Wrapping up the Five Themes of Geography

Today we will conclude our lessons on the Five Theme of Geography

You will be expected to show that you have learned what each of the
Five Themes is and to make connections to a real world situation.
You will need one or two pieces of lined paper and colored pencils.
The colored pencils will be used after you have completed all other
aspects of our activity, so do not take them out until you are ready to
use them.
 Stranded on a Deserted Island
You will be given a map of a deserted island along with a story that takes you on
an adventure to a deserted island in the Caribbean Sea (part of the Atlantic
Ocean.)
The story goes as follows:
You are on a cruise with some friends when you accidentally get knocked out
and fall overboard.
You then wake up on a small, deserted island.
You will be taken through steps for survival and will be asked many questions
about your experience.
The expectation is that you use your knowledge of the Five Themes of
Geography to frame your answers so that you can show me that you
understand how the five themes can be applied to real-world scenarios.
Day 1:

Your first thought when you wake up is naturally Where am I?

Since you dont really have any idea, you need to explore the
island to find out about its physical characteristics (including
size, terrain, resources available) to determine how you will
survive.

You dont know how long you will be here so you need to start
exploring to determine how to survive. With you, you are lucky to
have the following items with you in your backpack: a water
bottle, a hatchet (small ax), waterproof matches, a compass,
one emergency flare, a waterproof tarp, and a rope.
Day 1:
1. On the map provided, find and label the compass rose correctly
Find the location [E, 8] on your map. This is the spot where you awoke on the island. Mark
this spot with an X.
2. What type of location did you use for finding this spot?
After you wake up, you find that you are very, very thirsty and need water quickly because
you cannot drink the ocean water. You must find a fresh water source on the island.
3. What is the relative location of the nearest fresh water source?
After finding the water on the map, you must now travel there to quench your thirst.
4. Describe how you will get to the fresh water source and describe what you will bring with
you.
5. How far is the Freshwater Lake from the West Beach? (HINT: Use the scale on your map!)
Day 1:
Okay, so youve found fresh water and are well hydrated. Now you must focus on trying to
find some food because you are hungry and need energy that food will provide. You
immediately remember a conversation you had with your friends a few days ago: Your friend
mentioned that if they were stranded on an island, they would look for berries or fruit to eat
in a forest, because trees in the Caribbean often have edible fruit.
6. Where will you look for food and how will you get there? (Describe what you will see while
traveling from the fresh water source to where you think the food is located.)
7. Which theme of geography is the focus of Question #6?
Now that you have found enough fruit to hold you over and have filled up your bag with fruit,
your thoughts turn to getting rescued. You have the idea of creating a giant SOS sign on
the beach for airplanes to see from the sky.
8. What resource on the island do you think will work best in creating this sign?
9. What is the absolute location of your SOS sign?
10. Draw your SOS sign on the map.
Day 1:
You look at the sky and realize it is getting late in the day. You havent yet thought about
creating a shelter to sleep under. The sky looks like it will bring rain, so you realize the
importance of a shelter for the night.
11. What resources (on the island and with you in your backpack) would you use to create a
shelter?
12. Where will you build your shelter? (Use relative location)
13. Draw a on the map where you built your shelter.
14. How does your shelter represent the theme Human Environment Interaction?
After building your shelter, you are completely exhausted and it is very late. You decide to go
to bed, just as the rain begins to fall.
Day 2:
You wake up after a long night of sleep feeling refreshed. You decide today you must explore the
entire island. You pack up your bag and begin your hike.
15. Describe the physical characteristics of the island.
16. Which theme of geography is represented by Questions #14?
While you are returning to your shelter, you hear the unmistakable sound of an airplane flying
nearby. You remember that you have one emergency flare to get the attention of the pilot and
you understand you need to get to high ground before shooting it off so that you can be sure the
pilot sees it.
17. Where on the island will you go to shoot off your flare? (Give the absolute location)
18. Draw the following symbol where you shot off the flare:
19. Why did you choose this spot?
Once you reach your preferred spot to shoot the flare off, you point the flare into the air and shoot it
off, hoping the pilot sees the flare explode. It turns out you were very lucky, the pilot sees you! He
circles around you and flies off. While you wait for the pilot to return with a helicopter to pick you up,
your thoughts wander back to 6th grade Social Studies, when you learned about the five themes of
geography.
Day 2:
In complete sentences, answer the following questions regarding your time on the island:
20. In what ways was the theme location relevant to your experience on the island? Be sure
to describe how both absolute location and relative location were used
21. In what ways did the island represent the theme place?
22. Describe how Human Environment Interaction was relevant to your experience on the
island?
a. Describe how you modified or changed the environment while on the island.
b. Describe how the environment forced you to adapt to it.
c. How did you rely on the environment for survival?
23. Describe at least 2 examples of movement from this activity.
24. Name and describe two regions on your island.
Once you are finished answering the questions above IN COMPLETE SENTENCES, you may
use colored pencils to color your island. Be sure to make it realistic!