Geography
Mr. Davis
Social Studies – 8
Journal Entry 1:
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Consider the following questions and write at
least a paragraph response using complete
sentences. Please turn your finished responses
on the small desk next to the phone.__________
Why do people live where they live?
What physical features do you see in the
landscape around where we live?
How do natural resources play a role in where
people settle and live?
Why do you think we need to understand
GEOGRAPHY in order to understand HISTORY?
I Can…
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Use geographic tools to explain
patterns and locations on the Earth.
These tools include: maps,
photographs, charts, graphs, and
computers. (SS-08.4.1.1)
I Can…
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Explain how
physical features
cause people to
live where they
do.
These include
rivers,
mountains, and
sea coasts. (SS08.4.3.1)
I Can…
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Describe factors that
PUSH people to move.
(Negative causes)
Describe PULL factors
that cause people to
move. (Positive
causes) (SS-08.4.3.2)
Describe how humans
changed their
environment to meet
their needs. (SS08.4.2.1)
I Can…
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Describe how
places change
using technology,
resources, and new
knowledge. (SS08.4.2.2)
Describe how
resources found in
a region cause it to
change.
Five Themes of Geography:
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There are five themes
of geography we study
in order to make
connections to the
world and how we
interact with it:
Location
Place
Movement
Region
Human-Environmental
Interaction
Location
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Location refers to
WHERE
something is on
Earth.
There are two
types of location:
Absolute location
Relative location
Absolute Location
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ABSOLUTE LOCATION uses
lines of LATITUDE and
LONGITUDE to determine
an exact point on the Earth.
ANY LOCATION ON EARTH
can be located using these
grid lines of latitude and
longitude.
Bowling Green, KY is
located at about 37 degrees
NORTH, and 86 degrees
WEST.
When writing out
coordinates of a location,
the LATITUDE ALWAYS goes
first (North or South
measurement).
Absolute Location
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The EQUATOR is
located at 0
degrees latitude
around the center
of the Earth.
The PRIME
MERIDIAN is at 0
degrees longitude
and runs through
the observatory at
Greenwich,
England.
Absolute Location
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The EQUATOR
divides the Earth
into the Northern
and Southern
hemispheres.
The PRIME
MERIDIAN divides
the Earth into the
Eastern and
Western
hemispheres.
PRACTICE!
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Complete the map activity in your
Study Guide.
Locate the cities on the map and tell
in which hemispheres these cities are
located.
Use the map to find the approximate
ABSOLUTE LOCATIONS of the cities
listed. Make your best guess, and
remember to put LATITUDE first!
Relative Location
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Relative location refers
to a location in
reference to another
location.
For example: Target is
located between
Wal*Mart and Lowe’s.
BG is located between
Louisville and
Nashville.
WEMS is located next
to WEHS and across
from Hardee’s.
Place
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PLACE refers to characteristics that make
one place different from others. Consider
these questions when thinking about
PLACE:
What is this place like?
How does it compare with other places?
What physical and human characteristics
make this place different?
Place: New York City
Place: Iowa
Place: Tahiti
Place: Beijing, China
Place: Timbuktu
Movement
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MOVEMENT
refers to the
moving of
people, products,
forces, or ideas
and how they
define a place.
Journal Entry #2
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How has MOVEMENT as a theme of
geography contributed to the growth
of the United States?
Think about what kind of movement
you have seen in your own lifetime—
of people, ideas, products, etc.
moving into, out of, and within the
country.
Region
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REGION refers to similarities in a
group of locations that bond them
together due to common
characteristics.
In other words, a REGION is a group
of locations with a lot of different
physical and cultural characteristics
in common.
Some Political Regions of the U.S.
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GREEN =
Pacific/West Coast
ORANGE = Rocky
Mountains
PEACH =
Southwest
PINK = Great
Plains
LIGHT PURPLE =
Great Lakes
DARK PURPLE =
Southeast
BLUE = MidAtlantic
TEAL = New
England
U.S. Climate Regions
Human-Environmental Interaction
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H-E Interaction
refers to the ways
in which people
modified the
environment for
their own benefit.
Farming, irrigation,
urban sprawl,
transportation,
mining, oil drilling…
Journal Entry #3:
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How do people modify/change the
environment near where we live?
Are there positive or negative effects
to these actions?
Mnemonic Device
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A mnemonic device is a fancy way of
coming up with a code to remember
something. Some mnemonic devices are:
George Eats Old Gray Rats And Paints
Houses Yellow (spells geography)
My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us
Nachos (planets of the solar system)
Even George Bush Drives Fast (bars on a
treble clef in music)
Create a Mnemonic Device for the
5 Themes of Geography
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Location
Place
Movement
Region
Human-Environmental Interaction
Five Themes Foldable
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Folding into Fifths
(fold on the lines provided)
Fold a sheet of paper in 2/3 horizontally
(hotdog, leaving a tab at the bottom).
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2. Fold the paper so that one-third of the hot
dog is exposed and two-thirds is covered.
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3. Fold the two-thirds section in half.
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4. Fold the one-third section (single thickness)
backward to form a fold line.
The paper will be divided into fifths when
opened.
Five Themes Foldable
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Now, you’ll use a pair of scissors to cut the
folds into five equal sections.
On the tab at the bottom of the foldable,
write: The Five Themes of Geography
On the outside of each tab, write the 5
themes.
Under each tab, write the definition of the
theme. In the white space beneath the
tab, draw a picture illustrating that theme.
When you open the tab, you should find
the definition of the theme written on the
inside along with your picture.
Push & Pull Factors
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Ford River Rouge Plant-Detroit,
Michigan. The largest automotive
factory in the world when it was
built.
Ford Rouge Plant Today 2010
PUSH factors
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PUSH people away from a particular area.
These PUSH factors may include:
War
Famine (Hunger)
Disease
Persecution (being treated badly for one’s
beliefs, ethnic background, or way of life)
Over-population
Lack of opportunity
PULL Factors
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PULL factors attract people to move
to another area. These factors may
include:
A better economy
Opportunities
Freedom
Family
Let’s look at some push and pull
factors:
New Orleans, LA – Hurricane
Katrina
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August 29, 2005 – Hurricane Katrina,
A category 5 storm hits New Orleans.
Darfur, Sudan
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2000s: Ethnic cleansing and genocide sponsored
by the Sudanese government forces millions into
the isolated region of Darfur.
Arizona, 2010
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Arizona governor Jan Brewer passes tough
immigration law allowing police to turn over
anyone suspected of being an illegal resident
over to Immigration Services if they cannot prove
they are in the state legally.