Settlements Lessons

#TheCompleteSeries6lessons

These 'Settlement' lessons for Year 3/4 include everything you need to make your primary Geography teaching a breeze, including lesson plans, slides, activity ideas, differentiated worksheets and much more.

We have loads more schemes of work focusing on developing Geography Skills and Fieldwork so if this Settlements unit isn't quite what you are looking for then make sure you browse our collection of ready-to-teach Geography lesson packs .

#Lesson1NeedsofEarlySettlers

This first lesson encourages your class to think back to a time when there were no ready-made towns for settlers to move into and lets them generate ideas for what early settlers would have needed to look for when choosing a settlement.

The lesson goes on to look at the place name origins of our towns and villages today before challenging the children to think about what early settlers would need to have nearby to their settlement.

The lesson concludes by inviting children to find settlements in their local area with the place name endings they have learnt about.

#Lesson2HowSettlementsChangeOverTime

The second lesson in this Settlements scheme gets the children answering the question what are settlements? They will explore the differences between hamlets, villages, towns and cities and learn how these settlements are defined.

Your class will use their geographical knowledge when looking at maps and exploring different settlements. They will view maps of different settlements and decide if the settlement is a hamlet, village, town or city.

The lesson concludes by inviting children to think critically about the pros and cons of different types of settlements.

#Lesson3MappingSymbols

The third lesson in this scheme introduces your class to Ordnance Survey maps and mapping symbols. Your class will use their general knowledge and detective skills to work out what different symbols and abbreviations mean.

Your class will be challenged to use their knowledge of mapping symbols to answer questions.

#Lesson4UsingGridReferences

During this lesson, your class will be introduced to grid references and get the chance to use this knowledge to navigate around maps and answer questions.

They will use four-figure grid references and six-figure grid references to locate symbols and features in OS maps.

The lesson ends with your class's grid reference knowledge being put to the test by a fun game of Lightning.

#Lesson5PlanaSettlement

Your class will apply their knowledge of maps and settlements as they plan a new settlement. They will think about what features they need in their settlement and where the features should go. The children will be encouraged to make planning decisions and explain their reasoning during the lesson while they develop their plans.

The lesson concludes by encouraging children to think of a name for their settlement. They will be encouraged to think about the origins of early place names to inspire the name of their new settlement.

#Lesson6CreateaSettlementMap

During this sixth and final lesson of this scheme, your class will recap what they know about settlements, before creating their settlement maps. They will use a range of OS map symbols and make up some of their own to ensure their maps are easy to read.

Your class will be encouraged to think creatively and logically as they plot their settlement plans onto maps. When their maps are finished they will have the opportunity to think critically about the settlement maps.

Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)

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Free Assessment Grid

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Curriculum Objectives covered

• name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time
• describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water
• use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
• use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world