Year 5 Geography Resources and Lesson Plans
Explore ready-to-teach Year 5 Geography resources, lesson plans and schemes of work for teaching the Year 5 Geography curriculum. Discover engaging Geography topics, activities and worksheets that help children investigate places, environments and geographical processes, develop their understanding of human and physical geography and build confidence with maps, fieldwork, geographical enquiry and key vocabulary.
Popular Year 5 Geography Schemes of Work:
What should children learn in Year 5 Geography?
Year 5 Geography gives children opportunities to deepen their understanding of places, environments and geographical processes. They develop more secure knowledge of human and physical geography, make connections between different parts of the world and use increasingly sophisticated map, fieldwork and enquiry skills.
Extend locational and place knowledge
Help children locate countries, regions, cities and major geographical features, compare different parts of the world and describe how places are connected.
Explore complex geographical processes
Develop children's understanding of human and physical geography through topics such as climate zones, biomes, rivers, mountains, settlements, trade, natural resources and land use.
Use maps with greater confidence
Use maps, atlases, globes and digital mapping to locate places, interpret scale and symbols, use compass directions and develop confidence with four- and six-figure grid references.
Strengthen fieldwork and enquiry skills
Encourage children to plan geographical enquiries, collect and present data, interpret evidence and draw conclusions through observations, surveys, maps, photographs and practical fieldwork.
Explore our Year 5 Geography Resources
Browse our complete collection of Year 5 Geography resources, lesson plans and schemes of work. Discover engaging Year 5 Geography topics, including climate zones, biomes, rivers, mountains, settlements, trade and natural resources, human and physical geography, map skills and fieldwork, with ready-to-teach lessons, worksheets and activities designed to support the KS2 Geography curriculum.
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Planning Year 5 Geography
When planning Geography in Year 5, give children opportunities to explore places, environments and geographical processes in increasing depth. Year 5 Geography topics can investigate the UK and wider world alongside human and physical geography, helping children understand features and processes such as climate zones, biomes, rivers, mountains, settlements, trade, natural resources and land use.
Continue to develop geographical skills through maps, atlases, globes, digital mapping and practical fieldwork. Children can use four- and six-figure grid references, scale, symbols and keys, collect and interpret geographical data and use evidence to investigate questions about places and environments. Revisiting these skills across different Year 5 Geography lessons and activities helps children make connections between topics and build secure geographical knowledge and enquiry skills.
Planning Geography for your whole school? Explore our Geography Curriculum Packs →Frequently Asked Questions about Year 5 Geography
What Geography topics are taught in Year 5?
There is no fixed set of Geography topics that every Year 5 class must study because schools can organise the KS2 Geography curriculum across Years 3 to 6 in different ways. Popular Year 5 Geography topics include rivers, mountains, climate zones, biomes, settlements, trade, natural resources and studies of different regions of the UK and wider world.
What is included in the Year 5 Geography curriculum?
The Year 5 Geography curriculum forms part of the wider KS2 National Curriculum for Geography. Across KS2, children should develop their locational and place knowledge, explore human and physical geography and extend their geographical skills through maps, atlases, digital mapping and fieldwork. Schools decide how these requirements are distributed across Years 3 to 6.
What geographical skills should Year 5 children develop?
By Year 5, children can develop increasingly sophisticated map and enquiry skills. These may include using atlases and digital maps, interpreting scale, symbols and keys, using four- and six-figure grid references, collecting and presenting geographical data, carrying out fieldwork and using evidence to draw conclusions about places and environments.
What are good Year 5 Geography activities?
Useful Year 5 Geography activities include comparing maps and photographs, investigating geographical data, creating maps, conducting surveys, carrying out local fieldwork, researching contrasting locations and exploring how physical processes and human activity affect different environments.
How can I plan Geography lessons for Year 5?
Effective Year 5 Geography lesson plans should combine geographical knowledge with opportunities to practise geographical skills. A scheme of work might begin by locating and describing a place before exploring its physical and human characteristics, investigating geographical processes and giving children opportunities to analyse evidence, use maps or undertake fieldwork.
What should a Year 5 Geography scheme of work include?
A Year 5 Geography scheme of work should have a clear sequence of learning that builds children's knowledge and geographical skills over several lessons. It might include maps and location work, key geographical vocabulary, investigation of human and physical processes, geographical enquiry, data interpretation and opportunities for assessment.
What is the difference between human and physical geography in Year 5?
Physical geography focuses on natural features and processes, such as rivers, mountains, climate zones, biomes and the water cycle. Human geography explores people and their activities, including settlements, land use, trade and the distribution of natural resources. Year 5 children can also explore the connections between the two.
Do PlanBee Year 5 Geography resources include worksheets and lesson plans?
Yes. PlanBee's Year 5 Geography resources include ready-to-teach schemes of work with detailed lesson plans, teaching slides, differentiated activities and worksheets. They are designed to reduce planning time while helping teachers cover relevant KS2 Geography knowledge and skills.
