Year+4+Geography

Year 4 || =World weather reports=
 * GEOGRAPHY


 * Information ||

Objectives
• To investigate places • To use secondary sources • To use ICT to present information

Prior learning
To benefit from this lesson, children should: • have used maps, atlases and the Internet to find out where local and national events are happening; • be familiar with common weather symbols

Vocabulary
weather symbol, forecast, climate, continent

Resources
• data projector or interactive whiteboard linked to a laptop • ICT suite or set of laptops • atlases • Internet access to websites to locate countries and cities: to locate countries, Global Gazetteer at [] to locate cities, [] • Internet access to websites to research the weather: [] [] [] • maps and weather symbols • desktop publishing package and/or word processing software • Word resource file for recording weather data (in this Example, //Weather data Word// file)

ICT skills needed by teachers
To teach this unit, teachers need to know how to: • access and download information from the Internet; • use the selected desktop publishing package.

Preparation for this lesson
In this lesson, children will need to locate weather data from around the world. For this they can use a variety of weather Internet sites, which you may want to bookmark for them. They can also use other sources such as TV and newspapers, TV text and radio. Decide on the data to be collected and how to record it in a common format. Prepare a map on which children can record the weather data. Decide on the set of weather symbols to be used. Before the lesson, set up the relevant software on the shared area of the network or on the computers that the children are to use. Prepare the software on your own computer ready for display. Prepare a set of help cards, or prompts and diagrams, to help children to remember what to do when they are using the software.


 * Lesson extract ||

Main activity
Ask children to collect weather data and use the Weather data Word file to record their data. Ask children to locate the places for which they have weather data on maps of the UK, Europe or the world. They can use traditional print resources such as an atlas, making use of the contents and index. Alternatively, digital resources may make the task easier. Ask the children to display the data on a weather map. Get them to work on screen on an electronic map, using the desktop publishing software. The children should then prepare a short summary of the weather to give to the rest of the class.

Next steps
Data can be saved and used for comparison with successive years or with other classes. For example, a weather chart for each season could be produced for comparison.


 * Notes ||

Links to QCA schemes of work
The lesson links to: QCA Geography Unit 16: What’s in the news? Section 3: What will the weather be like today or tomorrow? How does weather vary around the world?

Context of this lesson
This section of the unit investigates weather in different areas, as part of the news.

Subject links
Possible links could be made to work in English, art and design or science.

Why use ICT?
The advantages of using ICT are as follows. • The Internet gives access to a much wider range of information and resource material than is offered by the traditional print resources in a school. • The use of the Internet helps teachers to extend their own knowledge and understanding about particular issues before teaching the children. • ICT allows teachers to project enlarged visual images for whole-class demonstration and discussion. • ICT allows children to draft and present written and pictorial information in an attractive format. Their work can be saved, and refined or added to later.

Year 4 || = Improving the environment =
 * GEOGRAPHY


 * Information ||

Objectives
• To collect and record evidence in answer to a question • To use ICT to present findings • To use fieldwork skills

Prior learning
To benefit from this lesson, children should: • have completed work on other sorts of environmental problems; • have decided that they should try to do something to improve their area.

Vocabulary
pollution, litter, environment, derelict, waste

Resources
• data projector or interactive whiteboard linked to a laptop • ICT suite or set of laptops • digital camera • clip art • desktop publishing software • example resource file showing completed poster (in this Example, //Vandalism jpg// file)

ICT skills needed by teachers
To teach this unit, teachers need to know how to: • save images taken with a digital camera and import them into a desktop publishing package; • create presentations and reports using a desktop publishing package.

Preparation for this lesson
On return from fieldwork, save the images into a location where the children have access to them. If necessary, resize the images to make them easier to load and use in the desktop publishing software. Before the lesson, set up the relevant software on the shared area of the network or on the computers that the children are to use. Prepare the software on your own computer ready for display. Prepare a set of help cards, or prompts and diagrams, to help children to remember what to do when they are using the software.


 * Lesson extract ||

Main activity
Look at the images from fieldwork with the children (using a digital projector or an interactive whiteboard if possible). Q Which images could be used in a poster to convince people to improve the environment? Q What is it about this photograph that makes it good to use? Q Are there any parts of the photo that you would want to remove? Why? Q What phrases could be included on a poster to persuade people to change their behaviour towards the environment? List some key points to be included. Provide correct spellings of vocabulary where necessary. Ask children to work in pairs or groups to prepare a poster, inserting photographs of the location under consideration. Ask them to arrange the photographs and text to make an impression on the people who need to change. Ask them to use colour and font type to suit the task. An example file is included on the CD-ROM.

Plenary
Bring the class together and ask children to look at each other’s posters. Ask: Q What features of this poster help to get the message over? Q How could this poster be improved? Q What have you learned from looking at this poster that you could use in your own work?

Next steps
The children may require another lesson to allow them to put finishing touches to their posters. Having done this, the posters can be displayed where people can see them and think about their messages. Children may wish to send posters to agencies who can help solve the problem.


 * Notes ||

Links to QCA schemes of work
The lesson links to: QCA Geography Unit 8: Improving the environment Section 4: What is this place like and why? How can it be improved?

Context of this lesson
This lesson may best support the final section of Unit 8.

Subject links
Links could be made to work in art and design or design and technology, and to reading and writing activities in the literacy hour.

Why use ICT?
The advantages of using ICT are as follows. • The use of a digital camera allows evidence gathered on fieldwork to be dated and located accurately, and to be incorporated into reports and presentations. • ICT allows teachers to project enlarged visual images for whole-class demonstration and discussion. • ICT allows children to draft and present written and pictorial information in an attractive format. Their work can be saved, and refined or added to later.

GEOGRAPHY Year 4 || =A village map=

Information ||

Objectives
• To recognise that villages have specific features • To recognise that features are located in response to physical features and human choice • To draw a map of the layout of a settlement

Prior learning
To benefit from this lesson, children should: • have discussed the needs of early settlers and what might be the best locations for settlements; • have found examples of Anglo-Saxon villages on a map (e.g. in rural Lincolnshire) and identified reasons why they were attractive sites for settlers; • have looked at features of villages today by using symbols on maps and identifying common features to establish characteristics of a ‘typical’ village; • be familiar with map features such as symbols, keys, scale and the compass rose.

Vocabulary
river, flooding, routes, paths, compass points

Resources
• data projector or interactive whiteboard linked to a laptop • ICT suite or set of laptops • presentation software suitable for drawing a pictorial map of a village and importing images (in this Example, //Easiteach//) • maps to look at as examples

ICT skills needed by teachers
To teach this unit, teachers need to know how to: • use presentation software • import and use images

Preparation for this lesson
Before the lesson, set up the relevant software and files on the shared area of the network or on the computers that the children are to use. Prepare the software on your own computer ready for display. Prepare a set of help cards, or prompts and diagrams, to help children to remember what to do when they are using the software.

Lesson extract ||

Introduction
Discuss what features children would like to see in a village development. Q What features will your ideal village include? Consider links to other places, catering for different age groups, keeping the character of a village. Q Where will you site the key features? Why? Q Which features need to be central for use by all? Encourage geographical vocabulary. Get children to use compass points and phrases such as ‘north-east of the forest’.

Main activity
Open the software being used. Show children a simple, basic map. Include some specified features such as an area of high ground, a village pond and a river already marked. Recall features of maps, e.g. symbols, keys, scale, the compass rose. Explain to the class that they are going to work in small groups to create an ideal, new village, using the software provided. Say that they should use symbols or images to create their own village map. Remind the groups to discuss and plan their village before starting to use the software.

Plenary
When the villages have been created and saved, ask the groups to put forward their plans for their ideal village to the rest of the class, stating reasons for the inclusion of the features and their layout. Decide which village has the best layout and features, and why.

Next steps
A similar activity, creating a map, could be used for showing possible improvements to the local environment.

Notes ||

Links to QCA schemes of work
The lesson links to: QCA Geography Unit 9: Village settlers Section 3: What are the villages like today?

Context of this lesson
This lesson comes at the end of this unit. The children will have looked at the historical development of villages. This activity gives them a chance to show what they have learned.

Subject links
Links can be made to work in history on the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings.

Why use ICT?
The advantages of using ICT are as follows. • ICT allows children to draft and present written and pictorial information in an attractive format. Their work can be saved, and refined or added to later. Copies can be printed for various audiences.