Geography…More Than Meets the Eye!

Geography…More Than Meets the Eye!

The Five Themes of Geography

• Draft a paragraph describing the place you live.

• Identify the following:– Climate, landforms, region, location,

culture, etc. – What makes the place we live unique?

What makes it similar to other places?

• After today, you should know:

• What are the 5 Themes of Geography!– The difference between

Absolute and Relative Location– What characteristics define

place vs. region– Human-Environment

Interaction– Movement

• The five themes of geography are a framework for studying Geography in an organized fashion! – Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction,

Movement, & Region


1. Location: Asks the big

question… Where is it? Why is it

located there? This deals with

maps Tell me how to get

your house..


1. Location: 2 types Absolute Location—to locate a place

using a coordinate system (given in degrees of longitude and latitude) Ex: 300 N and 700 W, or 313 1st Street

Relative Location—to locate a place in relationship to other landmarks or places Ex: “Down the street from my grandma’s

house on the corner with the big elm tree”


2. Place: Asks the big

question… What is it like?

How is it

different from other places?


2. Place: Physical Characteristics—landforms

(mountains, plains), bodies of water (oceans, lakes, rivers) ecosystems (soil, plants, animals, & climate) features that make places different from one another

Human Characteristics—bridges, roads, buildings, culture, language


Examples: Canada, U.S., and Mexico are all in North

America, but politics makes them different places and countries

Economics also make places different—North vs. South Korea

Religion makes a place different—Jerusalem in the Middle East

Can you think of one of your own?


3. Human-Environment Interaction:

Asks the big question… How do people interact with and

change their environment?


3. Human-Environment Interaction:

People depend on the environment People adapt to the environment People modify the environment

• What is the purpose of the 5 Themes of Geography? • Name the first theme of Geography? What question

does it answer? • What is the difference between absolute and relative

location? • What two types of characteristics define the theme or

“Place”? • The theme of “Human-Environment Interaction” deals

with the ways in which people _______________ on, _______________ to, and ____________________ the environment.


4. Movement: Asks the big question…

How are people and places linked by communication and the flow of people, ideas and goods?


4. Movement: Transportation,

communication, trade Patterns of movement

such as migration Ways that ideas are

transferred from one location to another

Trade and Migration change our world


5. Region: Asks the big

question… What are their

unifying features and how do they form and change over time?


5. Region: Areas that share common features

Region is a basic unit for geographic study

Geographers divide the world into regions to help them interpret and understand the world

Regions can be defined on the basis of: physical and human characteristics


Formal Designated by official boundaries, such as cities,

states, counties, and countries.

Functional Defined by their connections (housing plans,

shopping or cultural districts, etc.)

Vernacular Perceived regions, such as "The South," "The

Midwest," or the "Middle East;“ no formal boundaries but are understood in our mental maps of the world.

• Objective: to apply the 5 Themes of Geography to an actual study…Ecuador!

Ecuador Wow!!!

1. Location: Record all responses on worksheet #1

Look at the map of Ecuador and determine the absolute location of Quito, Ecuador

You can also use the textbook, page 204 Which lines of latitude and longitude does

Ecuador fall between?

Next, determine the relative location of Ecuador and then record it on the information worksheet1. Give at least 3 reference points!

90 0 West

0 0 Equator

20 0 South

60 0 West


2. Place: Record all responses on worksheet #2

Look at the story and pictures in “Ecuador WOW!”

List all of the physical features (gifts of nature, including climate) you can identify in the photographs

Next, look for the human features (what makes a place unique—culture) that you can find in the photographs and text, then record them on worksheet 2.

Look at the clothing, buildings, foods, celebrations, and landscape of the region.


3. Human-Environment Interaction: Record all responses on worksheet #3

Look at the story of “Ecuador WOW”?

How people have adapted to, depended on, and modified the environment in Ecuador?

Respond on worksheet 3


4. Movement: Record all responses on worksheet #4

Look at the story of “Ecuador WOW”?

Examine the photographs and read the text in “Ecuador Wow!” to find how goods, ideas, and people move in and out of Ecuador, and record them on worksheet #4


2. Region: Record all responses on worksheet #5

Look back at the information you recorded on Worksheets 1, 2, 3, & 4…

Decide what type(s) of region(s) Ecuador fits into with other countries of South America

The region may be defined as an economic region, geographic region, or one defined by human or physical characteristics.

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Geography…More Than Meets the Eye!

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