Geography Resources

Five Themes of Geography

by: Patty Charlesworth

http://academic.emporia.edu/abersusa/gis/charlesworth

Introduction to the Five Themes of Geography

The Five Themes of Geography were created in 1984 by the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of Geographers to facilitate the classroom teaching of geography. In 1994 the National Geography Standards were published, although the themes continue to provide valuable support and organization to both learning and teaching.

The Five Themes of Geography are identified below:

Location: Position on the Earth's Surface - Places have absolute locations, points of latitude and longitude used to pinpoint exact location, and relative locations, describing locations in relation to other locations.

Place: Physical and Human Characteristics -Both characteristics make a place what it is. Geography's study of place emphasizes the understanding of both factors.

Human/Environment Interactions: Shaping the Landscape = Humans impact the earth in varying ways. This influence affects the degree to which local environments are impacted.

Movement: Humans Interacting on the Earth - The postmodern world is dominated by interaction between places. The movement is geographic whether by telecommunications or ship.

Regions: How They Form and Change - This is the essential geographic feature. Regions are unified by the presence of a characteristic; government, climate, products, etc.

This Webpage pathfinder has been prepared with two goals in mind. The first is to provide teachers with credible, relevant information and online content to supplement their lessons. The second goal is to provide students with a broader understanding of the global world they live in.

Web page created: April 20, 2007

Last modified: May 6, 2007

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