Physical Geography

What is a jungle? The answer is not as straightforward as you might think! Don't worry, as these lessons include detailed Teacher's Notes with background information to help you prepare for teaching these engaging KS1 Geography lessons. To kick t... Read More

Explore the hot, dusty Indian seasonal tropical forest – the setting for Kipling's The Jungle Book – in this, the second in the Complete Series of six KS1 Geography lessons. Children will discover why the jungle undergrowth is able to grow so ... Read More

Lead an expedition through the dense, tangled roots of the mangrove trees as children learn all about these strange, tidal forests that exist above and below water. There's beautiful images of plants and animals found in these unique biomes in the... Read More

High in the mountains of Costa Rica, shrouded in mist, a very special type of jungle can be found: a cloud forest. Starkly contrasting with other jungle forests studied in previous lessons in this Complete Series of six KS1 Geography lessons, chil... Read More

Challenge children to compare two very different places: British woodland and tropical jungle forest. In this lesson, there's loads of opportunities for children to compare features of tropical forests to those found in managed forests such as those ... Read More

Give children the chance to consolidate their learning and show you just how much they've remembered and understood about tropical jungle forests. The included slides show questions about prior learning for children to discuss and respond to. After t... Read More

This Africa KS1 lesson starts by looking at a world map to identify the location of the seven continents and five oceans of the world. Your class will then find both the UK and Kenya on a world map and be introduced to the explorers who are excited a... Read More

The second lesson in this Let's go on Safari scheme of work will explore the weather and climate in Kenya. Your class will use this information to help explorers pack appropriate cloting for their Safari. They will discover that Kenya has a range of ... Read More

This lesson gives your KS1 class the chance to find out about African animals found on safari in Kenya. Your children will discover what they look like, where they live and what they eat. They will use their detective skills to match animals to their... Read More

In this lesson your class will become confident using maps. They will be introduced to the four points of a compass rose and use them to navigate around a map. They will take part in practical activities as they follow instructions to find animals in... Read More

In this lesson your class will find out about Kenya's different landscapes. They will take a look at some photos of amazing Kenyan scenery, describing what they can see. They will name and describe the land features, including savannahs, valleys, mou... Read More

In this lesson your class will meet some people from Kenya. They will compare Kenyans living a traditional lifestyle with those who live in modern cities. Your class will have the opportunity to look in detail at the Maasai tribe. The ready-to-te... Read More

The final lesson in this series asks your class compare Kenya and the UK. They will find out about a Kenyan child's day and compare it to their own, thinking about how their school day, food, clothing and activities are similar or different to their ... Read More

The first lesson in this scheme of work explains where Australia is in the world and what makes it a special continent. Your children will be shown how Australia is divided into states and territories and learn their names. This lesson also shows the... Read More

Challenge your class to improve their mapping skills in this lesson as they use Australian maps to describe the location of the states, territories and famous icons. Your children will explore how to use north, south, east and west to describe the po... Read More

Your class will begin to understand how big Australia is in this lesson as they learn about the different climates and weather around the country. Your children will look at the contrasting climates of Hobart and Darwin; by learning about these citie... Read More

This lesson reveals more differences between Australia and the United Kingdom. Christmas Day is a focal point in this lesson which will help your class compare what life is like in two different parts of the world. Your children will learn that Chris... Read More

Australia has some amazing landmarks and physical features. Explore some of these with your class, and remind your children what the difference is between physical and human features. Your children will then write descriptions about the physical feat... Read More

Emus, kangaroos, wombats and more! Your class will love learning about the strange and wonderful animals found in Australia. They will learn about the characteristics of different animals around Australia, and begin to understand that there are some ... Read More

Ben and Bindi will take your class on an Australian culture journey. Your children will get a brief insight to the lives of the Australian Aborigines and discover how differently some of them live compared to non-aboriginal Australians. Your children... Read More

This Europe and France KS1 Geography lesson starts by looking at the seven continents of the world and where they are on a world map. Your class is then introduced to Buddy the Bee who is going to visit a country in each continent over the course of ... Read More

In this China KS1 Geography lesson, your Year 1 or Year 2 class will buzz over to Asia with Buddy the Bee as he explores the country of China. He visits the Great Wall, sees the Terracotta Army, puzzles over Chinese writing, struggles with chopsticks... Read More

This Australia KS1 Geography lesson for Year 1 or Year 2 children is a fun way to help your class become more familiar with the geography of Australia. During the included slideshow presentation for the teaching input, your class will travel to Austr... Read More

In this Africa KS1 Geography lesson pack, your Year 1 or Year 2 class will travel with Buddy the Bee to Kenya. Here, he discovers what this African country is like, looking at the difference between urban and rural areas, as well as exploring traditi... Read More

Where will Buddy go today? After your class look at the world map to see where Buddy has been so far, they will then find out about North America, specifically the USA. They will find out about the 50 states and some of the most famous landmarks arou... Read More

In this South America KS1 Geography lesson, your Year 1 or Year 2 class will recap the countries and continents Buddy the Bee has visited so far. They will then travel with him to South America as they explore the features and culture of Brazil. They... Read More

In this Antarctica KS1 Geography lesson, your Year 1 or Year 2 children will go on a trip with Buddy the Bee to Antarctica! Buddy finds out that no one lives there apart from researchers and a few animals, such as penguins and whales. After getting v... Read More

The first lesson in this six lesson geography scheme of work focuses on locating the UK, the equator and the poles on a world map and a globe. Your class will begin to think about the temperature of different places in the world, deciding where they ... Read More

In this lesson, your class will compare the land features and climate of Ecuador to the UK. They will begin by locating the two countries on a world map and naming the continents they are in. After they have been introduced to a variety of land featu... Read More

Your class will look in detail at the similarities and differences between the capital city of Ecuador and the capital city of the UK. They will explore the land and climate of the two cities and consider what life is like for people living in the ci... Read More

During this lesson, your class will find out which animals live in hot climates and which live in cold climates. They will then think about their habitats in terms of their proximity to the equator or the poles. Your class will be encouraged to think... Read More

This lesson focuses on the National Curriculum objectives of using aerial photos and recognising landmarks. Your class will look at aerial photos of London, Dubrovnik, Yangshou, New York and Rio. They will try to spot physical features like rivers an... Read More

Your class will develop their map skills in the final lesson of this scheme of work. They will explore different types of maps and the need for a clear key, before navigating an example map on the slides. During the activity section of the lesson, yo... Read More

The first lesson in this series teaches your class to identify the seven continents of the world and to locate them on a world map. They also have the chance to find out some information about each one, such as size and the number of counties each on... Read More

Now that your class know where the seven continents are, they can use this knowledge to help them identify and locate countries around the world. Children will fine-tune their map skills as they hunt for countries from Russia to Rwanda and Japan to G... Read More

This challenging but informative lesson gives your class more of a geographical overview of each continent. On a daring voyage of discovery, they will find out about the tallest mountains and longest rivers, as well as where the hottest, coldest, lar... Read More

Honing their map skills even further, your class will get the chance to use what they now know about countries and continents to help them locate some of the major capital cities of the world. They can then find out some information about some of the... Read More

This lesson allows your class to put their research skills to the test as they choose one particular country to study. The slides introduce your class to some children who live in different countries around the world and give a brief overview as to w... Read More

The final lesson in this series allows your class to compare two different countries to find out what they have in common and what the differences between them are, in terms of both human and physical features such as population, size, currency, main... Read More

The first lesson in this scheme of work challenges your class to work out which country they will be learning about. Your children will be shown pictures of Madagascar and discuss what they can learn from them. They will then either be given picture ... Read More

The second lesson in this scheme of work challenges your class to locate Madagascar on a map and look at the countries that surround it. Your class will use the eight points of a compass to navigate around a world map. They will then either use a wor... Read More

The third lesson in this scheme of work gives your class the opportunity to investigate some of the different landscapes found in Madagascar. Your children will learn about and locate lots of landscapes, including beaches, rivers and mountains. As th... Read More

The fourth lesson in this scheme of work explores the climate in Madagascar. It begins by asking the children to look at a world map and think about where Madagascar is in relation to the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn. Your class will learn tha... Read More

During the fifth lesson in this series your class will learn about some of the different animals found in Madagascar. They will discover that lots of Madagascan animals are only found in Madagascar. Then they will try to name some Madagascan animals ... Read More

In the penultimate lesson of this series your class will think about the human geography of Madagascar and compare it to the UK. They will look at three different Madagascan cities and find them on a map using four-figure grid references. They will a... Read More

During the final lesson in this scheme of work, your class will learn about Madagascar’s imported and exported resources. They will locate the countries Madagascar export their resources to, as well as the locations of the countries their major imp... Read More

The first lesson in this series starts by defining exactly what and where Scandinavia is. Your class will learn how to locate Norway, Sweden and Denmark on a world map before looking at a variety of photographs to hunt for clues as to what Scandinavi... Read More

This lesson explores the different climates in Scandinavia and teaches your class why some areas are colder than others by identifying areas of Norway and Sweden that are in the Arctic Circle. As well as exploring the effect the Arctic has on the wea... Read More

This lesson shows your class the stunning scenery of Norway as they explore a variety of its distinctive physical features, including glaciers, fjords and waterfalls. It then goes on to compare Norway's physical features with those of Sweden and Denm... Read More

Now that your class know about the physical geography of Scandinavia it is time for them to explore the human geography! This lesson helps your class to explore the human features of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, including language, population, currenc... Read More

Your class should by now be familiar with both the physical and human geography of the different Scandinavian countries. This lesson now encourages them to put this into context as they compare an area in the UK with an area in Scandinavia. Working i... Read More

The final lesson in this series will see your children transformed into a travel agents as they produce a variety of literature encouraging tourists to visit a particular country or location in Scandinavia. To do this, they will need to draw on every... Read More

The first lesson in this scheme of work introduces your class to India. They will locate the country on a map and look at the major seas and countries that surround it. Your class will learn some interesting facts about India including its population... Read More

The second lesson in this scheme of work gives your class the opportunity to investigate how mountains are formed. Your children will briefly learn about the five ways mountains are formed and view pictures that help explain the different types. They... Read More

Explore the extensive river system in India as your class view maps of India’s rivers and begin to understand how many streams and tributaries there are in the country. Children will learn how rivers work and what they are used for across the land.... Read More

Take your class to into India’s urban areas in this lesson as your class explore some of India’s major cities. They will start by identifying the difference between human and physical features before using photos of Indian cities to identify thes... Read More

The fifth lesson in this scheme of work looks at some aspects of India’s culture. Your class will be amazed at the variety of traditions and customs Indian people adhere to. You will explore India's art, architecture, clothing, religion and cuisine... Read More

Give your class the opportunity to consolidate all their knowledge of India as they compare it to the United Kingdom. Your class will look at different features of India and the United Kingdom and find similarities and differences. The geography, cli... Read More

Where in the world is Italy? Children begin by finding Italy on a world map. They then look in more detail at the country, and find out about the location of its regions, the bordering countries, the seas and the islands that are part of Italy. Child... Read More

What is physical geography? In this lesson, children will find out what this means, and will begin to learn how to interpret a physical map by identifying Italy’s two main mountain ranges, the Alps and Apennines. They will find out about the highes... Read More

In this exciting lesson, children will find out what volcanoes are, including why and how they erupt, and the harmful effect they can have on the surrounding human, animal and plant life. They will learn about the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvi... Read More

What is human geography? In this lesson, children will begin to explore Italy by looking at its famous cities and their landmarks as a class. Then in groups, they will research a city in more depth and prepare a presentation to show to the rest of th... Read More

What is culture? Children will recap on and continue to develop their understanding of the human geography of Italy in this lesson, by looking at different aspects of the country’s culture. They will independently research areas including food and ... Read More

In this final lesson, children will recap on everything that they have discovered about Italy, and consolidate their learning. They will use their understanding to either create an informative lapbook about the country, or to play a game testing thei... Read More

Where in the world is Japan? Children begin by finding Japan on a world map. They then look in more detail at the country, and find out about the location of the surrounding countries, the seas and oceans and the islands that are part of Japan. Child... Read More

Take an in-depth look at what the lines on a world map really mean! Investigate the uses of latitude and longitude as the children become cartographers, locating countries and using the co-ordinates to describe them. The children will discuss the imp... Read More

Discover the reasons why Japan and many other countries are particularly susceptible to earthquakes and how they happen. Discuss the impact that a natural disaster has on a location and what can be done to help keep people safe. Then, allow the child... Read More

Explore the beautiful physical geography of Japan and its climates. From towering mountains (which might also be active volcanoes) to hot springs and forests, the children discover what physical geography is and how a place’s location can change it... Read More

Discover the rich and historical culture of Japan and its population. Learn about the events and changes that can affect a country’s population and economy and how these have changed over the last 150 years in Japan. Teach your class about the stun... Read More

What is life like for a Japanese school student? Take your children on a journey through the day of a Japanese school and allow them to compare a way of life which they can relate to. Explore how a Japanese school is different, and how it is the same... Read More

How is Mexico similar or different to the UK? In this first lesson, children will begin by sharing what they already know about the two countries. As a class, they then look at a range of pictures of Mexico, and discuss what this tells them about the... Read More

Where in the world is Mexico? Children begin this lesson by finding the country on a world map. As a class, they will then look in more detail at the country, learning about the main regions of Mexico, and locating the major cities, the bordering cou... Read More

What is the weather like in Mexico? Children first discuss the difference between weather and climate. They then look at the many different factors that affect what the climate of an area is like. Children find out about Mexico’s two main climate z... Read More

What is the physical geography of Mexico like? In this lesson, children will find out both the meaning of the term physical geography, as well as learning about Mexico’s extremely varied landscape, which includes deserts, jungles and mountains. The... Read More

What is the culture of Mexico like? Children are first introduced to the concept of human geography, and learn that one aspect of this concerns the culture of a society. In their independent activities, children use their research skills to find out ... Read More

Why do people visit Mexico? In this final lesson, children look at Mexico as a holiday destination. They identify and discuss what might attract tourists to the country. In their independent activities, they use this knowledge, as well as that which ... Read More