LEGACY COLLEGE OF COMPOSTELA

Dagohoy St., Pob. Compostela, Davao de Oro Province

MODULE 1.0
MODIFIED COURSEWORK
Name: _______________________________________________ Score:______
Course/ Major: Year/Sec:______
Course Title: Teaching Social Studies in Intermediate Grades (Culture and Basic Geography)

Learning Objectives:
 Define what is geography
 recognize that geography is an approach to learning
 understand the meaning of the Maps standard at each grade cluster
 learn the subject matter of geography concerns the nature of places

What is Geography?

 Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their
environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the
human societies spread across it.
 They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment, and the way
that locations and places can have an impact on people.
 Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they
develop and change over time.
Ancient Geography
 The term "geography" comes to us from the ancient Greeks, who needed a word to
describe the writings and maps that were helping them make sense of the world in which
they lived.
 In Greek, geo means “earth” and graphy means “to write.” Using geography, Greeks
developed an understanding of where their homeland was located in relation to other
places, what their own and other places were like, and how people and environments were
distributed. These concerns have been central to geography ever since.

What are the branches of Geography?

 Geography is divided into two main branches: human geography and physical
geography. There are additional branches in geography such as regional geography,
cartography, and integrated geography.

1. A SHORT DEFINITION FOR HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

 The study of the interrelationships between people, place, and environment, and how
these vary spatially and temporally across and between locations.
 Whereas physical geography concentrates on spatial and environmental processes that
shape the natural world and tends to draw on the natural and physical sciences for its
scientific underpinnings and methods of investigation, human geography concentrates
on the spatial organization and processes shaping the lives and activities of people, and
their interactions with places and nature.
 Human geography is more allied with the social sciences and humanities, sharing their
philosophical approaches and methods (see physical geography for a discussion on the
relationship between human and physical geography; environmental geography).

1. 1 CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 The study of the relationship between culture and place. In broad terms, cultural geography
examines the cultural values, practices, discursive and material expressions and artifacts of
people, the cultural diversity and plurality of society, and how cultures are distributed over
space, how places and identities are produced, how people make sense of places and build
 senses of place, and how people produce and communicate knowledge and meaning.
 Cultural geography has long been a core component of the discipline of geography, though
how it has been conceived, its conceptual tools, and the approach to empirical research
has changed quite markedly over time.

1. 2 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
 A sub-discipline of geography that seeks to describe and explain the absolute and relative
location of economic activities, and the flows of information, raw materials, goods, and
people that connect otherwise separate local, regional, and national economies.

1.3 FEMINIST GEOGRAPHY

 The intent of feminism is to investigate, reveal, challenge, and change gendered divisions in
society. These divisions often manifest themselves as spatial divisions with men and
women having different patterns of spatial activity, behavior, and experiences of place.
 Feminist geography has thus sought to understand the relationship between gender
divisions and spatial divisions, and to challenge their supposed naturalness and legitimacy.
2. A SHORT DEFINITION FOR PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
 Physical geography focuses upon the character of, and processes shaping, the land-
surface of the Earth and its envelope, emphasizes the spatial variations that occur and the
temporal changes necessary to understand the contemporary environments of the Earth.
 Its purpose is to understand how the Earth’s physical environment is the basis for, and is
affected by, human activity. Physical geography was conventionally subdivided into
geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, and biogeography, but is now more holistic in
systems analysis of recent environmental and Quaternary change.

2.1 BIOGEOGRAPHY
 Biogeography is the study of the distribution of life forms, past and present, and the causes
of such distributions. It includes the application of biochemical techniques for genetic
analysis and application the large-scale analysis, incorporating remote sensing, of bio-
geographical patterns; studying and modeling ecosystem dynamics and meta-population
dynamics; problems of speciation and genotypic variation; and the analysis and doing of the
palaeo-biogeographical record.
 Biogeographers may also be concerned with environment-related food and health issues.

2.2 CLIMATOLOGY
 Climatology - the study of the origins and impacts of climates.
 Climate is the average weather in a given area over a longer period of time. A description
of a climate includes information on, e.g. the average temperature in different seasons,
rainfall, and sunshine.
 While Weather is current, rather than average, atmospheric conditions; the object of study
of synoptic meteorology. Weather variables include humidity, temperature, sunshine hours,
cloud cover, visibility, and precipitation (fog, rain, snow, sleet, and frost).

2.3 GEOMORPHOLOGY
 Geomorphology is the study of the nature and history of landforms and the processes
which create them. Initially, the subject was committed to unravelling the history of landform
development, but to this evolutionary approach has been added a drive to understand the
way in which geomorphological processes operate.
 In many cases, geomorphologists have tried to model geomorphological processes, and,
more recently, some have been concerned with the effect of human agency on such
processes.

2.4 HYDROLOGY
 Hydrology - the study of the Earth’s water, particularly of water on and under the ground
before it reaches the ocean or before it evaporates into the air. This science has many
 important applications such as flood control, irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply,
and the generation of hydroelectric power.
 Hydrography - the measurement, description, and depiction of the nature and form of
water’s topographic features.

2.5 OCEANOGRAPHY
 Oceanography is the study of the oceans. This covers the shape, depth, and distribution of
oceans, their composition, life forms, ecology, and water currents, and their legal status.

Things to do
Essay
Direction: explain and discuss the following questions below. Write your answer in a one whole
sheet of paper. (150 words)

1. What is the importance of geography in our daily living?

2. How can affect topography to our culture?
3. Does religion can unite or divide people?