People and their Physical Environments

Wouldn’t it be fun if we could be explorers?   We could travel throughout the world visiting new places and learning about how people live in communities very different from our own.  How exciting that would be!  Let's take a look at some of the things we might see in our travels.

As we explore communities around the world, we will find that people live in many different types of environments.  An environment is the land, water, air, and living things that surround us.  We may also call these things physical features.  We will find that some people live in very hot environments. Communities are found in very cold places, too. 

Some communities are located in very wet and rainy regions, while others are in dry locations.  They may be located near physical features such as oceans or other sources of water such as rivers and lakes.  Other people live in places that have very little water.

There are communities found high up in the mountains and deep down in valleys.  No matter how different the physical features of these communities may be, they all have one thing in common.  The members of the community have all learned to adapt to their environment.

People must adapt to their environment in order to survive, or live, in their region.  In some places the climate makes it difficult to survive.  Members of a community in a cold climate adapt by making or buying clothing that will keep them warm.  They must also have warm shelters or houses to keep out the cold winds and snow.

In regions where the weather is hot much of the year, people must also adapt to their environment.  The clothing people wear is light in weight, but is needed as a protection from the hot sun or blowing sand.  Houses and buildings in hot climates do not need to provide protection from freezing weather.  Instead they offer cool shade from the hot sun. 

As we explore different communities and environments, we will see that they are different in many ways.  We will also find that they are the same in many ways, too.  Let's begin our exploration of different world communities.

 Click on a picture below to begin.

                       
   South Africa      USA: New York State            Puerto Rico                            Japan