Five Themes of
Geography
M. Sullivan
7/30/2011
LESSON OBJECTIVE
• Introduce the five themes of geography
• Define and provide examples of each term
• Upon completion of the lesson, students will be able
to:
- accurately describe the five themes of geography.
- provide an example of each theme.
- recite a mnemonic device they will use to recollect the themes
• AZ State Standard
– Strand 4: Geography
– Concept 1: The World in Spatial Terms
– PO5:
Interpret thematic maps, graphs, charts and
databases depicting various aspects of world regions.
LOCATION
• Where are we? Where is it?
• Absolute
– address – 11635 S. 48th Street
– map coordinates - 40º N latitude and 80º
W longitude
• Relative
- next to the mall
– eight miles east of Phoenix
REGION
• Definition:
– An area defined by certain similar characteristics
– Those unifying or similar characteristics can be
physical, natural, human, or cultural
• Examples:
– Countries, states, and cities = political regions
– HAWAII is in the political region of the USA AND
part of the tropical climate region.
MOVEMENT
• Definition:
– The way people, products, information and
ideas move from one place to another
• Examples:
– Local - existence and popularity of delicious
Mexican food in Arizona
– Global - how did humans get to North
America?
PLACE
• Definition:
– The natural and human features that make
one place different from every other place
– “Geographical Signature”
• can identify a place by its landforms, climate,
plants, animals, people, language, culture.
religion
• Examples: the mountains, the wetlands,
the reservation
INTERACTION
• Definition:
– Human-environment interaction looks at the
relationships between people and their
environment;
– How do people depend on the environment?
– How to people adapt to the environment?
– How do people modify the environment?
• Examples:
– In ancient times, the annual flooding of the Nile
River produced good soil for growing crops
– In modern times, Egypt built a dam to control the
flood waters of the Nile River
REINFORCEMENT ACTIVITY
MNEMONIC
• Work in teams of five (5) to develop a
mnemonic to help us remember the first
letter of each of the five themes of
geography:
•
•
•
•
•
L
R
M
P
I
• Document your teams mnemonic and be
prepared to share it with the class in 10
minutes
CLOSURE
• Review lesson objectives
–
–
–
–
Thumbs up/down/sideways
What went well?
What did not go well?
Suggestions for lesson changes?
• Suggest documentation of mnemonic
along with lesson notes