Use this United Kingdom KS2 planning pack to teach your class about the fascinating country they live in. Your Year 5 or Year 6 class will learn all about how the UK is organised into countries, counties and cities, as well as learning about the human and physical features of Great Britain, such as population, life expectancy, tallest mountains, longest rivers, coastlines and much more.

A series of six fully-planned lessons are included in this United Kingdom KS2 pack, all designed to make your Geography teaching as simple, time-saving and effective as possible. The lesson plans are detailed and easy to follow, and come with a corresponding set of slideshow presentations for each of the teaching inputs. You are also provided with a range of differentiated printable resources and activity ideas, including worksheets, maps, picture cards, information sheets and much more! This scheme of work is also part of a Topic Bundle. Perfect if you are teaching 'Britain' as a cross-curricular topic.

A Knowledge Organiser is available to support the learning in this scheme. It is included in the Complete Series download or can be purchased individually.

You might also like our Brilliant Britain Topic Bundle – perfect if you're looking for a cross-curricular approach to your teaching.

Human and Physical Features

This Human and Physical Features KS2 Geography lesson explores some of the main geographical features of the UK with your Year 5 or Year 6 class. The lesson starts by testing their knowledge of the United Kingdom with a short quiz to see if they can guess aspects such as the area, population, life expectancy and other geographical features. It also explores how the UK is divided into four countries, each with its own capital city, and gives your class the chance to locate each of these on a map.

During their independent learning tasks, your class will then have the chance to consolidate their understanding of the some of the main human and physical features of the UK through a variety of differentiated activities.

View Lesson 1

Counties

Take a closer look at the counties of the UK in the second lesson in this United Kingdom Geography scheme of work as your Year 5 or Year 6 class explore how UK counties are organised. Your class will find out how the counties of England can be separated into regions before exploring the names and locations of the counties across Great Britain through a variety of challenging but fun activities.

By the end of your lesson, your class will be able to identify the regions of the UK, and locate and identify UK counties on a map.

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Towns and Cities

Start the lesson by challenging your class to name as many UK towns and cities as they can, before learning how to locate the major cities on a map, including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, and many more. There is also the opportunity for your class to carry out some research into one particular city as they find out where it is, how big it is, when it became a city, what you will see there, and much more.

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UK Mountains

This UK Mountains KS2 lesson for Year 5/6 children will help your class understand the difference between hills and mountains, how mountains are formed, and about some of the major mountains in the UK. This lesson starts by looking at a topographical map to identify which parts of the UK are most mountainous, before going on to explore some of the areas of hills and mountains, such as the Pennines, the Highlands and the Lake District.

During their independent learning activities, they will find out some data about the highest mountains in Britain, or write a recount as though they had just been on a UK mountain holiday!

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Seas and Coasts

Take a trip to the beach with your KS2 class as you explore the seas and coasts of the UK. Your Year 5 or Year 6 class will go through some information about the different types of beaches in the UK, as well as some coastal features, such as arches and stacks. They will also consider which seas and oceans you would be looking out at on different parts of the UK coastline.

This lesson is completely planned and ready to teach, and includes a detailed lesson plan, a slideshow for the teaching input and a range of helpful printable resources to support their independent learning activities.

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UK Rivers

Download this UK Rivers KS2 Geography lesson to explore the major rivers of the UK with your Year 5 or Year 6 class. They will learn about the journey of a river from source to mouth, including terms such as tributary and meander, before putting this into context by exploring the journeys of the longest rivers in Britain.

During their independent learning, they can then find out more information for themselves about major UK rivers. There is also the chance to consolidate what they have learnt about the geography of the United Kingdom in this and the other lessons in the series through a fun end of unit quiz!

View Lesson 6

This Year 5/6 Geography Knowledge Organiser has been created to complement our Locational Knowledge strand. It is designed to support your children’s understanding of key vocabulary linked to this scheme of work. Key questions and relevant geographical skills have been identified to encourage children to apply their knowledge around this topic.

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