TEACHING THE GEOGRAPHY OF LANDSCAPE & LANDSCAPE CHANGE
"LOOK AT IT THIS WAY...."
You can travel the seas, poles, and deserts and see nothing. To really understand the world you need to get under the skin of the people and places. In other words, learn about geography. I can't imagine a subject more relevant in schools. We'd all be lost without it."
Michael Palin
From the letter sent out with the copy of Himalaya that was sent out to all schools as part of the Action Plan for Geography.
Physical Geography has a focus on the science of GEOMORPHOLOGY.
This means the study of the shape of the earth...
The new KS3 National Curriculum includes the following sections which are relevant to the teaching of Physical Geography.
Teachers face the problem of choosing which aspects of Physical Geography to include in their schemes of work for KS3 pupils.
An enquiry sequence to consider: some key questions. Based on the Creative Learning Cycle developed by Chris Durbin and Keith Grimwade.
Click to enlarge this image....
CONTEXTS
MOUNTAINS
First thing you need to do here is identify the features
World mapping of mountain landscapes
Images
http://www.hikr.org/ - German text, but excellent images
http://aragorn.leeds.ac.uk/assyntgeology/index.htm - an interactive exploration of the Assynt region of NW Scotland
COASTS
We will be looking at Beachy Head and the Belle Tout lighthouse - with thanks to Louise Ellis
AGRICULTURAL
The Yellowing of the Countryside
RIVERS
FENS
What are landscapes ?
What changes take place in landscapes ?
AGRICULTURE
The role of farmers in the landscape.
BOOKS WHICH ARE RELEVANT
"Nature" - Noel Castree
"Extreme Landscapes" - produced for the International Year of Mountains - some great articles
"The Atlas of Experience" and the World of Experience website... (now disappeared, and the book is out of print)
"Reading our Landscapes" - Charles Rawding: the latest book by Chris Kington publishing.
The British Landscape: foreword by Bill Bryson
WEBSITES
Adnams brewery in Suffolk have an excellent advertising campaign which uses images of the coast linked with images of beer. They also sell some rather nice merchandise.
BEER FROM THE COAST: ADNAMS
I also very much like the BBC Scotland site which looks at landscapes. Ideal for KS3 pupils.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/sysm/landscapes/index.shtml
Summer 2007 seems to have been the season for exploring our landscape and heritage. Programmes have included:
COAST : Series 3
MOUNTAIN : Griff Rhys Jones
'B' ROAD BRITAIN:
THE BUILDING OF BRITAIN:
THE SECRET LIFE OF THE MOTORWAY: Great BBC4 series.
Thanks to Val Vannet for this picture of a homework idea - of which more later....
Picture Squares
Updates will appear soon once the textbook I've been writing is published...
Homework
OS Map Face - needs OS map keys
Design a face using OS map symbols: e.g. Youth Hostel for a nose, Marsh for eyebrows, Steep gradient for mouth (smily or happy)