5 Themes of Geography

Chapter 1-1 What is Geography? a science that deals with the description, distribution, and interaction of the diverse physical, biological, and cultural features of the earth's surface

The 5 Themes of Geography Geographers have identified five themes that can be used to examine the role that geography plays in our lives and in world history

5 Themes: P.R.I.L.M.

Place Place refers to those features that give an area its own identity or personality. These can be: –Physical characteristics: landforms, weather, plants, and animals –Human characteristics: language, religion, architecture, music, or politics

This wall separated East Berlin from West Berlin from 1961 to How would the wall affect German’s “sense of place?”

Region A region is an area that is unified by some feature or mix of features. It is used to generalize the Earth in physical or human terms. A cultural region is one that shares a common history, culture, religion or language. Other regions could be economic, or political.

The Middle East is an example of a region unified by a common language.

Human/Environment Interaction Human/Environment Interaction focuses on how people respond to and alter their environment. To live comfortably in many parts of the world, people must make changes to the environment, adapt to conditions or both. How people choose to adapt to their areas depends on their attitudes to the natural setting, and the technology available to change it.

Heavy monsoons flood the streets of India’s capital, New Delhi. How do the monsoons affect the life of people in India?

Location Absolute location refers to the exact location on the globe measured by latitude and longitude. Relative location is less precise. Relative location is where a place is in relation to somewhere else.

Movement (Diffusion) The movement of people, ideas, and things between places means that events in other places of the world can have an impact on you personally Trains, ships, roads, and airplanes link people throughout the world and products and people can be sent around the globe The movement of people is important because it can spread ideas, diseases, and culture from one place to another. Sometimes those ideas are accepted in the new location and the culture is changed

Christian missionaries from America brought the game of baseball to Japan. What other ideas, products, or people have moved from one place to another?

Geography’s Impact on History While studying World History, you will be learning about the people, events and themes that have shaped the past. Keep in mind the themes and how they fashion the world in which we live.