Lesson video

Hello.

Welcome to another geography lesson with me, Ms. Roberts.

Today's lesson is all about the city of Cardiff in Wales.

Together we're going to explore what makes a capital city special and different from other cities, and we are going to look at some significant places in the city of Cardiff.

So are you ready to get started? Let's go.

By the end of the lesson today, you will be able to explain what is special about Cardiff, and you'll be able to name, locate, and describe some of its most significant landmarks.

Hmm.

This sounds really interesting.

Let's start by looking at some key words for this lesson.

These are important words that you will hear a lot today.

These are also words that you will be able to use yourself to talk about the capital city of Cardiff.

Our first key word is government.

Can you say government? Good job.

The government is the group of people who are in charge of running the country.

They are led by the prime minister.

Our next key word is parliament.

Can you say parliament? Well done.

We don't pronounce the second letter A there, parliament.

Parliament is another word for a group of people, the group of people who make the laws for the country.

The government is part of parliament.

Our next key word is a verb, and that verb is commute.

Can you say commute? Lovely.

The verb commute is when you are travelling quite a long distance between your home and where you work.

So this is not the same as walking down the road to go work or taking a five minute drive to somewhere local.

This is quite a significant and long journey that some people make to get to work every day.

The next key word is landmark.

Can you say landmark? Well done.

A landmark is a feature of a landscape that has got some particular meaning attached to it.

So, for example, we can use a landmark to help give directions.

Don't worry if those words are new and you are still a little unsure about them.

We'll be using them during the lesson, and I am here to guide you through the lesson step-by-step.

There will be two parts in this lesson.

In the first part, we are going to investigate the question, what is special about a capital city? Later in the lesson, we will be looking at some of the significant places in Cardiff.

So let's begin by investigating capital cities.

Cardiff is the capital city of Wales.

The capital city is the most important city in any country.

This is the city centre of Cardiff that you can see in the photograph.

Many important activities and events happen in Cardiff, but some of the things that happen in Cardiff don't happen elsewhere, and that's because Cardiff is the capital city.

Two languages, Welsh and English, are the official languages of Wales.

The Welsh name for Cardiff is Caerdydd.

Welsh is widely spoken across all of Wales, not just in Cardiff.

This photograph shows the headquarters of the Welsh Government.

Cardiff is the city where the Welsh Government is based.

The government is a group of elected people called politicians.

The job of a politician is to make important decisions about laws and help look after the country.

This unusual looking building is called the Senedd building in Cardiff.

When all the Welsh politicians meets together in a large group, this is the parliament.

The Welsh word for parliament is Senedd.

The Senedd building in the photograph is in Cardiff, and that's where the Welsh parliament meets and the politicians have debates and make important decisions.

So have you been listening closely so far to all that information about what makes a capital city special? Take a look at these three pictures.

A is the Senedd building, B is Cardiff library, and C is Cardiff Castle.

I want to know which of those Cardiff buildings is the place where the Welsh parliament meets.

A, B, or C? Decide now.

Have you chosen? Good.

Now, they don't meet in a castle, and libraries are very quiet places, so you can't have a debate in a library.

That means the correct answer is option A, the Senedd building.

Well done.

Let's find out more now about what happens in a capital city.

We've just been talking about parliament.

Parliament is a group of people called politicians.

Now, most of the politicians in the Welsh parliament who work in Cardiff don't live in the city itself.

Many of them travel into Cardiff every day from their homes in other towns and cities outside of Cardiff.

This is called commuting.

So you remember the verb commute from the keywords we learned before? Sophia says that she commutes to school by bus.

How do you travel to school? It's not just the politicians that commute into Cardiff every day.

Lots of people commute into Cardiff every single day because that is where they work.

A capital city is a very big and very busy place where lots and lots of people work.

People that are travelling into the city every day like this are called commuters.

Commuters are people that commute a long distance from home to work.

Do you know anybody who commutes into the city for work? Let's try a quick activity now about what we have just discovered.

I'm going to read two descriptions, and I want you to match each person to the correct label.

One is a commuter and one is a tourist, but who's who? Jo is our first person, and Jo is very excited because she's got tickets to watch the rugby cup final in Cardiff.

She is sure her team will win.

Our next person is Hal.

Now, Hal leaves home at 7:00 AM to catch a bus and a train into Cardiff for work.

It's a long journey, but he listens to a podcast on the way.

Who's who? Decide now.

Have you chosen? Let's check.

Jo is the tourist.

She's visiting Cardiff for a special event.

She's not going to work.

Hal is the commuter because he tells us about his long journey to work every day.

Okay, let's try another activity now.

I'm going to read you two sentences, and I want you to decide how certain you are about whether the sentences are correct or incorrect.

You might decide that you are sure a sentence is correct.

You might not be totally sure, but you might think a sentence is correct.

You may decide that you are sure a sentence is incorrect.

Or you may think that a sentence is incorrect.

Listen closely.

Sentence A, at least two languages are spoken in Cardiff.

Sentence B, Wales does not have its own government.

Have a think and decide how certain you are about whether each sentence is correct or incorrect.

You can talk to a partner for extra support if you want to.

Pause the video now.

Have you decided? Great.

I'm going to share my thoughts on these sentences with you now.

Sentence A, at least two languages are spoken in Cardiff.

Well, we actually heard some Welsh words, didn't we, in the first half of our lesson, like the word Senedd for parliament.

So because of that, I think this sentence is correct.

I am sure that it's correct.

Sentence B, Wales does not have its own government.

Hmm.

We saw a building in Cardiff that was the headquarters of the Welsh Government, and in the Senedd building parliament meets, so Wales must have its own government.

Yes, I am sure that that is incorrect.

Well done, everyone.

Now we are going to move into the second part of our lesson today, and we're going to look at some of the most significant places in Cardiff.

Cardiff, just like many other cities, has lots of landmarks.

A landmark can be a building or a statue or another construction, or it could be a natural feature.

Landmarks can be very old things or they can be very modern.

Sometimes landmarks commemorate an important historical event or a very special place.

They often attract lots and lots of visitors to come to the city.

And yes, Izzy has made a correct observation.

"But many places have landmarks, not just the capital city." Well done, Izzy.

This is one of Cardiff's most famous landmarks.

It's Cardiff Castle.

Cardiff Castle is right in the centre of the city, and it's almost 2000 years old.

Wow.

The castle is one of the most important tourist attractions in the city.

This is the National Museum, which is also found in Cardiff.

The city of Cardiff grew and expanded because it was an important location for the coal industry.

At the National Museum, people can learn a lot more about the history of Cardiff and about the coal industry.

Have you been listening closely? Let's use our new learning to try a question.

This is a true or false situation.

I'm going to read a sentence, and I want you to decide if it is true or if it is false.

Cardiff only has landmarks because it is the capital city.

Is that true or is that false? Have you decided? Okay, let's have thumbs up if you think this is true and thumbs down if you think this is false.

Which of you chosen, thumbs up or thumbs down? I have thumbs down.

Do you? Well done.

It is not true to say that Cardiff only has landmarks because it is the capital city.

Now, as a geographer, whenever we make statements like this, it's very important that we can provide some explanation or some evidence to show how we know what we are talking about.

So I'm going to show you two sentences now, and I would like you to decide which of these sentences is the most helpful in this situation.

Listen carefully.

Sentence A, Cardiff is a very historic city that has lots of visitors.

Sentence B, other places that are not the capital or not even a city have landmarks too.

Which of those is most helpful? Decide now.

Have you chosen? Great.

I chose sentence B.

Did you? Sentence B explains that other places that are not a capital city, other places that are not even a city, in fact, can also have landmarks.

There are landmarks where I live, and I'm sure there are landmarks where you live too.

They are not only found in capital cities.

Well done.

Now, let's move on to another activity about significant places in Cardiff.

You've heard a lot about some interesting places today.

These photographs show three landmarks in the city of Cardiff, the Senedd building, the National Museum, and Cardiff Castle.

I want you to talk to a partner about what makes them special places for tourists to visit.

Why would they want to visit them? You can also talk about other Cardiff landmarks that you know about.

You can use the knowledge from this lesson, or you can look on the internet or in books to help you if you want.

Pause the video now while you complete this task.

Have you finished? Good job.

Now, the children from Oak Academy are going to share their ideas with us.

Sam is talking about the National Museum.

She says that the National Museum is full of interesting historical artefacts, so she would love to go there to see them.

Lucas is talking about the castle.

He says he'd love to see the castle because it is the oldest place in Cardiff.

Alex is talking about the Senedd building.

He says that the Senedd building looks really cool and unusual.

He wants to see how big it is close up.

I think those are all excellent observations about what makes those Cardiff landmarks special places for tourists to visit.

We've covered a lot in this lesson about Cardiff today.

Let's review everything we now know.

We know that Cardiff is the capital city of Wales, and the Welsh name for Cardiff is Caerdydd.

The government of Wales is based in the capital city and parliament meets there.

We know that many people commute into Cardiff every day for work.

We've discovered that many landmarks are famous constructions that attract visitors.

Cardiff landmarks include Cardiff Castle.

But don't forget that landmarks could be a natural feature as well.

Finally, we know that Cardiff city developed because it was an important location for the coal industry.

You have done very well to listen to all of that information.

Good work today, and I look forward to seeing you next time for another geography lesson about the city of Cardiff.

Bye for now.