Take your class on a road trip like no other as they discover the United States of America! Take in the incredible landscapes, learn about the fifty states and their characteristics, explore America’s wild side and much, much more with this Geography 'The USA' scheme of work for Year 3 and Year 4.

Containing seven individual lessons with everything you need to teach your class about the USA, including detailed lesson plans, presentations, differentiated activities and a range of printable resources, this scheme of work will open their eyes to the incredible and varied country that is America.

You might also like our USA Road Trip Topic Bundle - perfect if you're looking for a cross-curricular approach to your teaching. 

State your Location

Children will start by identifying the USA as a country in the continent of North America, finding out where both of these are on a world map. They’ll consider what they already know about the USA and find out how it is separated into fifty states. Using compass directions, they will then identify each of the fifty states and describe where they are in relation to each other. Alternatively, they can test their memories to see how many of the states they can remember and recall in a given time scale!

View Lesson 1

Exploring the States

Now that your class can identify the fifty states, they will find out how they are split into six regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southwest, South and West. They will explore the broad characteristics of each region before finding out more about the individual states in order to start comparing them.

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Landscapes

The breathtaking scenery your class will be shown in this lesson will help them to start understanding what a rich and varied landscape America has. Through these photos, they will find out about different geographical features of the USA, including mountains, coasts, prairies, forests and deserts. They will start to compare these landscapes using geographical language using photographs, or by exploring them for themselves using online maps.

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American Cities

Children will start this lesson by identifying the difference between a village, a town and a city. They will then go on to explore some of the largest and most famous cities in the USA. They will find out about the capital of the USA, as well as the capital city of each individual state. They can then carry out their own research to find out more about an American city, or compare Washington, D.C. with London.

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National Parks

This lesson starts by encouraging children to consider the effects of urbanisation on wildlife. They will then go on to find out what national parks are, how, when and why the first national park was set up, and the role that national parks play in the country today. They will be able to find out more about American national parks, particularly Yellowstone, identifying and explaining why they are important.

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Natural Phenomena

This lesson shows your class the wild side of America as they learn about blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, identifying where in America each of these phenomena are most likely to occur. They will also consider the effects these have on people and landscapes.

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Visiting America

Now that your class have learnt so much about the USA, they can consolidate their knowledge by thinking about what a holiday in America might be like. The slides will show them some of the USA’s top tourist hot-spots which they can then use to help some travel agent customers decide where they should go on holiday, based on given criteria. They can also prepare a TV or radio advert to encourage tourists to visit a particular state. They can then show off all their American knowledge with an end of unit quiz!

View Lesson 7