5 Themes of
Geography
What is geography?

The study of humans interacting with
their environment
Physical Environment
 Built Environment
 Social Environment


5 different categories or themes
 Location
 Place
 Movement
 Human Environment Interaction
 Region
Location


Everything on earth
has a location
Absolute location:
Specific! Defined by
latitude and longitude
◦ Logan is located at 41
degrees North Latitude
and 111 degrees West
Longitude

Relative Location:
described by
landmarks, directions,
distance from one
place or another
◦ “I live next to the
hospital”
Let’s Practice!
Turn to your neighbor and explain
absolute location. Give an example
 Turn to a different neighbor and explain
relative location. Give an example

Place
Every Place on earth
has characteristics
that make it different
from another place
 Physical Place:
Mountains, rivers,
lakes, soil, animals
 Human Place: ideas,
clothing religion, food
habits, buildings

Let’s Practice!
Think about places you have visited or
lived before. How did that place look
different from where you live now?
 Describe that “place” to a neighbor. Tell
them if you are talking about physical
place or human place

Human Environment Interaction
Humans and the environment effect each
other
 People change the environment
 People adapt to the environment
 People depend on the environment

Let’s Practice!
Think about your summer vacation. What
are at least 2 ways that you interacted
with your environment.
 Share your thoughts with a neighbor

Movement
People, goods, and ideas move
 Movement shapes our world
 Movement allows for interaction between
people

Let’s Practice!
How did you use movement today?
 How might the movement of ideas change
a city or country?
 Share your thoughts with your neighbor

Region

An area that displays similarities
◦ Most areas are LARGE

Physical similarities or human similarities
◦ Government, language, desert, frozen tundra

Formal Regions
◦ Defined by boundaries or measurable similarities
◦ United States, Amazon River Basin

Functional Regions
◦ Area that has a function
◦ Shopping region, Farming region
Region
Let’s Practice!



Look at the 1st picture.
What similarity makes
this a region?
Look at the 2nd picture.
Is this an example of a
formal region or a
functional region?
Explain your answer.
Look at the 3rd picture.
Is this an example of a
formal region or a
functional region?
Explain your answer.