Archived: Early Childhood: Where Learning Begins Geography

Where Is It?                 

The first theme geographers use is location.  This tells us exactly where in the world something

is.  Just as your home has a street address, every place has  a ``global address'' identified by

latitude and longitude.  If you know these numbers and how to use them, you can find any place

in the world and give its absolute location.  (For definitions, see the glossary at the end of this

booklet.)

Geographers also ask why things are located in particular places. How do these places influence

our lives?  For example, Baltimore, Maryland, was founded at 39.3

o

 (degrees)  orth latitude and

76.6

o

 (degrees) West longitude on an inland harbor.  It is a major shipping port for the eastern

seaboard with direct land routes by train and highway to cities throughout the United States. 

Many people who live in Baltimore are involved in waterfront activities such as shipping,

loading, and fishing.

Very young children will not be able to understand concepts like latitude and longitude, or even

left and right.  However, young children learn body awareness—the shape of the body and how

much space it takes up, where the different body parts are, how the body moves and rests, how

the voice is a part of the body. This is the beginning of an understanding of location.

Young children learn that they relate to other people and physical things.  To help young children

learn location, make sure they know the color and style of the building in which they live, the

name of their town, and their street address.  Then, when you talk about other places, they have

something of their own with which to compare.

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