The study of regions helps us answer the question: How and why is one area similar to another? There are three steps to determining a region: Selecting geographic facts as criteria Mapping distribution of those criteria Making boundary decisions