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Key Stage 1 Local Studies: Our School and Local Area
Local Land Use

The pirates want to play! Map the local area to locate parks and playgrounds; is there enough play space to satisfy pirates’ play needs to prevent them becoming mischievous? What shops do we have in our locality? One pirate wants an ice-cream, another a comic and a third new boots – where can we buy these items? The classroom becomes a ‘miniature village’ as local businesses are reproduced. Finish by working together to produce a trail around the locality. Celebrate learning with a presentation to parents and carers.

Session 1 Treasure hunt

Objectives

Geography

  • Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds, together with the key human & physical features of its surrounding environment.
  • Use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language (near and far; left and right) to describe the location of features and routes on a map.

Lesson Planning

Pirates use treasure map to hunt and find treasure! We’re going on a treasure Hunt; we’re going to find a sparkly one.

Teaching Outcomes
To learn how to create and read symbols on maps and follow compass directions.

Children will:

  • Dress up and enjoy pirate- themed action songs.
  • Follow directions and instructions, making reference to a map.
  • Read symbols on a map.

You Will Need

  • Pirate outfits for children
  • Treasure map (map of school grounds and location of pirate’s treasure chest filled with gold chocolate coins)
  • Adult pirate outfit
  • List of directions/instructions written on a scroll tied with ribbon
  • Teabags and water

Session 2 Pirate code

Objectives

Geography

  • Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds, the key human & physical features of its surrounding environment.
  • Locate features and routes on a map.
  • Use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognize landmarks and basic human and physical features.
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical features, including: beach, coast, forest, hill, mountain, river, valley, vegetation and key human features including: city, town, village.

Lesson Planning

Decipher the pirate code to learn about coordinates!

Teaching Outcomes
To learn how to read simple coordinates on maps.

Children will:

  • Learn to use coordinates to locate position on maps.
  • Use symbols to represent geographical human and physical features on maps.
  • Role play ‘pirates’.
  • Create Pirate Island Tortilla wraps.

You Will Need

  • Cooking ingredients and utensils
  • 'Our locality' with incomplete grid drawn over it
  • Key word cards
  • Map of pirates’ island
  • Prepared tea stained paper
  • Large sized grid paper
  • Plastic counters
  • Large book to act as screen
  • Role play props
  • Small world models
  • Outline of parrot

Session 3 What do you think?

Objectives

Geography

  • Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds, together with the key human & physical features of its surrounding environment.
  • Locate features and routes on a map. Use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognize landmarks and basic human and physical features.
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical features, including: beach, coast, forest, hill, mountain, river, valley, vegetation and key human features including: city, town, village.

English

  • Use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary; articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions.
  • Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates.

Lesson Planning

The pirates want to play! Use Google earth and map of the local area to locate parks and playgrounds; is there enough play space to satisfy pirates’ play needs to prevent them becoming mischievous?

Teaching Outcomes
To consider provision of recreational green space in the locality and debate whether this meets local need.

Children will:

  • Become more familiar with their locality.
  • Identify green spaces suitable for recreation on map of locality.
  • Debate whether there is a need for more play space, sharing opinion and giving reasons for that opinion.
  • Compose class letter either thanking local council for all the play space available or requesting more be made available.

Provided Resources

This session does not need any provided resources.

You Will Need

  • Photos of local park
  • Circle time pebbles
  • 2 containers
  • Toy microphone or similar
  • Flip-chart
  • A4 envelope addressed to local council

Session 4 Shopping!

Objectives

Geography

  • Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school, together with its grounds and the key human & physical features of its surrounding environment.
  • Use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language (near and far; left and right) to describe the location of features and routes on a map.
  • Devise a simple map.
  • Use and construct basic symbols in a key.
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical & human features.

Lesson Planning

What shops do we have in our locality? One pirate wants an ice-cream, another a comic and a third new boots – where can we buy these items?

Teaching Outcomes
To use geographical language and their knowledge of the local area to help pirates visit local shops.

Children will:

  • Conduct visual survey of all shops in locality, including coffee shops, charity shops, hairdressers, post-office.
  • Hopefully interview shopkeepers (ready primed) about how a shop works.
  • Create and describe routes from school to shop(s).
  • Role play shop keepers and customers.

Provided Resources

This session does not need any provided resources.

You Will Need

  • Pirate role play outfits for 3 visiting pirates
  • Toys/puppets dressed as pirates
  • Locational/directional vocabulary key word cards or poster
  • Strips of A3 paper for routes
  • Role-play resources

Session 5 What are you doing today?

Objectives

Geography

  • Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds plus the key human & physical features of its surrounding environment.
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical and human features including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour.

English

  • Spoken Language: Listen and respond appropriately; build vocabulary; speak audibly and fluently; participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments.
  • Consider and evaluate different viewpoints.

SMSC

  • Enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in UK.
  • Further mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Lesson Planning

The class room becomes a ‘miniature village’ as local businesses are reproduced in role play and small world.

Teaching Outcomes
Children to emerge themselves in the everyday lives and routines of life in the locality; to understand how the community operates and the role of individuals within local community.

Children will:

  • Immerse themselves in life in the local community.
  • Gain an understanding of everyday life outside of school.
  • Broaden vocabulary + increase confidence when speaking in different situations.
  • Produce zig zag diaries depicting visiting pirate’s week in the locality.
  • Develop mutual respect and tolerance.

Provided Resources

This session does not need any provided resources.

You Will Need

  • Classroom resources to create role play scenarios
  • Cardboard boxes and tubes
  • Toy pet animals
  • Play food
  • Play office equipment
  • Small world characters
  • Zig-zag books

Session 6 Walk around our locality!

Objectives

Geography

  • Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds, plus the key human & physical features of its surrounding environment.
  • Use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language (near and far; left and right) to describe the location of features and routes on a map.

English

  • Composition: Children write in sentences by composing the sentence orally before writing it, sequencing sentences to form short narratives.
  • Evaluate writing by reading to teacher/other children.
  • Revise and correct.
  • Read aloud what they have written with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear.

Lesson Planning

Work together to produce a trail around the locality. What sounds might you hear on your way? Celebrate learning with a presentation to parents and carers.

Teaching Outcomes
To write recounts to accompany photos of the locality and arrange to create a walk around the local area

Children will:

  • Write recount, describing a place in the locality, arrange recounts in order to create a local walk/trail.
  • Give directions to assist participants to find their way around trail, produce I-SPY clues.
  • Create soundscape to accompany photos ‘Street Sounds’.
  • Participate in a presentation of ‘Street Sounds’ and recounts that explain and celebrate their learning.

You Will Need

  • A4 size photos of local area taken over course of this topic
  • A3 stiff paper (pre-prepared with hole punch to make class book)
  • Treasury tags
  • Small white boards to compose drafts