In all our discussions and writing, keep the following ideas in mind to be a “geographic thinker”. Concepts from history, anthropology, physical sciences and other fields will also be relevant, but these 5 themes may help you direct your focus.
THEME 1: LOCATION
To know the absolute location of a place is only part of the story. It is also important to know how that place is related to other places--in other words, to know that place’s relative location. Relative location deals with the interaction that occurs between and among places. It refers to the many ways--by land, by water, and newer technology--that places are connected.
THEME 2: PLACE
All places have characteristics that give them meaning and character and distinguish them from other places on earth. Geographers describe places by their physical and human characteristics. These can be noted in buildings, in crops and foods, in tools and ways of working, land use and ownership, town planning, and ways of communicating and traveling. Languages, as well as religious and political ideologies, also define a place.
THEME 3: HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION
In studying human/environment interaction, geographers look at all the effects--positive and negative--that occur when people interact with their surroundings.
THEME 4: MOVEMENT
People travel from one place to another; they communicate with each other; and use products, information, and ideas from distant places. These movements and changes are studied, along with diseases, technology and skills are diffused from place to place.
THEME 5: REGIONS
A basic unit of geographic study is the region, an area on the earth’s surface that is defined by certain unifying characteristics. These characteristics may be physical, human, or cultural. In addition to studying the unifying characteristics of a region, geographers study how and why regions change over time. Geographers use regions to divide the world into manageable units for study, and save time by grouping similar areas together.
Adapted from
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/themes.html
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