Geographic Alliance of Iowa

Putting Iowa in its place

Introduction to the Five Themes of Geography

This lesson was created by Mike Garnica for sixth grade students. In this lesson plan, students will understand and be able to give examples of the five themes of geography and will be able to apply the themes to the ancient civilizations they will be learning about throughout the school year.

Discipline/Subject

World Geography

Human Geography

Physical Geography

Theme

Environmental

Population

Cartography/Maps

Region

None specified

Five Themes of Geography

Location

Place

Human-Environment Interaction

Movement

Region

National Geographic Standards

1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective

4. The physical and human characteristics of places

9. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface

14. How human actions modify the physical environment

15. How physical systems affect human systems

16. The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources

Iowa Core Social Studies Standards

GE 1. Understand the use of geographic tools to locate and analyze information about people, places, and environments

GE 2. Understand how geographic and human characteristics create culture and define regions

GE 3. Understand how human factors and the distribution of resources affect the development of society and the movement of populations

GE 4. Understand how physical processes and human actions modify the environment and how the environment affects humans