The Five Themes of Geography
             Susan Jakubowski

Overview:
Who we are, where we are, and how we came to be as a nation are questions addressed in the fifth grade social studies curriculum. This six week unit is designed to give fifth grade students a global perspective of the world’s people and places. Knowledge of geography will provide students with an invaluable tool for their lives. They will use it to choose a place to live, to vacation, and to work. A geographically educated population will serve the better interests of our towns, states, nation, and the world. Students need the working knowledge necessary to compete and cooperate in a global society. The  five themes of geography: location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and regions, will be the focus of this unit. Primary source documents, walking field trips, and community resources will be used to make the lessons meaningful and relevant to the students. Optimally, they will acquire not only mapping skills but the ability to look at the world from different perspectives, and an awareness of the interdependence of all of its peoples.

Goals:
1.  Students will  map information about people, places, and environments.
2.  Understand the characteristics, functions, and applications of maps and globes.
3.  Investigate why people and places are located where they are located and what patterns can be perceived in these locations.
4.  Describe the relationships between people and environments and the connections between people and places.
5.  Use a number of research skills ( computer databases, periodicals, census reports, maps, standard reference works, interviews, surveys) to locate and gather geographical information about issues and problems.

Objectives:
The student will: ( Bloom’s Taxonomy)
1.  Explain the abstract concepts of relative and absolute location using the directions north, south, east, and west, and degrees of longitude and latitude, Prime Meridian, and Equator. ( Comprehension Level)
2.  Locate places  using longitude and latitude coordinates. (Knowledge)
3.  Describe both the physical and human characteristics of a place. (Comprehension)
4.  Identify common land forms on a map. (Knowledge)
5.  Identify ways in which the environment and human beings interact, affecting the life style choices people must make. (Knowledge)
6.  Apply knowledge about the environment to the human experience. (Application)
7.  Compare  local and global communities using their knowledge of regions as physical and cultural areas of the world. (Analysis)
8.  Use deductive reasoning skills to determine regional identities based on information contained in three regional narratives and a list of ten possible places the stories takes place. ( Analysis)
9.  Use problem solving skills and cooperative efforts to demonstrate an understanding of the theme of movement. ( Application)
10.  Create a “new” fairy tale, applying their knowledge of the five themes of geography. ( Synthesis)

Instructional Overview :
 This unit will be introduced the second full week of school. I believe that learning is enhanced when connections are made across the curriculum and will integrate math, science, and language arts lessons as the unit progresses. Students will be greeted the first day of school with a banner that reads “ This is your world, and welcome to it!”. The room will have travel posters, maps, globes, atlases, almanacs, encyclopedias, and trade books for student exploration and reference use. Desks will be arranged in rows that align with grid marks on the floor. Each desk will be marked with coordinates. As students enter each day they will draw an index card that has coordinates noted, find their seats and place their card on a master grid in the front of the room. Students will  be encouraged to interact and to help one another as they become acquainted. This unit incorporates activities that encourage positive student interaction and team building. Lessons will include a mini lesson or demonstration by the teacher, independent study and cooperative groupings. A packet containing an outline of the unit and resource materials will be sent home to facilitate parental involvement. Students will be provided with a study guide for the unit that explains what they will be learning (targets), how they will be learning, and what they are responsible for demonstrating.  The five themes will be taught sequentially, one each week. Centers will be used for practice and demonstration of skills learned.
 Week one will focus on map skills, types of maps in social studies; note taking; language arts will include an introduction to the genre of folk tales and fairy tales from around the world; graphing, plotting coordinates, and measurement will be addressed in math. The previous weeks activities using the classroom grid will provide some prerequisite understanding of grids, coordinates, vertical and horizontal lines. As a class, we will map and label our classroom. After completing a walk around our neighborhood students will work in groups to draw and label a map of the school and vicinity. Students will work with globes and different types of maps using latitude and longitude, and cardinal directions to find absolute and relative locations. Week two will introduce the students to the physical and human characteristics of place, again using our immediate neighborhood. Students will work in groups to create a booklet of geography terms that may be used as a resource throughout the rest of the year. They will locate famous places in the world using location skills, and determine if the place is famous due to its human or physical characteristics. Research skills will be demonstrated using encyclopedias, atlases, and computers.
 A field trip to Webster Pond and an in depth study of the area will provide a very real example of human- environment interaction. Photos and maps of the area from the early 1800’s through present day will be used. Local tales about Ephraim Webster will be compared to historical accounts of the settlement of the area that is now Syracuse. The study of regions, both physical and cultural will occur during week four. Regions based on physical characteristics will be discussed in science in the study of biomes. Students will use travel brochures to compare clothing, recreation, homes, foods, religions, land forms, languages, and races. Various versions of the Cinderella story will be read and compared. The theme of movement is the last component of the unit and discusses the ways, reasons, and methods that people, ideas, and goods move. The students will use the U.S. mail to send letters of inquiry to points of interest, they will also use e-mail to write to a prearranged pen pal in a suburban school. Census records and population maps from the 1800’s through the present will be used to study movement and settlement patterns. Using products found in their own homes students will develop an awareness of the interconnectedness of the world through trade.
 The lessons in this unit have been written to address the various learning styles and ability levels of my students. The final project will be a guided activity, with a large portion to be completed in class with teacher guidance and peer support. Parents will be encouraged to participate. This unit is designed  to provide a challenging learning experience that will encourage students to “stretch” their thinking about themselves and their immediate environment.

Assessment Overview: 
 Assessment will be formative as well as cumulative using both formal and informal means. As this is  the students introduction to my teaching style, it is imperative that I communicate what my expectations are clearly and concisely and provide feedback in a timely fashion. It is also important to remember that procedures and routines are just being introduced and practiced. For these reasons much of my assessment will be based on observations of students as they work independently and in groups. Personal conversations will afford me the opportunity to make a connection with students as individuals. As our comfort level and familiarity grow, so will the value of information gleaned from these one on one exchanges.
 Students will be required to maintain a notebook using the Cornell method, as introduced in language arts class. The notebook will also contain a section marked “Learning Log” in which they will record their thoughts, feelings, and reactions to daily lessons. The last five or ten minutes of each social studies class will be used for students to write about what they learned that day and to reflect about what in the lesson helped them to learn, or not understand, the lesson. The notebook will be graded on neatness, organization, and completion of assigned notes. The learning log will not be graded, but will be useful as an evaluative tool for me. I will be able to ascertain the effectiveness of my lessons and fine tune areas that are not working for my students. The logs are beneficial for my students, as they require them to begin to think about their learning, and to reflect.
 As each subsequent theme is taught activities will be completed as a class and individually. The first week I will be able to note as I walk around the class which students are able to use coordinates to identify their seats. Students will be asked to verbally identify other places in the room using coordinates. Each student will be given a blank world political  map which they will glue inside a folder. They will color and label the oceans. Each day as we discuss countries in the headlines, students locate them on their maps, label and color them. This folder will be used to hold maps completed in the unit. After having completed a classroom map, students will use graph paper to map their room, including a title, key, and the scale. The students will work in groups to complete a map of the school and the surrounding neighborhood. Students will participate in whole group and paired activities that will require them to find a particular place using both relative and absolute location. By week two they will be able to identify what constitutes physical and human characteristics of a place. Each will student will create a 10 page geography terms booklet using real world land forms as examples for each term. I will demonstrate what I expect by completing the first two terms as a class. An example of an incomplete illustration and a less than accurate definition will also be shown so that students understand what is expected. They will work in groups using atlases and encyclopedias to find appropriate illustrations. They will share information, while being individually responsible for completing the booklet. I will observe their social interactions at this time, and maintain anecdotal records. I find that adhesive backed mailing labels are ideal for this. I write the child’s name, the date, and the activity engaged in. I then record my observation. These come in sheets with six labels to a sheet. It is easy to place in the students’ folders and can be useful in diagnosing a problem, or highlighting a particular strength.
 The geography terms booklet will be used to identify features on physical maps that students will be required to complete for incorporation into their final project. They will be allowed to choose any country they wish for their project. I will provide a detailed description of the project as well as a primary traits scale so that students will understand the quality and scope of the project.
 The Field trip to Webster Pond will require students to record observations particularly in regards to land forms, and man made structures. The students will use primary sources ( maps, census records, newspaper articles, and photographs) to compare and contrast the Webster Pond area as it has changed over the past two hundred years. The students will be required to write an essay describing the theme of human-environment interaction and use Webster Pond as an example. The physical features will also be discussed in science in our study of biomes. This will provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of this theme, as well as the knowledge that the area is a wet land region. Given travel brochures without place names, students will be asked to identify regions based on identifiable characteristics in the pictures. They will be asked to explain in writing what tipped them off and name the region. This assignment will be graded on how detailed the student articulates their reasoning, the location of the region on a map, and the accuracy of the answer. Students will be provided with a rubric at the beginning of this assignment.
 The theme of movement will be assessed as students gather information via e-mail and postal mail about where various product or raw materials come from. They will collect data and compile lists as a class. Individually they will complete a product map to add to their map folder. They will be asked to use their maps to make generalizations about world trade and interdependence. They will be asked to reflect in the exchange of ideas using technology and to list other ways that technology facilitates movement. The students will be required to complete a project during the sixth week of the unit. Using a detailed primary traits scale, the students will rewrite a fairy tale, applying their knowledge of the five themes of geography. This project  requires independent research on a country of choice, a complete map showing physical features and climate, an adaptation of the fairy tale to the country researched. The main idea or message of the story must remain intact. As students work independently on their projects I will have an opportunity to conference individually to discuss map folders, notebooks, and performance pieces completed during the unit. I am interested in hearing from the students what they felt they had done well, those things they had difficulty with, and the grade they feel they have earned. I am also interested in their suggestions for making the unit stronger. I am not grading students on participation or effort on this unit. The anecdotal records and observations made will be used as a basis of comparison and will be helpful in configuring groups for the next unit.

Table of Specifications
FIVE  Themes of Geography
 
 

Category Know Reason Show Total
Location *M**SR  ****SR*E
Place *M *SR
Human/environment **SR *SR *E
Regions *SR
Movement *SR

Test Items
Matching:
 Directions: Match the term on the left with the matching definition on the right by writing the correct letter on the line.

1.   Meridian     a. 0? longitude
2.   Equator     b. line of longitude
3.   Prime Meridian    c. 0? latitude
4.   Parallel     d. half of the earth
5.   Hemisphere e. line of latitude
 

  Directions: Match each term in column 1 with the correct definition in column 2. Write the correct answer on the line.

 Column 1     Column 2

1.  geography      a. narrow strip of land
2.  isthmus     b. broad area of gently rolling land
3.  mountain     c. high, level land
4.  plain     d. physical features of a region
5.  plateau     e. high, rugged land
6.  gulf     f. large part of an ocean, extending into land
7.  peninsula     g. dry barren region
8.  desert     h. land surrounded by water on three sides
 

True/ False:
 Directions: Write true on the line in front of each statement that is true and false in front of each statement that is false.
 

1.  _______ New York City’s absolute location is near the Atlantic Ocean.
2.  _______ Language, religion, food, and clothes are parts of culture.
3.  _______ A dam is an example of human/ environment interaction.
4.  _______ Imports and exports are examples of  the theme of movement.

Short Answer:
 Directions: Fill in the blank with the word that completes the analogy.

1.  Amazon is to river as Mediterranean is to _________________________________.
2.  Alps are to mountains as Sahara is to _____________________________________.

 Directions: You may use your  map and notebook to answer the following questions. Write your answers on the lines.

1.  Write the name of the country that you would be in if you stood at these coordinates, 40?N/4?W. ___________________________________________________________
 
2.  Use the maps on pages 746 and 747 in your text book to answer the following question. Why do fewer people live in Colorado than in North Carolina?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Multiple Choice:
 Directions:  Use your maps to answer the following questions. Circle the letter of the correct answer.

1.  Which  grain is grown in Kansas?
 a. rice
 b. wheat
 c. barley

2.  Which natural resource is found in Texas?
 a. silver
 b. oil
 c. aluminum

3. Which region of the United States is the most heavily populated?
 a. southwest
 b northwest
 c northeast

4.  Which of the following climates is not found in the United States?
a.  Arctic
b.  Desert
c.  Savanna

Essay:

1.  The newspaper photograph and article about the Webster Pond area as it appeared in 1948 and your field trip notes will be used to explain the negative and positive results of human/environment interaction. You are to write an essay of at least three paragraphs that includes the following information:
 3 examples of physical features that have changed;
 2 examples of plant and animals that have changed;
 compare the architecture and tools seen in the photo and those noted on trip;
            your opinion as to whether or not the change is positive or negative.

2.  McKinley Brighton School has magically been transported to Houston, Texas. Write an essay describing  how you will design the new building, what kind of food you will serve in the cafeteria, how the students will dress in the winter, what language other than English is spoken. You also need to let people in Syracuse know the absolute location of Houston and the climate.
 

Assessment Scale
Fairy Tale Frolics

Level Location Place Human/Environment Regions Movement
4 Map colored, country drawn accurately; country name, capital city labeled; absolute location of capital; compass rose; scale Prominent physical features mentioned; Climate, plants and animals, customs, religions, occupations, clothing styles Housing style and reason for it;
Environmental problems; Crops, livestock raised, resources mined Language; Government; Ways it is similar to ours Popular modes of transportation; exports, imports, popular modes of communication
3 Map colored; country name, capital city labeled; compass rose; scale  Climate, plants and animals, customs, religions, occupations, clothing styles Housing style and reason for it;
 Crops, livestock raised, resources mined    Language; Government Popular modes of transportation; exports, imports
2 Map colored; country name, capital city labeled; compass rose; scale  Climate,  customs,  clothing styles Housing style; Crops, livestock raised, resources mined             Language Popular modes of transportation
1 Attempt made Attempt made Attempt made Attempt made Attempt made
 

Implementation of Assessment Scale
 As noted in my assessment overview, the students will be instructed to  rewrite a fairy tale to reflect the five themes of geography they have studied. They will begin their research on a country of choice after the theme of place has been studied. They will be given the assessment scale, and examples of what a 4 project looks like will be modeled.
They will be given the time and materials in class to complete this project. As this a first attempt, early in the school year, support and guidance will be very strong. I am only assessing this project for the content area of social studies. Fairy Tales will be addressed in language arts and a more critical assessment of writing and story structure will take place in that area. I am only assessing the predetermined criteria in order to accommodate those students who may have difficulty with written expression.
 The project will be  assessed using the scale, the scores for each area will be added and averaged for a final grade.