Themes of Geography

In the area of geography there are five themes or areas that make up the study of geography.  The first theme is location the most common way of teaching students about locations is by using coordinates on a map.  Having students locate different places on the map not only teaches them about location but also helps them to improve their map skills.  The second theme is place, a place is defined by everything that is inside of it.  The third theme is region, a region is area that has the same characteristics.  The fourth theme is movement, which is how different things are transported from one place to another.  The fifth theme is human-environment interaction, this theme deals with us as humans and how we have an impact on the environment that we live in.  All of these different themes are important concepts for students to know.  A trick to help students remember the five different themes of geography is MR. HELP. 

 

There are many different ways in which teachers can make teaching geography fun and meaningful to students.  Some of the ways that I found interesting were having the students make a 60 second film, an activity called can of worms, and tell me a story.  For the 60 second film activity the students would create a mini video summarizing a concept that they just learned.  By doing this the teacher would be able to see their understanding and also their creativity.  The Can of Worms activity is a great acitivity for talking about topics that are controversial.  For this activity the teacher would have a can with paper "worms" in it and each of the students would pick a worm out and talk about it.  The worms would be on the topic so in this case geography and the students would have to talk about the what is on the worm for a certain amount of time.  For the Tell me a Story activity the teacher would have a game board with different pictures on it relating to geography and the students would role the dice and whatever picture they land on they would have to include that picture in their story.  The students are getting to create their own geographical story.  These are just a couple of ways that teachers can get students engaged in learning about geography, there are many more ways!  The video attached can be shown in a classroom to teach students about the five themes of geography.

There are also many different strategies to use to make geography meaningful to younger students.  Younger students should have a good foundation of geography skills so that they are better to able understand it more when they get older.  Some of the activities to use with younger students are songs to teach them the basic concepts.  Having them go out into the neighborhood and doing map making.  This way they are getting the basic skills that will help them later on.  When teachers use the students neighborhood it makes it more meaningful to the students because they can make connections.