Geography+and+ICT

• Design and carry out a survey of how children come to school. Enter the information into a data handling package e.g. Information Workshop 2000 or 2Go (transport file). Produce a pictogram and analyse the findings.• Take the children for a walk around the local area. Use a digital camera to take photographs of the school to help the children identify buildings around the school and discuss where they are in relation to each other.• Use pictorial icons in ‘Local Studies’ to create a sketch map of the local area. (This could be a teacher led activity using a data projector.)• Use aerial photographs from www.multimap.com to plot local recreational facilities• Show aerial photos, maps or photographs with an area shaded out, ask children to identify what is missing • Display a local map on a large screen, ask the children to draw their route home:• The children and teacher set up model buildings using wooden building blocks on a play mat with roads already marked on it. (Alternatively, a simple road system can be painted on a large sheet of paper.) These models are then photographed from above, using a digital camera, as if from a hot air balloon or helicopter. Either the pictures are printed out or they are displayed on a ‘drag and drop’ and the children use them to reconstruct their models.
 * =====Unit 1 Around Our School – The Local Area=====

Unit 2 How can we make our local area safer?
• Carry out a traffic survey of the road outside the school. Enter the data into a simple graphing package and produce a pictogram. Analyse findings answering the question “Is this a busy road?” Street signs can be downloaded from www.highwaycode.gov.uk/• Use a digital camera to record points of interest• A video camera can be used to record potential hazards. Back in the classroom children could record a voice over to produce a news item. []
 * Websites:**

Unit 3 An island home
• Using a simple painting program, create a picture / map of Struay • Display island images, introduce appropriate vocabulary• Paste images in Textease or Clicker children can use the word banks create labels.• Using a WP package write about the island from a visitor’s point of view, perhaps describing a route around the island >
 * Websites**:[|www.multimap.com] enter ‘Coll’ in the Find box[|www.sturgeon.dircon.co.uk/] – has a large collection of photographs of Coll[|www.isleofcoll.org/][|www.angusbear.com/]

Unit 4 Going to the seaside
• Design and carry out a school survey to find places that children have visited. Enter the information into a database e.g. Information Workshop 2000. Search the database to answer questions and draw conclusions from evidence.• Identify locations on a projected map• Use a paint package to create a postcard image. • Help children to group places into types of environments, eg town, countryside, seaside by sorting photographs in Textease (or whiteboard software). [|www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/subjects/geography/sammy/book-cov-ks1.html][|http://home.freeuk.com/elloughton13/seaside.htm][|www.freefoto.com] for copyright images of a variety of locations[|www.geograph.co.uk/]
 * Websites:**

Unit 5 Where in the world is Barnaby Bear?
• Use a CD-ROM atlas suitable for young children to investigate some of the places Barnaby visits e.g. Oxford Infant Talking Atlas• Download some pictures of the places Barnaby Bear has visited. Help the children to choose and insert one of the pictures into a WP document. Underneath the picture produce a piece of text stating whether this place is a long way away, whether he would have to cross the sea, rivers or mountains, or drive along a motorway, and how best to travel to the place. Less able writers could be supported with an onscreen wordbank such as Textease or Clicker
 * Websites:**[|www.bbc.co.uk/schools/barnabybear/][][|www.durhamlea.org.uk/barnaby/][|www.geograph.co.uk/]

Unit 6 Investigating our local area
• Ask the children to locate the UK on a globe and then, on progressively larger scale maps, to locate region, county, village. Drop a range of maps of different scales into PowerPoint for ease of access. • Discuss with the children the layout of the settlement and reasons for why it is like it is – an aerial photograph displayed on a white board with the main features outlined can be annotated to aid understanding.• Divide the children into groups and ask each group to identify land use [e.g. houses, shops, roads, services, farmland etc.] within a small area of their locality. Collate findings in a database and present results as bar graphs and pie charts.• Communicate via e-mail with a class in a contrasting locality who are also studying their local area. Pose questions to each other and compile and send information on their local area in response to questions. • Use ‘Local Studies’ to record directions.• Show aerial photos, maps or photographs with an area shaded out, ask children to identify what is missing.
 * Websites:**[|www.btinternet.com/~Etonypickford/gg/contuk.html][][|www.geograph.co.uk]

Unit 7 Weather around the world
• Use a variety of sources including CD-ROM or the Internet to find out about a chosen holiday destination. • Use a website such as www.bbc.co.uk/weather to explore weather conditions in different parts of the world. Results could be graphed.• Children will need to be encouraged to look carefully at the resulting graphs and make intelligent comments. Depending on your choice of focus, children will be able to answer questions such as whether these places are suitable for tourism. What would it be like to live here?• Imagining that they are in the holiday destination, write a postcard describing the weather conditions and leisure activities that they experienced. Children will be able to say whether they were able to go sight seeing or not due to rain. If it is very hot they can comment on the need to wear protection against the sun. > [|www.bbc.co.uk] – create your own link to local weather by entering your postcode in the ‘Where I live’ section.[|www.meto.gov.uk/education/data/index.html][][|www.bbc.co.uk/schools/whatisweather/]
 * Websites:**

Unit 8 Improving the environment
• Use a sound sensor to measure the level of sound at different times of the day. Enter the data into a spreadsheet and produce graphs to present findings.• Divide the children into small groups to investigate litter in different areas of the school grounds, present findings using a spreadsheet and produce graphs.• Identify an area in the locality that has not been cared for, in groups use WP software to write a report to send to the local council describing how the environment is being affected and asking if there are any plans to improve the area. A writing frame such as a Clicker Grid or a Textease wordbank could be used to help structure the report and help with vocabulary.• Discuss the use and misuse of electricity at home and in school. Have the children’s parents ever complained about the electricity bill? What are the other possible effects of using too much? How does it affect the world? What can we do? Introduce the idea of a survey of the lights left on / turned off in school. Work with the children to formulate a recording sheet for the data. Include important facts such as date, location, and time of observation, whether the lights are on, whether there is someone in the room and how dark/bright it was outside. (Obviously if the room has no or a poor source of natural light then that class or group would need to use the lights more often than an ordinary classroom.) Decide upon how many times the survey will be carried out. When might be good times to check? Times such as assembly times, playtime, mid morning might give interesting results.• Carry out the survey the suggested number of times. Prepare a database or spreadsheet into which to enter the data. [|www.naturegrid.org.uk/eco-exp/qca.html][|www.countrysidefoundation.org.uk/index.htm][][|www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/sound/u11l2b.html](scroll down page for common sounds and a typical level in decibels)[|www.nwnet.org.uk/pages/ict_curric/geography/geography.html]
 * Websites:**

Unit 9 Village settlers
• Using ‘Local Studies’ present the children with a template with only a river marked on it and a blank key at the side. Ask the children to devise their own village settlement using names and OS map symbols to represent features. Ask them to include some specified features e.g. an area of high ground, village pond, small housing estate. [][|www.bbc.co.uk/schools/twocities/][|www.sln.org.uk/geography/primary.htm] – scroll down page for lesson plans[|www.nwnet.org.uk/pages/ict_curric/geography/geography.html] >
 * Websites:**

Unit 10 A village in India
• Use globes, world maps, atlases, CD-ROMs and the Internet to locate the position of UK, Europe, Asia, India and Chembakolli. Use a variety of resources including the Internet to investigate the weather and the climate of India.• Use the Internet to gain up-to-date information about, and images of, India. Identify and explain the main similarities and differences between their own locality and Chembakolli.• In Smart Notebook use maps from the gallery to compare the size of India with the UK• The weblog listed below shows images of Chembakolli, including people featured in the original pack.
 * Websites:**[][|www.picturesofplaces.com/Asia/india.html][][|www.nwnet.org.uk/pages/ict_curric/geography/geography.html][|www.schoolblogs.com/chembakolli/][]

Unit 11 Water
• Ask the children to keep a diary of water use at home for a week. Record their use of water in the home on a spreadsheet. Discuss the patterns of water consumption and how reducing consumption might improve the environment.
 * Websites:**[|www.wateraid.org.uk/landingpage.asp?Mode=FromGlobalASA][][|www.nwnet.org.uk/pages/ict_curric/geography/geography.html]

Unit 12 Should the high street be closed to traffic?
• Visit the local high street and video or collect data about traffic issues [e.g. volume of traffic, parking problems, needs of shopkeepers etc.]. On return collate data, enter it into a spreadsheet and produce graphs to represent data. • Divide the class into groups and allocate a range of roles to each e.g. shopkeeper, parent, delivery driver etc. Ask each group to debate the issue of traffic on the high street and arrive at a solution. • Create a multimedia presentation of the groups’ views on traffic on the high street and their solution.
 * Websites:**[|www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/transport/]

Unit 13 A contrasting UK locality – Llandudno
• In Llandudno [or area being studied] carry out a traffic survey at a busy and a quiet time, or in different locations at same time.. Ask the children to enter their data in spreadsheet and create graphs to represent their findings. Use the graphs to discuss issues for resdents.• Create a multimedia presentation about Llandudno [or area being studied] to share with other classes in the school.• Show aerial photos, maps or photographs with an area shaded out, ask children to identify what is missing. >
 * Websites:**[|www.llandudno-tourism.co.uk/][|www.chester.ac.uk/~mwillard/teacher_education/flapjak.htm][][|www.bbc.co.uk/schools/twocities/][|www.geograph.co.uk/]

Unit 14 Investigating rivers
• Visit the river being studied and use a digital camera to photograph features. • Visit different sections along the river course and measure height, depth, width and speed; note human use along the river, flow and bankside features. On return to the classroom enter the information collected into a database and use it to find answers to simple questions.• Help the children to select a river to study. Ask them to use various sources including the Internet and CD-ROMs to research their river. Create a multimedia presentation on their river.• Following a rainy period, set up a digital camera, preferably mounted on a tripod, to photograph a puddle. It would be useful to mark the positions of the tripod legs so that the camera can be repositioned for successive sessions. The tripod should be set to the same height and angle each time a photograph is taken. Position the camera as far as possible pointing down at the puddle at right angles. Place two decimetre board rulers at right angles to each other at the left hand and bottom edge of the puddle. This is to enable a scale grid to be overlaid on the image when it is viewed on the computer screen. You may also want to include a whiteboard next to the puddle, with the date and time written on it. Take a series of photographs throughout the day. Note the time each photograph was taken. Use a transparent grid, (either using whteboard software or an OHT) determine the area of the puddle in each photograph. Discuss the results.• To extend the activity the children could investigate a number of puddles over an extended period. They could investigate whether there is a relationship between the size of puddles and temperature or wind direction.
 * Websites:**[|www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/rivers/index.html][][|www.naturegrid.org.uk/rivers][|http://homepage.ntlworld.com/graham.dean20/ribble/index.html][|www.sln.org.uk/trentweb] – River Trent[|www.nwlg.org/pages/resources/geog/hydro_cycle/index.htm][] – River Alt[|www.sln.org.uk/geography/enquiry/we30.htm][|www.geograph.co.uk/]

Unit 15 The mountain environment
• Divide the class into groups and ask each group to research a mountain environment e.g., Himalayas, Austrian Alps, Lake District. Use a variety of sources including the Internet and CD-ROMs to find out where it is, what the place is like and what people do in the area. • Make a presentation of their findings to the class using ICT where appropriate. They could create a multimedia presentation to present their findings. >
 * Websites:**[][|www.bbc.co.uk/schools/twocities/][][|www.peakware.com/encyclopedia/pwindex_ranges.htm][|www.nwnet.org.uk/pages/ict_curric/geography/geography.html]

Unit 16 What’s in the news?
• Class works in groups to create their own newspaper using a newspaper template in Textease• Write a newspaper report or video a piece to camera on a local issue [e.g. closing down a corner shop] • Use the weather symbols in My World or the Smartboard software to ‘present’ a TV style weather forecast.
 * Websites**:[|www.onlinenewspapers.com/][|www.worldinfozone.com/][|http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/][|http://4learning.co.uk/essentials/geography/units/news_bi.shtml]

Unit 17 Global eye
• Use a CD-ROM to investigate the basic structure of the eye e.g. DK – Human Body• Carry out a survey to find out what is recycled in their homes. • Design a poster to persuade people to recycle spectacles.
 * Websites:**[|www.worldinfozone.com/][|www.globaleye.org.uk/primary/eyeon/index.html]

Unit 18 Connecting ourselves to the world
• Through twinning with another school, exchange weather data by fax or e-mail daily for a set period of time. Enter the data into a spreadsheet and produce graphs and charts to show similarities and differences between the weather in the two places. Analyse the data giving reasons for variations.• Correspond by e-mail with the twinned school. Send attachments which provide inflammation about their local area e.g. photos taken with the digital camera, scanned in maps, sketches and other images, graphs and charts representing data collected in surveys, a guide to their area produced using WP, DTP or multimedia presentation software. Children could pose questions to the other school about their area and send a questionnaire as an attachment. • Bookmark some web to plan routes. Enter details of a journey and check flight, train and coach availability. Consider the range of choices and factors to be considered when deciding how to travel to a place. Gather information about different flights etc. and enter the information into a database.
 * Websites:**[|www.thetrainline.com][|www.britishairways.com/flightTimetable.servlet?prim=plantrip][|www.nationalexpress.com/neh.cfm][|www.onlinenewspapers.com]/ – needs teacher research to select appropriate material[|www.metlink.org/index.php][|www.worldinfozone.com/]

Unit 19 How and where do we spend our time?
• Devise a questionnaire and carry out a survey to find out how people spend their time. Work out average times and convert to decimals and fractions. • Using mapping software to produce a map showing the locations where they spend their time. Calculate the distances and mean distances travelled. [|http://4learning.co.uk/essentials/geography/units/spendtime_bi.shtml]
 * Websites**:

Unit 20 Local traffic – an environmental issue
• Having researched a local issue e.g. building a bypass, create a multimedia presentation to present their suggestions of how the issue can be resolved. > [][|www.geograph.co.uk/]
 * Websites:**

Unit 21 How can we improve the area we can see from our window?
• Give the children three or four pages from the book “Window” by Jeannie Baker. Ask them to record the main features in each view and note the changes.” Alternatively provide a series of pictures in Textease or Word. Ask the children to write a story/captions for their series of pictures focussing on change, land use and what it would feel like to be there. • Explore the area that can be seen from the classroom window, focussing on selected features. Use a spreadsheet to classify, store, retrieve and sort data, and to interpret the results produced. • Another link with literacy is to make use of the Naace Poem Maker found on the mape website. Once the software has been downloaded and the children have seen how the Poem Maker works they can create their own word list based on the view from their window. [|www.mape.org.uk/activities/index.htm]
 * Websites:**

Unit 22 A contrasting locality overseas – Tocuaro

 * Websites:**[|www.globaleye.org.uk/primary/eyeon/index.html][|www.worldaware.org.uk/education/projects/tocuaro/][|www.bbc.co.uk/schools/twocities/mexico/ www.sln.org.uk/geography/tocuaro.htm]

Unit 23 Investigating coasts
• Ask the children to use bookmarked websites to research an incident such as the collapse of the Holbeck Hotel into the sea at Scarborough in June 1993. They could then produce a newspaper report on the incident using a WP or DTP package.• Allocate the children one of the following themes: bird watching holidays; walking holidays; beach holidays; rock climbing holidays. Ask the children to use books, atlases, OS maps and the Internet to research and investigate coastal environments around UK relevant to their theme. Recommend a possible destination and produce an itinerary. • On a field trip use a digital camera to photograph coastal features.
 * Websites:**[|www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/coasts/index.html][|www.bbc.co.uk/schools/riversandcoasts/mainmenu.shtml][|www.dur.ac.uk/~des0www4/cal/slopes/page7f.htm][|www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/ecolodge/25/erosion.htm][|www.freefoto.com][|www.geograph.co.uk/]

Unit 24 Passport to the world
• Take photographs using a digital camera around the local area and place them in a file on the computer. Ask the children to open the photographs and identify where they were taken.• Ask the children to interview a number of people to find out about their favourite holiday location and the reasons for their choice. Ask the children to find out where the places are and to enter their survey findings on a database. Ask them to produce graphs of their results and to analyse their findings. E.g. Which factor has the most impact on a choice of holiday?• Ask the children to adopt a city and research it using the Internet They could record the weather in their city for a week, record the information in a spreadsheet and produce graphs to represent findings. They could use a WP or DTP package to produce a report on their city, or create a multimedia presentation and make their presentation to the class. >
 * Websites:**[][|www.metlink.org/index.php]

Unit 25 Geography and numbers

 * KS1**:Work out the instructions for a floor turtle to navigate a maze. Use vocabulary such as left, right, forwards, backwards, along, clockwise, anticlockwise and right angles. Ask the children to undertake a pedestrian traffic count in a corridor at different times during the school day. Enter the data in a simple graphing program and produce a pictogram or simple bar graph to represent the data. Discuss and interpret findings.
 * KS2:**Ask the children to carry out a survey of the journey to school, looking at where people in the school live, how they travel to school, how long their journey takes etc. Enter the information gathered into a database or spreadsheet and produce graphs to represent findings. Sort the data to answer simple questions.Ask the children to study population data for two contrasting settlements. They could enter the data into a database and sort it to help them produce a frequency table. This information could be entered into a spreadsheet and bar charts and pie charts produced to illustrate proportions of population within certain age groups. ||