Chapter 5
Regions: How they form and Change
How can places be described or compared? How can
the Earth be divided into regions for study? Geographers categorize regions
in two basic ways—physical and cultural. Physical regions are defined by
landform (continents and mountain
ranges), climate, soil, and natural vegetation. Cultural regions are distinguished
by political, economic, religious,
linguistic, agricultural, and industrial characteristics.
Examine Physical Regions
- Help your child understand physical regions by
examining areas in your home. Is there an upstairs and a downstairs? Is there an eating
area and a sleeping area? Are there other "regions" in your home that can be
described?
- Look at the physical regions in your community. Some neighborhoods grew up around hills,
others developed on waterfronts or around parks. What physical regions exist in your
hometown?
Examine Cultural Regions
- Take your children to visit the different political, residential, recreational, ethnic,
and commercial regions of your city.
- Go to plays, movies, and puppet shows about people from different countries. These are often presented
at libraries and museums.
- Give children geography lessons by tying in with ethnic holiday themes. Provide children
with regional or ethnic clothes to wear. Some museums and libraries provide clothes
children can borrow. Holidays provide an opportunity to learn about the customs of people
around the world. You can use the library to discover how other people celebrate special
days.
- Compare coins, flags, and stamps from other lands. They often contain information about
the country. You may be able to find stamps from other countries where you work, or your
children may get them from pen pals. Stamps tell many
different kinds of things about a country, from its political leadership to native bird
life.
- Learn simple words in different languages.
Teach your children to count to 10 in other languages. They can also learn simple words
like "hello", "goodbye", and "thank you." Look at different
alphabets or script from various regions. All these activities expose children to the
abundance of the Earth's cultural treasures. Many libraries have language tapes and books,
some especially for children.
- If you have friends who are from different countries or have either traveled or lived
abroad, invite them over to talk with your children. If they have pictures, so much the
better. What languages do they speak? How are their customs or dress similar to or
different from yours.
Paths for Further Exploration
A
Collection of maps of different countries
Country Studies
Interactive Map of World [ReadyWeb Editor's Note (1-11-03): this linke (http://pubweb.parc.xerox.com/map)
is no longer active]
Travels with
Samantha
Mountains [ReadyWeb Editor's Note (1-11-03): this linke (http://www.ualberta.ca/~bbolt/skican.html)
is no longer active]
Directory of travel references
The U.S. Gazetteer
Up
to table of contents
Chapter
4 
Conclusion