Introduction

Welcome to Geography & Natural Resources of the Philippines: A Human

Perspective: A Course for Independent Study, Field Validation Version.

What is “a human perspective” with regard to geography & natural Resources of

the Philippines? The short answer is that it is the study of the relationship between people
and their physical surroundings. The long answer is that it is an in-depth study of Human
kind’s relationship (past and present) with Earth and how human activities (past and present)
impact Earth and the challenges now faced in dealing with the aftermath of those
activities.

Since the 1960s, the world has been seen as interconnected. What happens? In
one area of the world impacts other areas. Population, resources, food, Industrialization
and urbanization are issues with which each country must Cope. At the forefront of those
challenges is the environment, and how we Can protect the environment while still solving
the world’s problems: the Increasing world population, the declining world resources,
maintaining an Adequate world food supply, and the side effects of world urbanization and
Industrialization trends.

As a student enrolled in a distance learning course, you have taken on a dual Role
—that of a student and a teacher. As a student, you are responsible for mastering the
lessons and completing the learning activities and assignments. As a teacher, you are
responsible for checking your work carefully, noting
areas in which you need to improve, and motivating yourself to succeed.
SOCSTUD 2: GEO AND NATURAL RESOURCES

MODULES FOR SUMMER CLASS 2020

The five themes of geography are location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region.
These were defined in 1984 by the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American
Geographers to facilitate and organize the teaching of geography in the K-12 classroom. While the five themes
have since been supplanted by the National Geography Standards, they still provide an effective means or
organizing geography instruction.

Location
Most geographic studies begin by learning the location of places. Location can be absolute or relative.

 Absolute location: Provides a definite reference for locating a place. The reference can be latitude and
longitude, a street address, or even the Township and Range system. For example, you might be
located at 183 Main Street in Any town, USA or you might be positioned at 42.2542° N, 77.7906° W.
 Relative location: Describes a place with respect to its environment and its connection to other places.
As an example, a home might be located 1.3 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, .4 miles from the town's
elementary school, and 32 miles from the nearest international airport.

Place
Place describes the human and physical characteristics of a location.

 Physical characteristics: Includes a description of such things as mountains, rivers, beaches,

topography, climate, and animal and plant life of a place. If a place is described as hot, sandy, fertile, or
forested, these terms all paint a picture of the location's physical characteristics. A topographical
map is one tool used to illustrate the physical characteristics of a location.
 Human characteristics: Includes the human-designed cultural features of a place. These features
include land use, architectural styles, forms of livelihood, religious practices, political systems, common
foods, local folklore, means of transportation, and methods of communication. For example, a location
could be described as a technologically advanced French-speaking democracy with a Catholic majority.

Human-Environment Interaction
This theme considers how humans adapt to and modify the environment. Humans shape the landscape
through their interaction with the land, which has both positive and negative effects on the environment. As
an example of the human-environment interaction, think about how people living in cold climates have often
mined coal or drilled for natural gas in order to heat their homes. Another example would be the massive
landfill projects in Boston conducted in the 18th and 19th centuries to expand habitable areas and improve
transportation.

Movement
Humans move—a lot! In addition, ideas, fads, goods, resources, and communication all travel distances. This
theme studies movement and migration across the planet. The emigration of Syrians during war, the flow of
water in the Gulf Stream, and the expansion of cell phone reception around the planet are all examples of
movement.
Regions
Regions divide the world into manageable units for geographic study. Regions have some sort of characteristic
that unifies the area and can be formal, functional, or vernacular.

 Formal regions: These are designated by official boundaries, such as cities, states, counties, and
countries. For the most part, they are clearly indicated and publicly known.
 Functional regions: These are defined by their connections. For example, the circulation area for a
major city area is the functional region of that paper.
 Vernacular regions: These include perceived regions, such as "The South," "The Midwest," or the
"Middle East"; they have no formal boundaries but are understood in mental maps of the world.

The Five Themes of Geography

Geography is more than memorizing names and places. Geographers organize space in much the same way that
historians organize time. To help organize space, geographers are concerned with asking three important questions
about things in the world:

• Where is it?
• Why is it there?
• What are the consequences of its being there?
The five themes of geography help answer these questions:

• Location: Where is it located?

• Place: What's it like there?
• Human/Environment Interaction: What is the relationship between humans and their environment
• Movement: How and why are places connected with one another?
• Regions: How and why is one area similar to another?

No one theme can be understood without the others. The themes are connected with one another, as are all
components of our world. No part of our world can be understood in isolation.

I. Location: Position on Earth's Surface

Absolute and relative location are two ways of describing the positions and distribution of people and places on
the earth's surface. Absolute location answers the questions: Where is it? Absolute location is nothing more
than a simple dot--often identified as a grid coordinate on the surface of the earth. Latitude and longitude can
be used to pinpoint a location. For example, the absolute location of New Orleans, Louisiana, is 30 degrees
north, 90 degrees west. Finding absolute location is the starting point for geographic research.

Relative location is the relationship of a place to other places.

For example, New Orleans is located at the place where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico,
which gives it easy access to ocean and river shipping. Your home has a relative location.
Where is it located in relation to schools, stores, and convenient transportation?
Location is only one piece of the framework of geography, yet it is an important theme because it helps us
know and express where things are.

Discuss answers to these questions about your location:

• What are the latitude and longitude coordinates of your absolute location.
• What is your relative location and the relationship of your location to other locations?
 • How does the importance of your location change over time?

II. Place: Physical and Human Characteristics

The theme of place addresses this question: What's it like there? This theme considers the characteristics that
make one place different from all other places on earth. Geographers describe a place by two kinds of
characteristics; physical and human.

The physical characteristics of a place make up its natural environment and are derived from geological,
hydrological, atmospheric, and biological processes. They include land forms, bodies of water, climate, soils,
natural vegetation, and animal life.

The human characteristics of a place come from human ideas and actions. They include bridges houses, and
parks. Human characteristics of place also include land use, density of population, language patterns, religion,
architecture, and political systems.

The theme of place helps flesh out information about location. Taken together, the themes of location and
place provide a basis for observation in geography.

These themes can be used to help answer the first two questions of geography: Where is it? and Why is it
there? With a sense of physical and human place, we can read the landscape around us and make observations
about what we see. we'll explore more about physical and human places when we look at the theme of region.

Discuss answers to these questions about your place:

• How would you describe where you live physically?
Is your place flat or hilly, hot or cold, wet or dry?
What natural resources are found there?
• What are some of the human characteristics that describe your place?
For example, what types of houses are there?
Are patterns of land use different from those in other parts of the country?
What types of industry are found, and how might they be different from industries in other parts of the
country?

III. Human/Environment Interaction: Shaping the Landscape

The physical and human characteristics of a place provide keys to understanding the interrelationships between
people and their environments. This geographic theme addresses this question: What is the relationship
between humans and the environment? Three key concepts underlie human/environment relationships: •

Humans depend on the environment: The natural environment is made up of living things and nonliving
things. Humans depend on the natural environment for their basic needs; food, shelter, and clothing. • Humans
modify the environment: People modify the natural environment to meet their needs. For example, they build
dams, plow and irrigate fields, and dig mines. They build houses, schools, and shopping centers on land. •

Humans adapt to the environment: Humans have settled in virtually every corner of the world by successfully
adapting to various natural settings. For example, people who live in the northeastern United States use heating
units to keep their homes warm in winter People in the southern part of the country use air conditioning much
 of the year to stay cool in the heat. The ways people choose to adapt to their settings reflect their economic and
political circumstances and their technological abilities. Studying geography furthers appreciation of our natural
environment and of our cultural differences.

Discuss answers to these questions about the human/environment interaction where you live:
• What examples of human/environment interaction do you see in your area?
• Do you see evidence of exploited resources? 3 •
Do you see changes in the landscape in animal habitats?
Are there changes in the air, water, and soil?

IV. Movement: Humans Interacting on the Earth:

The theme movement addresses this question: How and why are places connected with one another?
Relationships between people in different places are shaped by the constant movement of people, ideas,
materials, and physical systems such as wind. Our world is in constant motion, constantly changing.
Like blood flowing through our bodies, movement brings life to a place.

Discuss answers to these questions about movement where you live:

• What examples of movement of people, goods, or ideas do you see in your area?
• Has immigration had an impact on your area? If so, what has happened?
• What are the transportation routes in your area?

V. Regions: How they Form and Change

A region is a basic unit of geographic study. It is defined as an area that has unifying characteristics.
The study of regions helps us answer these questions: How and why is one area similar to another? How do the
areas differ? Most regions differ significantly from adjoining areas.

Some regions are distinguished by physical characteristics. Physical characteristics include land forms, climate,
soil, and natural vegetation. For example, the peaks and valleys of the Rocky Mountains form a physical region.

Some regions are distinguished by human characteristics. These may include economic, social, political, and
cultural characteristics. The highly urbanized Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C. can be
considered a human region. Other regions are combinations of physical and human characteristics, for example,
the South, Scandinavia, and the Midwest.

Boundaries between regions can be vague. Regions are generally thought of as large areas, such as the Corn
Belt in the Midwestern United States or sub-Saharan Africa. Overhead transparencies will help the teacher
demonstrate that a region can be as small as a classroom learning center, a neighborhood, an industrial park, or
a recreational area.

Discuss answers to these questions about regions where you live:

• How many different regions can you identify within your area?
• How many larger regions does your area belong to?
What are the six regions in Mindanao?
FOR THREE ELEMENTARY