United States in Spatial Terms - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

United States in Spatial TermsWhere is the United States Located?Unit 2 Lesson 1Slide2

Content Expectations 4 - G1.0.2: Use cardinal and intermediate directions to describe the relative location of significant places in the United States. 4 - G1.0.3: Identify and describe the characteristics and purposes (e.g., measure distance, determine relative location, classify a region) of a variety of geographic tools and technologies (e.g., globe, map, satellite image).

Integrated GLCE’s

W.PR.04.02: Apply a variety of pre-writing strategies for both narrative and informational writing (e.g., graphic organizers such as maps, webs, Venn diagrams) in order to generate, sequence, and structure ideas (e.g., plot, setting, conflicts/resolutions, definition/description, or chronological sequence).Slide3

Think like a Geographer

What questions might a geographer might ask about the United States?

M ovement

R egions

H uman/

E nvironment Interaction

L ocation

P laceSlide4

1

the five themes of geography

five big ideas that help people understand geography

Example

: Location is one of the five themes of geography.Slide5

political boundaries

lines that define the border of a country or state

Example

:

There is a political boundary between the and countries.Slide6

Label the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Describe

the relative location of the United States using political boundaries.Slide7

location

the geographic theme that answers the question “Where is it

?”

Example: Maps can be used to find out the location of a place.

relative locationwhere a place is located in relation to other placesExample

:

The United Stated is located north of the country of Mexico.Slide8

Possible answers include:• The United States borders Mexico and Canada.• The United States is located mostly north of Mexico.• The United States is located mostly south of Canada.

• The United States is located between Canada and Mexico.Slide9

continent

one of the seven large landmasses of the Earth

Example

: The United States is part of the continent of North America .Slide10

The Northern Hemisphere

The Western Hémisphère

hemisphere

a region created when the Earth is divided in half

Example

:

The Earth can be divided into the Western Hemisphere and the

Eastern Hemisphere.

It can also be divided into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.Slide11

Look at map of globe in social studies book.Make inferences about the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemispheres.

(What do you notice?)Slide12

• More countries are in the Northern hemisphere than the Southern hemisphere.• The North Pole is in the Northern hemisphere and the South Pole is in the Southern hemisphere.• All of North America is in the Northern hemisphere.

• Most of South America is in the Southern hemisphere.

• There are some countries that are partly in the Northern hemisphere and partly in the Southern hemisphere.Slide13

Outline Map of North AmericaSlide14

Equator

an imaginary line that divides the Earth into Northern and Southern hemispheres

Example

:

The is located north of the equator.Slide15

Prime Meridian

an imaginary line that divides the Earth into Western and Eastern Hemispheres

Example

: The United States is

located west of the Prime MeridianSlide16

Describe the relative location of the United States using the Prime Meridian and the concept of hemisphere.

Example: The United States is located west of the Prime MeridianSlide17

Using the globe or map of “The Western Hemisphere,” make inferences about the

Western

Hemisphere and

Eastern Hemispheres. What do you notice? Slide18

Possible answers include:• Fewer countries are in the Western Hemisphere than the Eastern Hemisphere.• All of North America is in the Western Hemisphere.• A section of the western part of Africa is in the Western Hemisphere.

• All of Asia is in the Eastern Hemisphere.Slide19

9

absolute location

the location of a point on the Earth by use of a grid system

Example

: We can find the absolute location of a place by using a globe.Slide20

We use imaginary lines called longitude and latitude to find absolute location.Slide21

Graphic Organizer

Where is the United States

located?

Continent

Political

Boundaries

Hemisphere

Equator

Prime

Meridian

Northern

Hemisphere

Western

Hemisphere

North

America

Mostly North of Mexico

Mostly South of CanadaSlide22

By continent

Using political boundaries

By hemisphere

Using the equator

Using the Prime Meridian

Think of one more way to describe the relative location of the U.S. 

Describing the Relative Location of the United StatesSlide23

By continent

The is located on the continent

of North America.

Using political boundaries

The is north

of Mexico.

The is south of

Canada.

By

hemisphere

The is located in the Northern Hemisphere.

The is located in the .

Using

the

equator

The is north of the equator.

Using the Prime Meridian

The is west of the Prime Meridian.

Think of one more way to describe the relative location of the  

The United States

is

located west of Europe and

Africa.

Describing the Relative Location of the United States – Sample AnswersSlide24

Theme

Questions

Location

Where is it?

What is its absolute location?

What is its relative location?

Place

What is it like there?

What are its natural characteristics?

What are its human characteristics?

Questions Geographers AskSlide25

Human/Environment

Interaction

How do people interact with the environment?

How have people used the environment?

How have people adapted to the environment?

How have people modified or changed the environment?Slide26

Movement

How is the place connected to other places?

How and why have people, goods, and ideas moved in and out of the place?

Regions

How might common geographic characteristics help us understand this place?

How can the place be divided into regions?

To what regions does the place

belong?Slide27

Big Ideas of Lesson 1, Unit 2

Location is where a place is on the Earth’s surface.

Geographers investigate both the absolute and relative location of places.

A variety of geographic representations including maps and globes can help answer the question: Where is the located?

The United States

is located on the continent

of North America.

The

United

States is

located

on the planet

of the Earth. It is also located in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth.

The equator and the Prime Meridian are used to define the hemispheres of Earth.

Big Ideas Card Slide28

References

Egbo

, Carol.

Supplemental Materials (Unit 2, Lesson 1).

Teacher-made material. Michigan Citizenship Collaborative, 2008.

The Northern Hemisphere.

Wikimedia Commons. 7 October 2008 <

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Northern_Hemisphere_LamAz.png

>.

Outline Map of North America

. About.com. 7 October 2008 <

http://geography.about.com/library/blank/namerica.jpg

>.

The Western Hemisphere

. Wikimedia Commons. 7 October 2008 <

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Western_Hemisphere_LamAz.png

>.Slide29
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