Five Themes of Geography

EDU 507/GEOS 507

S. KAY GANDY, 2010 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Development of Five Themes

Guidelines for Geographic Education: Elementary

and Secondary Schools (Joint Committee on Geographic Education, 1984) Content and skills framework for K-12 geography structured around five fundamental themes Map of Five Themes (National Geographic Society, 1986)

Five Themes of Geography

MR. HELP Movement Regions Human/Environment Relations Location Place

Movement: Humans Interacting on the Earth

* How did people, products, and ideas get from one place to another? * Why do they make these movements?

There is a McDonald's in Russia, we have a television made in Japan, and we receive an e-mail from Turkey.

Teaching Strategies--Movement
Graph products that come from different parts of the

world Classify ways a community depends on transportation and communication Research origin of words and expressions Examine immigration patterns

Regions: How They Form and Change

* How is this place like other places? * What features set this place apart from other places?
Areas of the Earth that are alike in physical, cultural or geographical ways.

Teaching Strategies--Regions
Use maps to classify urban and rural regions Identify regions in classrooms and school buildings Compare maps of different landform, vegetation, or

climate regions Compare maps of different occupation, religion, or ethnic regions

Relationships Within Places:

Humans and Environments

* How are people's lives shaped by the place? * How has the place been shaped by people? We build bridges, manipulate water, and establish towns.

Teaching Strategies Human/Environment Interactions

Relate agricultural patterns to climate patterns Examine effects of natural disasters on peoples lives Evaluate ways that constructed environment affects

physical environment of a place

Location: Position on the Earths Surface

*

Where is a place located?

* What is it near? * What direction is it from another place? * Why are certain features or places located where they are? Louisiana is in the
northern hemisphere. New Orleans is 30 degrees N and 90 degrees W.

Teaching Strategies--Location
Use alphanumeric grids on maps to identify location Observe locations of major cities on maps and

suggest reasons why cities are there Make location decisions based on relative advantages of a site for a baseball field, a bake sale, or a car wash

Place: Physical and Human Characteristics

*

What is it like there?

* What physical and human features does it have?

Egypt has the Great Pyramids, Nile River, and a desert climate.

Teaching Strategies--Place
Describe how places change over time Classify climate types Distinguish natural and cultural features on

photographs of places Compare ways that population patterns and life styles are similar and different in cities and rural places

Using the Themes With Images

Study each image. On your paper, note the

characteristics of location, place, region, human/environment interaction and movement that you notice from your observations.

From Google Images

From Google Images

From Google Images

Test Your Knowledge

Each sentence relates to one of the five themes of

geography. Identify which them is revealed and be able to defend your answer.
Kiwi fruit from New Zealand is on sale at the

supermarket.
In the bayous of Louisiana, many houses are built on

stilts.

Test Your Knowledge continued

Deserts are not all hot and dry; Antarctica is a desert

of sorts.

Mauritania is southwest of Russia. Islam is the major religion in the Middle East. Railroad networks in Europe make traveling easier

for tourists.

Resources
Author. (1992). Who? What? Where? When? Why?:

A geographical and historical perspective of Kentucky and the United States: Teacher resource guide, Louisville: Kentucky Geographic Alliance. Author. (1984). Guidelines for geography education, Washington, D.C.: Joint Committee on Geographic Education