2- Geography

How Has the Geography of a Culture Impacted the Culture Sharing Ideas, Goods and Services with Other Cultures Over Time?

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Questions to consider when researching:

• What does it mean for a culture to share ideas, goods and services?

• How does/did the location of the culture impact the sharing of ideas, goods and services?

-Location is the physical surroundings in relation to the culture, such as mountains, rivers, and beaches

-Cultures with certain physical surroundings, such as rivers and waterways, can depend on them for resources such as fishing.

Example: China consists of the Himalayas, the Kunlun Mountains, the Plateau of Tibet, the Yellow River, and the Yangtze River.

• How does/did the different regions of the culture impact the sharing of ideas, goods and services over time?

-A region is an area identified by similar geographical features.

-An example would be that most of Mali’s regions are desert, but in the southwestern region, there is plenty of rainfall and there are many rivers.

-Waterways are features that enhance an area’s ability to travel to other areas.

-Mountains are features that block other areas and make travel more difficult.

• How does/did the way humans interacted with the environment impact the sharing of ideas, goods and services over time?

-Human/Environment Interactions are the relationship between people and their environment and how they work together. Example: The land on the banks of the Nile River was fertile for growing crops. It was the only land that could be farmed because of the black silt that was left in the soil after the Nile flooded each year.

• How does/did the geography impact the movement of people throughout the culture?

-Movement is the change of place, transportation of trade, communications, and ideas. Example: Chinese ideas and inventions, including gun powder, printing, paper-making, and the compass, have been used by many cultures.

• How did the geographic features of the region help the culture?

• How did the geographic features of the region hinder the culture?

Project Procedures

1. Research the geography and geographic features of a culture of your choice

-Your culture may be in the present or from a time in history

-Be sure to consider several different geographical features of a culture

2. Find examples of ideas, goods, and services that your particular culture is known for

3. Find a large, clear picture(s) of your culture and geographical features

4. Label and describe the following parts of the picture to prove that geography has affected the culture:

-The geographic features that positive or negatively impacted trade of goods and/or services

-The geographic features that positive or negatively impacted sharing ideas

5. Find images that show examples of the ideas, goods, and services and the ease or challenges the culture faced when exchanging these items.

6. Consider making your project interactive – when the audience selects the geographical feature – the project demonstrates the idea, good, or service being transported in an interactive way.

Online Resources for Research

Access the Resources section for databases.

Geographic Features Graphic Organizer

Graphic organizers help us organize our thinking. Got to a Google Docs version of the graphic below to make a copy and add information. Go to File> Make A Copy to make your own copy of the Doc. Save it to your GATP Google Drive folder. List geographic features and how they connect to the geographic themes.