Grade 5 · Social Studies · Lesson 3

Physical and Human Features

Every place on Earth is shaped by two big sets of features. Physical features are the natural parts of the land — mountains, rivers, forests, deserts — that exist with or without people. Human features are the things people have built or changed — cities, roads, bridges, farms. Geographers study both because together they tell the full story of a place.

What this lesson teaches

1Define physical features and human features on a map or in a landscape
2Sort common features into physical or human categories
3Match key features to their correct descriptions
4Explain why mapmakers show both physical and human features together

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