5 THEMES OF

GEOGRAPHY
AN INTERACTIVE
LEARNING MODULE
 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
Directions: Visit and read about each of the following 5 Themes of
Geography listed below. Forward the slides by clicking the enter
key on your Chromebook. As you go through the entire learning
module, you will answer questions on your graphic organizer. There
will be a short quiz at the end.
 MOVEMENT
Movement includes the movement of people, things
(such as goods), movement of information, and movement
of ideas.
We can describe the type of communications a place has,
how they move ideas, the main forms of transportation, as
well as what goods are exported and imported. These all
come under the heading of movement.
 MOVEMENT
Things to think about
 Movement -- What are the patterns of movement of
people, products, and information? A study of
movement includes learning about major modes of
transportation used by people, an area's major
exports and imports, and ways in which people
communicate (move ideas).
 MOVEMENT
~more~
MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE, GOODS, AND IDEAS
How are people transported in this city?
How are ideas transported in this city? (e.g.
communication)
* Answer the
questions about
Movement on your
graphic organizer
before you move
on
 REGION
 Regions are areas that can be grouped together by a set of things special to
that region. We have countries ruled by governments, areas which speak the
same language, or have the same religion, and we have areas served by a
particular service, such as a school district or a zip code. The four types of
areas are: government/physical, human, cultural, or functional
 Regions defined by a government or physical characteristics are
regions that are strictly maintained, such as countries , continents, or
physical regions (e.g. Appalachian Mountain Region)
 Regions defined by a function are areas served by a particular
service. Take the example of a fictitious school district of Geek's Rule
School. If Geek's Rule School closes down, then the school district
will no longer exist. Of course, it won't just disappear in a cloud of
smoke, but it will have to be named or described some other way.
Another examples would be areas which provide certain functions,
like a telephone area code, zip code, or even a bus service area.
 Loosely defined regions are regions that are grouped together in
general terms. These are things such as the North, or the Mid-West,
or the Bible belt, or even the Far East and Middle East.
 Cultural regions are regions which a region having a distinct pattern
of culture. Like the Great Plains Indians region, Latin America
(language), or Muslim region (religion)
REGION-Things to think about
 Regions -- How can Earth be divided into regions
for study? Regions can be defined by a number of
characteristics including area, language, political
divisions, religions, and vegetation (for example,
grassland, marshland, desert, rain forest).

Telephone Area Code

Latin American Region Regions
Native American Regions

Muslim World Regions

 REGION
~more~
 THE STUDY OF REGIONS
What other regions are there in the United States
besides this one?
How are they different?
What is a functional region?
(Descriptions of regions can include information about
the physical or cultural characteristics. Physical refers to
mountains, deserts, climates, etc. Cultural refers to
history, religion, and language.)
* Answer the
questions about
Regions on your
graphic organizer
before move on
 HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS
 This is about the relationship between people and their environment, or how they work together. It
answers a lot of important questions: What effects have the people had on their environment? How has
the environment affected them, or do they depend on it for anything? What changes have they made to
their environment to make it easier to live in?
 Human-Environment Interactions can be divided into 3 parts: How people have been changed by
the environment, how the environment has been changed by people, and how people depend
on the environment.
 How people have been changed by the environment can be called adaptation. It is the way humans
change to suit their environment. An example of this is people who live in very cold climates wearing
well-insulated clothes to keep warm, or in a warm climate wearing shorts and a tank top to stay cool.
 How the environment has been changed or modification is the way people change their
environment to suit themselves. Artificially watering your lawn if you live in a dry area is one example.
Another good example is clearing forests to make room for growing crops. Even building a bridge is an
example of changing or modifying your environment.
 Depending on the environment is when people depend on their environment for something.
Examples of this are using trees for firewood, or coal to warm us in winter, rivers to transport goods to
sell or exchange for other needed items that are not available, rivers also provide us with drinking
water.
 Sometimes it is difficult to tell exactly where something belongs. For example, if people clear forests to
get wood for fires and to grow crops, that may be considered changing the environment to suit
themselves and depending on the environment for something. When you think about the environment
and people, just remember the three important questions: How have the people changed? How have
they changed the environment? Do they depend on the environment for anything?
 Human-Environmental
Interaction
Things to think about

 Human-environment interaction -- What are the

relationships among people and places? How have
people changed the environment to better suit
their needs?
 HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTION
~more~
 HOW PEOPLE RELATE TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT
How do people in Kentucky effect (modify) the
environment?
How do people in Kentucky adapt to their environment in
terms of what they wear and how they build their homes?
How do people in this city modify their environment to
accommodate them? (e.g. building dams, changing
landscapes)
* Answer the questions
about Human-
Environment interaction
on your graphic organizer
before move on
 LOCATION
 This is divided into 2 parts: Specific location and General Location
 Specific location is shown by an address or geographic coordinate. The
address can be any type of address that gives an exact position. It is
sometimes called absolute location
Here are some examples: Boone
A Street Address: County
8000, Spruce Drive, Florence , Kentucky High
School
A Map Address:
39o20' North, 84o15' West
RA Jones is
 Both of these examples well tell you exactly where a placeabout
is. 1 ½
 General location is shown by saying where something is in relation
miles SSE
to somewhere or something else. It is from Boone
also known as relative
County High
location.
School
Here are some examples:
 ten minutes away by train
RA Jones
 in front of the bank Middle
School
 RA Jones is 1 ½ miles South Southeast from Boone County High School
 With these two examples you can only find what you want if you know from where you are
starting. It's useful, though, for describing things. If I just told you that New York was
located at 40o North, 73o West, you probably couldn't picture that in your head. If I told
you that it was in the North-Eastern United States, you could probably imagine it much
better.
 LOCATION
Things to think about
 Location -- Where are things located? A location
can be specific (for example, it can be stated as
coordinates of longitude and latitude or as a
distance from another place) or general (it's in the
Northeast).
 LOCATION
~more~
What is your absolute location?
What is the city’s location in relation to other
major cities?

* Answer the
questions about
Location on your
graphic organizer
before you move
on
 PLACE
 It is a description of what makes that place different from others. If I was
trying to tell you about the bedrooms in a house, and I wanted to explain to
you exactly which one I meant, I could say, "the one with two beds and one
window." If the other rooms had only one bed each, or two windows, then
you could easily tell which room I meant.
 PLACE is divided into 2 parts:
 Physical Differences and Human Differences
 Physical differences, or characteristics, include things that occur
naturally, such as mountains, rivers, type of soil, wildlife, climate etc.
 I might say that a place is flat with rich soil and many rivers. I'm still
being vague, but already you can see a picture of it in your head, and
maybe even begin to imagine how the land is used.
 Human differences, or characteristics, are things that have changed
due to people, such as roads and buildings, how people live and their
traditions.
 This is where you can really go to town in your description. You can
discuss the cities, lifestyle, culture and all sorts of other interesting
facts that make the place you are talking about different and special.
 PLACE
Things to think about
 Place -- What makes a place different from other
places? Differences might be defined in terms of
climate, physical features, or the people who live
there and their traditions.
 PLACE
~more~
 What physical characteristics exist in this city
such as plant and animal life?
What cultural (human) characteristics are
typical of this city?
Which ethnic, religious, or political groups live
here?
* Answer the
questions about
Place on your
graphic organizer
before you move
on
 WHERE DID THE 5 THEMES
COME FROM?
The 5 Themes of Geography originated
by the National Geographic Society to
fulfill a need for geographers (people
who study the earth and everything on
it) categorize everything they learn.
These 5 place names are easy to
remember. Just say the words
“MR HELP.”
 WHAT IS “MR HELP”?
MR HELP is a mnemonic device that can be used
to help remember the 5 Themes of Geography.
Simply put, take the first letter of each Theme
to create the word MR HELP. They are:
 Movement
 Region
 Human-Environment (interaction)
 Location
 Place
 Quiz About
The Five Themes of
Geography
Directions: Write the answer to the following 7
questions on your student graphic organizer.

We will go over the answers as a class.

Click on the orange arrow key to progress through the quiz.

Question 1
Which of the following is NOT a
geography theme?
A. movement B. people

C. region D. human-
environmental
interaction people
Question 2
Which of the following is an
example of Human-Environmental
Interaction?
A. getting the mail B. watching TV

C. playing X-box D. Rainforest

clearing
Question 3
Which of the following is an
example of PLACE?
A. Appalachian B. McDonalds
Mountains

C. East High D. skating rink

School
Question 4
Which of the following is NOT an
example of REGION?
A. Deep South B. Area Code

C. Latin America D. Florence

Question 5
Which of the following is an
example of Location?
A. Cincinnati, Ohio B. Chris P Bacon
1103 Swine Drive
Harrodsburg, KY 40330

C. Indiana
D. the hills
Question 6
Which of the following is NOT
an example of movement?
A. Cutting down B. Westward
trees Expansion

C. EMAIL D. Immigration
Question 7
What is the name of a person
who studies the earth and
everything on it?
A. Photographer B. Cartographer

C. Geographer D. Mapographer