NOTES FOR TEACHERS
GEOGRAPHY-SPECIFIC TOPICS FOR KS2 CHILDREN
AGED 7-11 IN YEAR GROUPS 3-6
These fieldwork opportunities enable children to develop geographical skills through their investigation of places (i.e. a contrasting UK locality) and themes (i.e. rivers and their effects on the landscape, environments and how they change).
A River Study:
The Western Yar is ideal for study in terms of its size (approx. 2 miles from source to mouth), tidal characteristics, and easy access - with safe public footpaths along both its East and West banks.
A Downland Study:
Brading Down is a unique and truly natural area of south-facing downland slope, 60-123m above sea-level, designated as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and with safe and accessible public trails and tracks of only a few miles distance.
A Coastal Study:
The Needles are one of the most dramatic and characteristic landmarks of the British Isles - the red and white lighthouse tower, 3 great chalk stacks, and sheer chalk cliffs towering up to 140m above the sea - guarding the western entrance to the Solent. Access is either from the land, by open-top bus to the vantage-point of the Old Battery, or from the sea, by pleasure-craft trip from Alum Bay around The Needles and its immediate coastal vicinity.
Since Geography's individual character rests upon its concern for place as a unifying focus of study, it is suggested that these activities could be generated by considering the '5 basic questions' (Storm 1989) which the subject asks:
1. What is this place like?
  • investigate, collect and sort evidence from a variety of sources: including video records, photo-trails, local postcards, tourist information, vegetation and artefacts.
  • locational knowledge (where is this place?) and use of maps (e.g. IW tourist maps, local Estate Agent maps, OS 1:10,000 & 1: 50,000 maps).
  • observe, describe and categorise local characteristics: similarities with, and differences to, the children's home locality (including landscape, transport, weather; services, land-use, buildings).
    2.Why is this place as it is?
  • identify and explain its character, the natural landscape, settlements, the physical and human features.
    3. How is this place connected to other places?
  • investigate the interaction and links with other places: including migrating species of birds, ferry-links to the Mainland, local bus-routes, and evidence of other ancient and modern routes.
    4. How is this place changing?
  • consider local issues such as competition for resources: commercial and recreational activities versus conservation and wildlife habitats.
    5. What would it feel like to be in this place?
  • an imaginative dimension and stimulus to children's creative exploration of their sense of place: a meaningful and motivating context for the acquisition of language skills and vocabulary.

    FOLLOW-UP WORK:
    A River Study
    This could lead to atlas work/quiz maps on the important rivers of the UK, Europe, and the World (i.e. NC PoS maps A,B,C). It could also lead to questions about whether it is only rivers that erode, transport and deposit materials. Videos, slides and photo-sets could help children explore the processes at work with the sea, wind or glaciers.
    A Downland Study
    This could be extended to the identification of the remaining areas of natural downland on maps of England, and an investigation into the simple geology and resultant landscapes of Southern England. Again, videos, slides and photo-sets could help the children identify and recognise the main characteristics of downland.
    A Coastal Study
    This could lead to the study of contrasting coastal areas (and/or other British lighthouse sites), identifying similarities and differences, using pictures. souvenirs. postcards, photographs and the children's personal experiences.
    There are clearly many opportunities for supporting all of this work with stories and poems.
    IW Education Centre resource-packs on 'The West Wight' -'Rivers', 'Brading Down', and associated maps, could be used in conjunction with these activities to broaden, deepen, and extend study.
    Both adults and children involved with fieldwork such as this should be familiar with the need for care and safety near water, and The Country Code.
    • The author Andrew Knight has a B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Geography from University College London (1974) and is a full time
    primary school teacher on the Isle of Wight.