Geography Review Mr. Webster’s Class

Vocabulary calendar – a system for breaking time into units and keeping track of those units chronology – order of dates in which events happen map – a flat drawing of all or part of the Earth’s surface landform – natural feature of the Earth’s land surface elevation – the height of an area above sea level

What is History? Mr. Webster defines history as “a link to the past, and a guide for the future.”

What Do Historians Do? Historians study and write about people and events from the past. They look for causes of events and the effects of those events. We study history so we can understand hat happened in the past. Understanding what happened to others in the past can help us make sense of current events. It can also help us to predict what might happen in the future.

Analyzing Sources Historians use a number of tools to research, or collect information, about their subjects. Historians collect information by using two major types of sources – primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are descriptions or pictures of an event by someone who actually saw or lived through that event. Secondary sources usually come from people who were not present at an event. For instance, your textbook is a secondary source.

Critical Thinking Skills Studying history is about more than reading sources or viewing pictures. Historians use many thinking skills. Historians determine cause and effect, they predict consequences, they distinguish fact from opinion, they draw inferences and conclusions, and they make comparisons.

Geography Geography is the study of the Earth and its people. Two major tools used by geographers are maps and globes. A globe is a round model of the Earth. A map is a flat drawing of all or part of the Earth’s surface. Mapmakers are known as cartographers.

Maps There are many different kinds of maps. Two of the most common general purpose maps are physical maps and political maps. Physical maps show landforms and water features. They also show variances in the Earth’s surface, such as relief and elevation. Political maps show the names and political boundary lines, or borders, of a place. They may also show cities and transportation routes.