Kentucky Department of Education

1         How can we use the five themes of geography to study the U.S.?

2.         What are the regions of the United States and how are they similar and different?

3.        How does the environment affect our lives?

4.        What is our relationship with our neighbors to the North and South of us?

G1 Use a variety of tools to obtain and present geographic information (e.g., landforms, natural resources, natural disasters) about the United States and its close neighbors (i.e., Canada, Mexico).

G2 Develop mental maps of the United States.

G3 Recognize unique places in the United States.

H7 Recognize basic similarities and differences in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

4.1.1 To find and explain locations and display information you can use: simple, physical, political, and thematic maps, globes, charts, photographs, aerial photography, and graphs.

4.1.2 Every spot on Earth has an absolute location defined by: latitude and longitude.

4.1.2 Every spot on Earth has a relative location as compared to other points on the Earth.

4.1.3 Mental maps are used to visualize where things are and how they are arranged.

4.1.4 After looking at spatial factors, decisions are made about where to locate human activities on the Earth's surface (e.g. where to place a store, house, playground or equipment on a playground)

4.1.5 Different factors in one location can have an impact on another location: natural disasters, damming a river.

4.2.1 Every place is unique and can be described by its human characteristics: language, religion, and housing.

4.2.1 Every place is unique and can be described by its physical characteristics: landforms, climates, and water.

4.2.2 Regions are areas that have one or more physical or human characteristics in common:  physical, geographical regions of Kentucky, South, Midwest, Western Hemisphere, Appalachia, the Corn belt, and Amish Country

4.3.1 Human populations gather in groups of different sizes and in different locations in the world.

4.3.2 Humans settle where there are adequate resources to meet their needs: areas with water, fertile land, protected land, and transportation.

4.3.3 Technology now allows humans to settle in areas previously inaccessible.

4.4.2 People adapt to or modify the environment to meet their needs such as: producing food, building shelter, and making clothing.

4.4.3 The physical environment both promotes and limits human activities: mountains can be seen as protection or barriers; rivers can be used as boundaries or transportation.

5.2.6 The US, Canada, and Mexico have similarities and differences: indigenous peoples, immigrants, colonial backgrounds, cultural characteristics, and passages.

· Five themes of Geography (Place, Location, Region, Movement, Human/

Environment Interaction

·         Mental Maps

·         Latitude and Longitude

·         Technology

·         Landforms

·         Regions of United States

·         Region Nicknames

Ex. Corn belt

·              Climate

·              Natural Resources

·              Intermediate Directions

·              Cardinal Directions

·              Hemispheres

·              Compass Rose

·              Map Skills

·              Different Kinds of Maps (ex road, physical, political)

·              Tourist attractions

·              Canada/Mexico

·         Use map games to review basic geography skills

·          Create map of room to demonstrate use of symbols and map key.

·         Develop stories using longitude and latitude to describe a location and other students will guess location base on story

·         Create an acrostic poem about a landform. (WP)

·         Demonstrate learning of landforms by a performance test by using landform stations

·         Use compasses to discover how directions are used to go place to place

·         Explain the use of natural resources through Open Response

·         Design and Present a planned vacation to a tourist attraction in Kentucky using various Geography skills

·         Develop a class scrapbook on Canada/Mexico

·         Choose and Complete one activity from a tic tac toe sheet to show understanding of the regions of the United States.

·         Complete Graphic Organizer on Regions

·         Explain how climate and environment affects a region and the features of the Regions of the United States by completing a choice of activities including a letter, diorama, PowerPoint, Brochure or an oral presentation.

·         Use a Bracken County Road map to develop map skills.

·         Review Map skills by completing a Tic Tac Toe activity in which students choose three activities in Tic Tac Toe formation.( Activities like create a state, find directions around school using compass, compare two types of maps using Venn diagram…)

·         Complete Test on Regions/Geography Skills containing multiple choice, fill in the blank, and open response on analyzing Regions.