A geographic perspective is a way of looking at and understanding the world. It is an interdisciplinary way of thinking, observing, and analyzing anything that exists in Earth space. A geographic perspective is sometimes called a spatial perspective because geography focuses on where people, places, and things are distributed across the surface of the Earth and how and why they got there. People who use this way of viewing the world ask who, what, where, and when people, places, and things are distributed across the surface of the Earth and how and why they got there. You can study anything that has some spatial component to it from this perspective. If it can be mapped, it has a spatial component and is geographical. In this lesson, students will begin to learn how to use this process, even though they may not call it by its name. They will do this by asking where and what as they explore the concepts of location and place, as those terms apply to the students’ classroom or school. Then students will expand on what they know by exploring how those things affect them and other students.

Geography, social studies, art, language arts

Standard 1: "How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective"
Standard 2: "How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context"
Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"

Two 45-minute sessions

• Poster board, paper
• Colored pencils or markers
• Pencils
• Student Handout: Your School (with accompanying rubric) (PDF, Adobe Reader required)
• Student Handout: Our Classroom (with accompanying rubric) (PDF)

Students will

• learn how to use a geographic perspective;
• learn the difference between the terms "location" and "place;"
• describe the location and place of their classroom or school; and
• explore the location and place of the classroom or school using a geographic perspective.

Guiding Question: How do you use a geographic perspective to learn more about the location and place of your school or classroom?

Write the words "location" and "place" on the board or chart paper. Ask students if they have ever traveled to a different location. If anyone has, ask him or her to describe it to the rest of the class. Did the student describe it in terms of location (where it is, such as the city, state, or country) or the place (what it is like, such as hot, cold, urban, country, etc.)? Compare the different descriptions. How are the experiences alike or different? Using a globe, show the students that "location" is where the place is on the earth’s surface. Then show them pictures of your neighborhood, city, or state to illustrate that "place" describes what it is like there. Have students go back to their descriptions of another location and decide if they described the location or the place. Have them say "L" if it was a description of the location and "P" if it was a description of the place.

When you view the world through the lens of geography, you are asking who, what, where, and when people, places, and things are distributed across the surface of the earth, and why and how they got there. Differentiating between “location,” which helps students answer “where”, and “place,” which helps them answer “what” or “who,” is a simple introduction to a geographic perspective. Once students understand who or what and where, they can build on their understanding to ask other geographic questions. Continue to develop these concepts and skills by looking at the location and place of your classroom within the school.

Brainstorm a list of descriptions about your classroom, and write responses on the board or chart paper. Make sure the descriptions include information about the location of the classroom (what floor, what end of the hall, near what other rooms, etc.) and information about the classroom itself (what it looks like, who uses it, what goes on there, etc.). Then ask students if their responses are about the location of the classroom or the place. Place an “L” next to descriptions of the location and a “P” next to those that describe place.

Continue to model a geographic perspective by asking students to think about how the location and place of their classroom affects them. You might consider some of the following questions:

• Where: Where is the classroom located in the school? Is it close to the cafeteria? Or gym? Or exit doors? Does that make it noisy? Does it mean students get to lunch, P.E., or recess first? Is the classroom on the ground floor or second floor?
• What: What is the classroom like? What goes on in the classroom? What subjects are taught? What events happen? What do you personally like best about the classroom? Why?
• Who: Who belongs to this class? Why is each person (student, teacher, aide, etc.) important?
• When: When do students in your class get dismissed relative to the rest of the school? Is yours the first or last class to get dismissed because of its location?
• How: How is the classroom arranged? Is it large enough for the entire class? How are desks and learning centers arranged? How do students use the different spaces within the classroom? How is it decorated? Why? Is the school itself old or new? Does everything work well in it? How do things like the condition of the heating or air conditioning or having computers in the classrooms affect the students and their learning?
• Why: Why is your classroom special? What makes it different from other classrooms?

For older students, use the Student Handout: Your School (PDF, Adobe Reader required).

Tell students to imagine that a new student will be coming to their class. They need to make the new student feel comfortable by sharing information about their class. As a class, develop a simple map or picture (depending on the familiarity students have with maps) of the classroom. For older students, you may develop a map of the school as well. Have students take turns identifying where their own desks or specific learning areas are located. Then pass out paper and have students draw a picture of their favorite part of the classroom (or school) and describe for the new student where it is located (location) and what it is like (place).

Inquiry Extension

Ask students to locate and describe other places in the community. How are those places like the school, and how are they different?

Cross-Curricular Extension for Further Exploration

Investigate what kinds of soil or animals are found around the school. (Science) Determine the distance from your house to the school. (Math) Have you ever gotten lost? Explain how knowing about location and place could have helped you. (Language Arts)

Try This at Home

Have students imagine that an exchange student is coming to their house, and they need to explain to them the location of their home and to describe what it is like.

Adaptations

Allow students to work in small groups to complete the picture and sentences.

Instead of sentences, have students label their pictures using words from a word bank.

If a student is struggling with the written part of the assignment, ask the student to give an oral description of the location and place.

Celebrate Africa! A Multidisciplinary Guide
Content Guide: Contemporary Issues of Africa
Content Guide: Geographic Perspective
Content Guide: Human Geography of Africa
National Council for Geography Education
National Geographic: The Five Themes of Geography
National Geographic: Xpeditions Lesson Plan—Mapmaking Guide K-2
National Geographic: Xpeditions Lesson Plan—Mapping What Matters
National Geographic: Xpeditions Lesson Plan—What’s Your Favorite Place?
U.S. Geological Survey: Map Adventures—Learning Directions on a Map