World History/ Geo
st
August 31 , 2015
Warm Up:
What is geography?
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes
Geography
 Webster’s definition: a science that deals with the
description, distribution, and interaction of the diverse
physical, biological, and cultural features of the earth's
surface
 Our definition: The study of Earth’s physical features and
the human activity affected and affecting it
Geography is the study of the
Earth and everything on it
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes
The 5 Themes of Geography
Location: Where is it located?
Place: What's it like there?
Human/Environment Interaction: What is the relationship
between humans and their environment
 Movement: How and why are places connected with
one another?
 Regions: How and why is one area similar to another?
Location: Position on Earth's Surface
 Absolute Location- Exact position on the Earth
 Coordinates, latitude and longitude, street address
 Example: New York is located at 40o North, 73o West
 Relative Location- The relationship of a place to other
places
 Used to describe a places general location- could not be used to
pin-point an exact location
 Example: New York is South of Connecticut
**********Discussion Break**********
Write your answers in your notes:
 What is your absolute location right now?
 What is your relative location and the relationship of your location to other
locations?
 When would be an appropriate time to use absolute location? Relative
location?
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes
Place: The characteristics that make one
place different from all other places on Earth.
Physical Characteristics
A location’s natural environment
 Including land forms, bodies of water, climate, soils,
natural vegetation, and animal life.
Human Characteristics
things that have changed due to people, such as
roads and buildings, how people live and their
traditions.
 Includes bridges houses, and parks.
Also includes land use, density of population,
language patterns, religion, architecture, and
political systems
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes
Stop - Collaborate - Listen
In your notes, describe Colorado/Colorado
Springs in terms of place
Turn to your neighbor and discuss your answers
Does anyone have any awesome ideas to
share?
Human/Environment Interaction:
Shaping the Landscape
 Humans depend on the environment: Humans depend on the natural
environment for their basic needs; food, shelter, and clothing.
 Humans modify the environment: People modify the natural
environment to meet their needs.
 Example: they build dams, plow and irrigate fields, and dig mines. They build
houses, schools, and shopping centers on land.
 Humans adapt to the environment: Humans have settled in virtually
every corner of the world by successfully adapting to various natural
settings.
 The ways people choose to adapt to their settings reflect their economic and
political circumstances and their technological abilities.
 Example: people who live in the northeastern United States use heating units to
keep their homes warm in winter. People in the southern part of the country use air
conditioning much of the year to stay cool in the heat.
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes
Movement:
Humans Interacting on the Earth
Relationships between people in different
places are shaped by the constant movement
of people, ideas, materials, and physical systems
such as wind.
Example: migration, immigration, transportation
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes
Regions: an area that has unifying characteristics
 Some regions are distinguished by physical characteristics.
 Physical characteristics include land forms, climate, soil, and natural vegetation.
 For example, the peaks and valleys of the Rocky Mountains form a physical
region.
 Some regions are distinguished by human characteristics.
 These may include economic, social, political, and cultural
characteristics.
 Example: The highly urbanized Northeast Corridor between
Boston and Washington, D.C. can be considered a human region.
 Other regions are combinations of physical and human characteristics
 Example: the South, Scandinavia, and the Midwest.
 Boundaries between regions can be vague.
 Regions are generally thought of as large areas, such as the Corn Belt in
the Midwestern United States or sub-Saharan Africa.
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes
Colorado Map
Create a map of Colorado using the five
themes of geography
Describe your map and/or use detail to depict
each theme
Use your entire piece of paper
You may use an atlas if needed
Your map should include detail and color
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes
Exit:
Which theme of geography do you think is
the most important? Why?
Today’s Objective: Students will define geography and understand its five themes