Geography at key stages 1 and 2 (Year 1-6)

Unit 25: Geography and numbers
Section 1: How do numbers help us in geography at key stage 1?

Objectives

Children should learn:

to apply mathematics to work in geography
to use geographical vocabulary
fieldwork skills
to use maps and plans
to use ICT
to investigate the locality of their school

Activities

Outcomes

Children:

Solving problems

Ask the children to find the shortest safe route for a group of children to move between two classrooms. Children might choose to pace out different routes or use metre sticks as a standard measure. Ask the children to calculate the differences between the lengths of various routes and consider which are most suitable for the group size.

Measures

When studying the locality of the school, ask the children to use simple base plans and string to mark and discuss longest and shortest routes to different places, eg the local shops or park. They could also begin to develop an understanding of angle as a measure of turn in this activity by using whole turns, half-turns and quarter-turns.
When studying weather in the school grounds, ask the children to read a thermometer to the nearest labelled division.

Shape and space

Ask the children to build models of ideal settlements using 3-D shapes, recording the range of shapes used and their properties. Children could investigate what the shapes look like from above using a camera.
Ask the children to devise instructions to navigate a floor robot through a maze. Encourage children to use vocabulary such as left, right, backwards, forwards, along, clockwise, anticlockwise and right angles.
Ask the children to talk about and draw a plan of their journey from home to school, and to estimate how far it is and how long it takes to walk it.

Handling data

Ask the children to undertake a pedestrian traffic count in one corridor at different times during the school day. Ask the children to present their data in a simple table or simple block graph showing time of day and number of people counted over a set period. Use a base map of the school and knowledge of the school day to discuss and interpret findings.

work out the difference in length between two routes around the school building
use a simple map to identify features and possible routes (longest and shortest) within the local area
read a thermometer
identify main features of a settlement (listing shapes used)
use appropriate directional language
draw a plan of their journey from home to school
count 'traffic' and understand reasons for variation in flow

Points to note

Geographical questions which may be addressed within this section include:

Which are the longest and shortest routes between two places?
What are the main features of a village settlement?
Which way will the robot have to go to get through the maze?
How did we get to school today?
How busy is this corridor at different times during the day? Why?

It is always worth checking the units and intervals of measurement used on fieldwork equipment.

Ideas within this unit should be linked with other units. For example, many elements of this section could be linked with Unit 1 'Around our school - the local area'.

Sections in this unit

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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.


	1. How do numbers help us in geography at key stage 1?
	2. How do numbers help us in geography in years 3 and 4?
	3. How do numbers help us in geography in years 5 and 6?