Why do we have to learn about geography??? Geography

Why do we study geography? Geography is the study of the Earth and the distribution of all life on Earth. When you learn about geography, you examine how people interact with the places they live. Geography is also about physical properties of the Earth, and the environment. We all live on Earth, so we have a responsibility to learn about it, how it works, and how we can help to take care of it.

Why do we study geography? Geography also plays a major role in your everyday life. Do you walk to school? Knowing how to get from one place to another is geography. Do you live in a warm or cold place? Understanding the climate is also part of geography. What about the news? Have you heard any news stories about places and not known where they were? Humans have strong connections to places.

Why do we study geography? Understanding these connections helps us make sense of the world and events in the news. Did you know that most wars are fought over control of land? When you know where other people and places are on the earth, you are taking the first step in educating yourself about the world and your role in it.

Geography Themes There are Five Themes of Geography: One theme can not be fully understood without the other. Location: Where is it located? Place: What is it like there? Movement: How and why are places connected? Human/Environment Interaction: What is the relationship between the people and the environment? Region: What unites a place together?

Five Themes of Geography are all interconnected. One theme can not be fully understood without the other.

Location Location can be described in two ways - absolute and relative locations? Absolute location is an exact location using a coordinate system. Example: Rutherford Elementary is located at 301 Southland Blvd. Louisville, Kentucky. Relative location is a location in relation to other places or landmarks. Example: Rutherford Elementary is located across the street from the Iroquois Shopping center (next to ValueMarket).

Location * What would it be like to live here? * Do you think if this is a desirable place to visit? * Would you like to move to this location? * What more do you need to know about this location before you decide to move here? Have you ever moved? What did you want to know about your new location before you moved? What was it’s absolute location? Relative location?

place

Location + (human & physical) characteristics = Place What do you think of when you envision the Grand Canyon? Niagara Falls? New York City? Paris, France? Think of a location in our community. What comes to your mind when you think of this location? What characteristics make this location a “place”?

Human / Environment interaction

Human/Environment Interaction – the ways people respond to and modify the natural environment. How did the landscape change? How has the “natural” settings of the river and park been changed? How does the location of the shopping mall affect the development of the surrounding area? How might the presence of farms affect the use of the land and the river?

Human/Environment Interaction – the ways people respond to and modify the natural environment. Think about our community. What if Iroquois Manner shopping center were to close down? What if a mall was built there instead? What if a factory was built there? How would that change our environment? What are the positive effects of building the mall or factory? What about the negative?

Human/Environment Interaction – the ways people respond to and modify the natural environment. Think some more about our community. How did our community adapt or change the surroundings to meet their needs? Iroquois Park Restaurants all in one main location ValueMarket items/Vietnamese grocery stores What else???

movement

Movement – transportation/communication that link people in one location to those in another. How do you think the presence of railroads and airports affect the movement of people and goods into and out of this region? How do the satellite dish and radio tower add to the movement of ideas? Why is this movement important? What forms of movement are found here in our community? How would our lives’ be different if we were without one of them?

What’s the movement here? This has no meaning. Why?

Region – an area of earth that has one or more common factors found throughout it. Regions can be a variety of things that include: Language or government (ie. Spanish-speaking region) Physical features (ie. Climate, mountains, desert region) Vegetation (ie. redwood forest) Regions can be large or small. They can overlap! What does that mean???

Region – an area of earth that has one or more common factors found throughout it. Help me identify the residential, industrial, and commercial regions. What are the regions here in the classroom? Is there a reading region? Computer region? Mailbox region? Residential region? Where does one region begin and another end?

Location

place

Human / Environment interaction

movement

Geographic Features Geographic features are pretty much anything that would show up on a map. Natural geographic features may include rivers, lakes, and mountains. Man-made or artificial geographic features would include cities, roads, dams, and more.