The five themes of geography are an educational tool for teaching geography. The five themes were published in 1984 and widely adopted by teachers, textbook publishers, and curriculum designers in the United States. Most American geography and social studies classrooms have adopted the five themes in teaching practices, as they provide "an alternative to the detrimental, but unfortunately persistent, habit of teaching geography through rote memorization". They are pedagogical themes that guide how geographic content should be taught in schools. Themes Five Themes of geography: Location Place Human-Environment Interaction Movement Region Location Every point on Earth has a location. Location can be described in two different ways: Absolute location, a location as described by its latitude and longitude on the Earth. For example, the coordinates of Albany, New York are 42.6525° N, 73.7572° W. Relative location, a location as described by where it is compared to something else. For example, Albany, New York is roughly 140 miles north of New York City. Every site on Earth has a unique absolute location, which can be identified with a reference grid (such as latitude and longitude). Maps and globes can be used to find location and can also be used to convey other types of geographical information. Map projections are used to represent the three-dimensional Earth on a two-dimensional map. The earth's position relative to the sun affects climate, seasons, and time zones. Location as a theme helps teachers to demonstrate to students that we have to know and be able to explain where something is before it can be examined geographically. It allows the examination of spatial relationships using spatial ideas such as distance, direction, adjacency, proximity, and enclosure. Place A place is an area that is defined by everything in it. It differs from location in that a place is conditions and features, and location is a position in space. Places have physical characteristics, such as landforms and plant and animal life, as well as human characteristics, such as economic activities and languages. All places have features that give them personality and distinguish them from other places. It is a combination of the “features, perceptions, and activities that occur in a given location". Toponym: a place name, especially one derived from a topographical feature. Site: an area of ground on which a town, building, or monument is constructed. Situation: the location and surroundings of a place. Population: the number of