"Place" is any spot on earth that is unique and different from other areas. Consider Niagara Falls, with its water feature, and Paris, France, housing the Eiffel Tower. Those places are recognizable because of their famous landmarks, either natural or man-made. Ask students to write a description of a famous place that they have visited. Include details that mention landmarks, such as buildings, statues or bodies of water. When all students are finished writing, ask a volunteer to read his description. Have the other students listen to the description and name the place. If the description is well-written, offering many specific points of interest at that place, the other students should be able to guess correctly.
"Location" is the specific point of a place. It can be relative, offering a general idea of where the place is, such as "by the park," or absolute, giving the specific point of longitude and latitude that can be found on a map. Ask students to write relative directions from school to their homes and draw a map to match. Then have students use an online mapping website to find the absolute directions and map of the same route. Compare the two and discuss the differences between relative and absolute location.
"Region" is a division in the world -- an area grouped together because of similar characteristics. Regions include places and locations. Divide students into small groups and assign a different region to each. For instance, one group may have Central America, one the Middle East and another Southeast Asia. Using an atlas and online sources, ask each group to draw a scale map of their region, being sure to incorporate place and location by marking some of those features on the completed map. The group maps should be displayed and used to discuss those regions whenever they are studied.
"Movement" is the connection between places and locations. It is the way in which information, people and products move from one place to another. Movement is measured by flow, the amount of movement, and by systems, the pattern or route of movement. Use a mapping website to show students the different routes that products and ideas might take to reach them at their location. Have students check the tags in their shirts to see where the items were made. Mark the school's location and the location of the clothing factory. Label and discuss the possible routes and forms of transportation that could have been used to move those items.
"Human interaction" refers to the fact that humans influence their environment because they make things that cause change, such as housing developments and dams. Display a picture of a major city like New York, San Francisco or Pittsburgh and ask students to list the things that are man-made. Next, display several pictures of housing, such as igloos and tropical huts, and have students guess where each house might be located. Explain that the image of the city showed a way in which humans change their environment to suit their needs while the second image showed how humans adapt themselves to suit the environment. Ask students to list other ways in which humans interact with the world, whether changing the environment or changing themselves.