Study Guide
Geography
Standards:
SS3G1 The student will locate major topographical features.
a. Identify major rivers of the United States of America: Mississippi, Ohio, Rio Grande,
Colorado, Hudson.
b. Identify major mountain ranges of the United States of America: Appalachian, Rocky.
c. Locate the Equator, Prime Meridian, and lines of latitude and longitude on a globe.
d. Locate Greece on a world map.
SS3G2 The student will describe the cultural and geographic systems associated with the
historical figures in SS3H2a.
a. Identify on a political map specific locations significant to the life and times of these
historical figures.
b. Describe how place (physical and human characteristics) had an impact on the lives of these
historical figures.
c. Describe how each of these historical figures adapted to and was influenced by his/her
environment.
d. Trace examples of travel and movement of these historical figures and their ideas across
time.
e. Describe how the regions in which these historical figures lived affected their lives and had
an impact on their cultural identification.
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
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Locate the major rivers of the U.S.A on a map (see above).
Locate the major mountain ranges of the U.S.A. on a map (see above).
Locate the equator, the prime meridian, and lines of latitude and longitude on a globe.
Locate a country given lines of latitude and longitude on a globe.
Locate Greece on a world map.
Match the concepts related to the 5 Themes of geography to example of each.
Describe how these themes influenced the lives of specific Americans (Paul Revere).
Vocabularygeography – the study of people, places and the earth.
landform – a shape or feature of the earth’s surface.
Vocabulary continued –
latitude – lines that cross the globe from east to west.
longitude – lines that cross the globe from north to south.
Prime Meridian – a line of longitude that passes through Greenwich, England.
Equator – a lone of latitude that circles the globe exactly halfway between the North and
South poles.
coast – the land next to the ocean.
Appalachian Mountains – a mountain range west of the Atlantic Coastal Plain that stretches up
the eastern United States from Georgia to Main.
Colorado River – a river in the United States that flows through the Rocky Mountains and
carved much of the Grand Canyon.
Hudson River – A river in the United States that flows through the state of New York to the
Atlantic Ocean.
Mississippi River – a large river in the United States that beings in northern Minnesota and
flows to the Gulf of Mexico.
Ohio River – a river in the United States that flow from Pennsylvania to the Mississippi River.
Rocky Mountains – a mountain region in the western United States.
Rio Grande – a river in the United states that forms part of the border between Texas and
Mexico.
Use this map to locate
the following:
Appalachian Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Hudson River
Ohio River
Mississippi River
Rio Grande River
Colorado River
The Mediterranean country of Greece has influenced our country in many ways, particularly
related to our democratic form of government. The map below shows where Greece is located.
The 5 Themes of Geography
Location
Place
Where is it?
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Absolute: A location can be
absolute (specific) as in
coordinates of a map using
longitude and latitude
Relative: A location can be
relative - examples: next door,
nearby, a short drive, down the
road a ways. Or, it can be in the
same general location as another
location - example: next to the
post office.
Movement
Movement refers to the way people,
products, information and ideas move
from one place to another. This can be
local such as how did you get to school
today, or it can be global such as how did
humans get to North America?
A place is an area that is defined by
everything in it. All places have
features that give them personality and
distinguish them from other places.
Human/Environment Interaction
Human-environment interaction looks at the
relationships between people and their
environment; how people adapt to the
environment and how they change it.
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If you refer to your school as a place,
then that place would include walls,
windows, gym, cafeteria, classrooms,
people, clothing, books, maps, mops,
brooms, hallways, mice (if you have
them) and everything else in the
school, including the languages
spoken.
Region
A region is an area that is defined by
certain similar characteristics. Those
unifying or similar characteristics can
be physical, natural, human, or
cultural.
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How do people depend on the
environment? (Example: In
ancient times, the annual flooding
of the Nile River produced good
soil for growing crops.)
How to people adapt to the
environment? (Example: The
ancient Egyptians rebuilt their
homes each year, after the annual
flooding. As time went on, they
built their homes above the flood
plain.)
How do people modify the
environment? (Example: The
ancient Egyptians built irrigation
ditches to help water the crops. In
modern times, Egypt built a dam to
control the flood waters of the Nile
River.)
Suggested Websites:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
http://www.kbears.com/geography.html
http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/My-Top-Geography-Websites.html