5. EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNING: Use various criteria to describe, classify and compare regions within the Eastern Hemisphere.
5. EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNING: Use various criteria to describe, classify and compare regions within the Eastern Hemisphere.
I. Definition: Regions are areas that have unifying or common characteristics that make them different from surrounding areas.
A. A characteristic is a feature or trait that stands out and helps to identify a thing.
B. To unify means to bring together.
II. Classifying Regions - Regions can be determined based on physical or human geography.
A. Physical Geography describes the earth’s surface. It examines landforms, climate, vegetation, soil and other naturally occurring features.
1. Landforms - The physical feature of earth’s surface such as plains, valleys, plateaus and mountains.
2. Climate - Long-term trends in temperature and rainfall.
3. Vegetation – The kinds of plants and trees that grow in an area
B. Human Geography describes the way humans use the surface of the earth. It examines cultural features such as religion, government and language. It may also look at population patterns and economic activities.
1. Culture - The learned behavior of people, including belief systems (or religions), customs, and languages.
2. Population - Data about the people who live in a selected area (For example population of a city, population