Geography and Its Five Themes

Geography is a great topic that can open the imagination of many students in your classroom. It is not limited to just learning about the Earth and its physical features. Just the thought of traveling around the world and learning about various cultures can be an eye opening experience for students. Students can be introduced to the five themes of geography by taking a look at their own neighborhoods.

The five themes of geography include location, place, human environment, movement, and region. Location can be relative or absolute, such as the exact location based on longitude or latitude. Place describes the physical aspect, this includes rivers, beaches, and the topography of the place. Place is not limited to the physical features, it also includes cultural and human features. One essential question for this theme is what makes a place unique? This is a great question for students because they can apply this question to their neighborhood and other places they may have traveled to. Place is also has an important connection to the theme of human environment. Humans have adapt to their environment based on the physical features of the place. This adaptation can lead to movement which is another theme of geography. Humans have migrated throughout history, especially during the Paleolithic Revolution. Nomads were on the move all the time in search of resources and food. Region is the last theme of geography, and it deals with dividing various parts of the world into sections. The "Midwest" or "Northeast" are some examples of regions which is not limited to the United States. The Middle East is the name of a popular region located on the other side of the world.

Teaching students about the five themes can be fun and educational at the same time. These geography themes can be converted into essential questions that can be applied the student's everyday surroundings.  Teaching geography is not only limited to examining and creating personal maps or globes. The following lesson plans offer a variety of creative ways to teach geography and the five themes.

Geography Lesson Plans:

Five Themes Of Geography And Vietnam- In this lesson plan students focus on the country of Vietnam and the five themes of geography. For the final project students will be able to create a children's book about Vietnam and its geography. This plan uses all themes and a list of good reflection/journal questions.

Why All Maps Lie: This is a good lesson about the advantages and disadvantages of globes and maps. This lesson does not focus on the five themes of geography but it provides an important lesson about map projection.

Traveling Through Africa: This lesson uses the five themes of geography to examine three African nations. This lesson also incorporates technology with the use of Internet resources and a CD-Rom.

What Is Geography?: This lesson was developed by National Geographic and contains all five themes of geography. Students create presentations based on the geography themes in relation to solving an environmental problem. This is a great lesson because it has an activity that students must complete for every theme.

 

Become A Geography Detective: In this lesson students learn about the land and the relationship humans have with it.  According to this lesson, students focus on six essential elements of geography location: places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, and uses of geography.