1. Five Themes of Geography
Adapted from Guidelines for Geographic Education

2. Location Relative Location is described by:
Landmarks
Time
Direction or distance from one place to another
May associate a particular place with another
Absolute Location is described by:
Latitude and longitude (global location)
Street address (local location)

3. Place
Human Characteristics derived from ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment
Buildings
Roads
Clothing
Food habits
Physical Characteristics
Mountains
Rivers
Soil
Beaches
Wildlife
Image based on experiences
Values
Attitudes
Perceptions

4. Human/Environmental Interaction
Humans adapt to the environment
Humans modify the environment
Humans depend on the environment
Environment is not just trees, spotted owls and rain forests. Environment is also a feeling – what is the environment of a big city vs. a rural town?

5. Movement
People
Goods
Ideas

6. Regions Formal Functional Vernacular
Defined by governmental or administrative boundaries and are not open to dispute (includes physical regions – The Rockies)
Functional
Defined by a function (newspaper service area)
Vernacular
Defined by people’s perception (The South)

7. National Geography Standards
Geography for Life, 1994

8. I. THE WORLD IN SPATIAL TERMS
Geography studies the relationships between people, places, and environments by mapping information about them into a spatial context.  The geographically informed person knows and understands:
How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective
How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context
How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places and environments on Earth's surface

9. II.  PLACES & REGIONS
The identities and lives of individuals and peoples are rooted in particular places and in those human constructs called regions.  The geographically informed person knows and understands:
4. The physical and human characteristics of places.
5.  That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity
6.  How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions

10. III.  PHYSICAL SYSTEMS
Physical processes shape Earth's surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosystems.  The geographically informed person knows and understands:
7.  The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface
8.  The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface

11. IV.  HUMAN SYSTEMS
People are central to geography in that human activities help shape Earth's surface, human settlements and structures are part of Earth's surface, and humans compete for control of Earth's surface.  The geographically informed person knows and understands:
9.   The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface
10. The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics
11.  The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface
Continued on next slide

12. IV.  HUMAN SYSTEMS con’t
12.  The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement
13.  How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface

13. V. ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
The physical environment is modified by human activities, largely as a consequence of the ways in which human activities, largely as a consequence of the ways in which human societies value and use Earth's natural resources, and human activities are also influenced by Earth's physical features and processes. 
14.  How human actions modify the physical environment
15.  How physical systems affect human systems
16.  The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources

14. VI. THE USES OF GEOGRAPHY
Knowledge of geography enables people to develop an understanding of the relationships between people, places, and environments over time - that is, of Earth as it was, is, and might be.   The geographically informed person knows and understands:
17.  How to apply geography to interpret the past
18.  How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

15. Technology and Geography
As with any field or area of study, Geography has expanded with the application of technology.  All areas of Geography benefit from computer technology, however the subfields of Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing and image processing, and cartography are the primary areas where computer technology is utilized.  Geography and technology have moved into K-12 schools. Various computer hardware and software companies, as well as organizations such as the National Geographic Society, have assisted schools in their efforts to integrate geography technology into their programs.

16. Geographic Information System
A GIS is a computer-based system of hardware and software that combines digital map data with descriptive data to perform spatial analysis. A GIS combines the power of database management systems with the graphics of CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) to allow the user to perform "what if" scenarios and to create models.

17. GIS "subjects" include
planning a new residential neighborhood in a city,
monitoring wetlands losses,
citing a restaurant,
helping farmers be more precise with the application of fertilizers or herbicides,
performing emergency management for police or fire departments, and
determining utilities outages in a city.

18. Global Positioning Satellite
One tool used in GIS is the GPS System.  The GPS is a constellation of satellites that use triangulation to pinpoint locations on the surface of the Earth through communication with GPS receivers.  The receivers may be as small as a portable phone or large enough to require a backpack to carry them.  The GPS system allows users to locate themselves, using a geographical coordinate system (i. e. Lat/Longs). GPS systems may be installed in cars, used by hikers and hunters, or used by GIS analyst to input locational information into the computer

19. Using GPS systems, a GIS analyst may:
map trails in a National Forest,
collect the location of fire hydrants,
map the streets of a city,
monitor the migration of caribou, and
map utility systems

20. Remote Sensing
The process of studying an object without being in contact with the object (i. e., from a distance). Geographers perform remote sensing using aerial photography (pictures taken from a camera on board an aircraft) or satellite imagery (images taken from space either from satellites or spacecraft).  Geographers use computers and image processing to draw information from imagery

21. Geographers have used satellite imagery to:
track oil spills in the Persian Gulf,
monitor floods on the Mississippi River,
determine damage or stress in agricultural fields or forests, and
to determine damage extent after hurricanes come ashore

22. Cartography
The art and science of making maps. Cartography is a "science" because it requires observation and knowledge of the Earth's surface, combined with mathematical skills.  Cartography is an "art" because it requires a knowledge of map layout, design, and color techniques.  Historically cartographers drew maps by hand, which is a time-consuming, tedious task.  With the advent of computers, cartographers now are free to concentrate on good design, rather than on their ability to draw or draft.