5 Themes of Geography

THE 5 THEMES OF

GEOGRAPHY

We will identify the 5 themes of geography

I will be able to describe the 5 themes of

geography using a graphic organizer

Open Ended

Think Pair Share discuss with your group:

What is geography?

THE FIVE THEMES OF

GEOGRAPHY

• Location
• Place
• Region
• Movement
• Human-Environment Interaction

LOCATION
Where we are.

• Absolute Location

– A latitude and longitude

(global location) or a street address (local
location).

– Washington D.C

39 Degrees N
77 Degrees W

– The White House is

located at 1600
Pennsylvania Ave.

• Relative Location

– Described by landmarks,

time, direction or
distance. From one place
to another.

– Washington D.C. is

located on the east coast
of the US.

PLACE

What is it like there, what kind of place is it? Describes place in terms of both physical and human characteristics.

• Human Characteristics

• What are the main languages, customs, and
beliefs.

• How many people live,

work, and visit a place.

• Physical

Characteristics

• Landforms (mountains,

rivers, etc.), climate,
vegitation, wildlife, soil, etc.

REGIONS

• Regions are areas that share some common

characteristics.
– Formal Regions

• Regions defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (States,

Countries, Cities)

• Regions defined by similar characteristics (Corn Belt, Rocky Mountain

region, Chinatown).

– Functional Regions

• Regions defined by a function (newspaper service area, cell phone

coverage area).

MOVEMENT

• Movement is how people, goods, and ideas are

moved from place to place.
– Human Movement

• Trucks, Trains, Planes

– Information Movement

• Phones, computer (email), mail

– Idea Movement

• How do trends move from place to place?

TV, Radio, Magazines

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT

INTERACTION

• How humans and the environment have

affected each other.
– We depend on it.

• People depend on the Tennessee River for water and transportation

– We modify it.

• People modify our environment by heating and cooling buildings for comfort.

– We adapt to it.

• We adapt to the environment by wearing

clothing suitable for summer (shorts) and
winter (coats), rain and shine.

Remembering the 5 themes

• If you can’t remembering what they

are just ask MR. HELP!!!

•M – Movement
•R – Regions
•HE – Human Environment interaction
•L – Location
•P - Place

Multiple Choice

Decide which theme of geography the sentence best fits.

Many Irish immigrants moved to America in the 1800s.

• place

• region

• movement

• location

Multiple Choice

Decide which theme of geography the sentence best fits.

People in Cape Town, South Africa must limit the amount of water they use because water is scarce.

• movement

• human-environment interaction

• place

• location

Multiple Choice

Decide which theme of geography the sentence best fits.

People who live in Brazil speak Portuguese.

• place

• region

• location

• movement

Multiple Choice

Decide which theme of geography the sentence best fits.

Kenya is located along the equator

• movement

• place

• location

• region

Multiple Choice

Decide which theme of geography the sentence best fits.

The absolute location of Jerusalem, Israel is 31.7683° N, 35.2137° E.

• place

• region

• human-environment interaction

• location

Multiple Choice

Decide which theme of geography the sentence best fits.

The religions of Buddhism and Islam spread along the Silk Road.

• location

• movement

• place

• region

Multiple Choice

Decide which theme of geography the sentence best fits.

Texas is located in the American Southwest

• location

• place

• region

• movement

Multiple Choice

Decide which theme of geography the sentence best fits.

Lake Casa Blanca has pollution.

• movement

• region

• location

• human-environment interaction