Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Thinking Like a
Geographer
In This Chapter
Thinking geographically
Taking a look at two case studies
G eography is as much a way of thinking about the world as it is a body of information and concepts.
Therefore, if you want to become good at geography, you must learn to think geographically. Remem-
ber when you were in the third grade and the teacher said, “Let's all put on our thinking caps”? Cute
line, wasn't it? Well, I'm asking you to put on your thinking cap — your geography thinking cap, that
is.
Thinking geographically is a process that involves a discreet set of skills. Therefore, this chapter is
very different from the rest because it's not, on the whole or in part, about the content of geography.
Certainly, you will encounter a fair amount of information about a particular part of the world. If you
remembered it, great, but that's not the point. Instead, the goal is for you to learn how to think geo-
graphically and see that doing so facilitates a deeper understanding of the human and natural phenom-
ena that geographers study.
Changing the Way You Think — Geographically
In Chapter 1, the content of geography was likened to a pizza pie, and The Six Essential Elements were
presented as a way to “cut it up.” The same National Geography Standards that give us those Elements
also present a series of related skills that together constitute the process of thinking geographically.
They include:
Asking Geographic Questions:
Thinking geographically typically begins with the ques-
tions “Where?” and “Why?” Sticking with pizza, one might want to know where all of the pizza
shops in town are located and why they are there. Conversely, a person going into the pizza
business may want to know where a good location would be to open a new pizza shop, and why.
