Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Chorekdjian.

I'm so excited to be learning with you today.

I will be guiding you through our lesson.

We are going to have a great time learning together today.

Let's start our learning.

Welcome to today's lesson from our unit on local to global, how can we identify special places? This lesson is called human wonders of the world.

Today you'll be learning to investigate special buildings from around the world and talk about what makes them special.

Some of this learning is brand new, but don't worry, I'm here to help you.

This links back to previous learning that you might have done, thinking about places that are special to you and explaining why they are your special places or favourite places.

You might also have looked at the seven natural wonders of the world and talked about why they are special places.

I'm really excited to get started.

I hope you are too.

Here are the key words that we'll be looking at throughout our lesson.

We'll be learning more about them later, but first, let's practise saying them together.

Let's do my turn your turn.

Human.

Human.

Landmark.

Landmark.

Location.

Location.

Architecture.

Architecture.

Good job everyone.

I want you to be using these keywords throughout our lesson as well.

Here are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson.

First, we'll be looking at the human wonders of the world and then we'll be thinking about sharing information about special buildings.

Are you ready to start your learning today? Fantastic.

Let's begin.

These are the seven natural wonders of the world.

I wonder if you can remember what each place is called.

Pause the video now and name these seven natural wonders of the world with your partner.

How did you get on naming the seven natural wonders of the World? Did you remember that they include the Great Barrier Reef, the Northern Lights, the Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Mount Everest, Victoria Falls, the Grand Canyon, and Paricutin Volcano.

Well done if you did.

Good job everyone.

Just like these natural wonders of the world, buildings can also be special.

A landmark is a building or feature that represents a particular place and can be an important historical or modern building.

Landmarks can also create emotions like awe, wonder, and curiosity about the place and the people that live there.

Remember that we talked about the seven natural wonders of the world being places that create or evoke emotions like awe, and wonder, or landmarks can also do that.

Buildings are designed by architects and display memorable architecture.

Let's look at some landmarks together.

Discuss these buildings.

Why are these buildings special? The first example is the Sydney Opera House from Australia.

Have a look at that building.

Why do you think the architect designed the architecture to look like that? The next one is the Eiffel Tower in France.

Then we have the Gherkin in the UK.

And finally Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates.

Look at these four buildings, what makes them special? Pause the video and discuss with your partner.

You can also do it as a think pair and share discussion and have it as a whole class.

Great, how did you get on? Did you talk about the shape of these buildings being memorable? Did you talk about their design and their architecture evoking emotions like awe and wonder? Did you talk about them being memorable to help people remember what a place was like? Maybe you talked about the materials as well, or you might have talked about how these buildings fit into their lateral landscapes.

So thinking about the Sydney Opera House has got water in front of it.

The Eiffel Tower stands across a main road.

The Gherkin has got more historical buildings around it.

And then we've got Burj Khalifa which stands up really tall and proud over the rest of the buildings that you can see in that photo.

I'm sure you had a really good discussion there about why all of these buildings are special.

So let's think about two of these buildings that we've just looked at.

What are these landmarks called? Do you remember where they are? Pause the video and tell your partner.

How did you get on? Did you say that the first photograph is of the Eiffel Tower and that it's located in France? Good job if you did, you can give yourselves a thumbs up.

Did you recognise that the second photograph was one of the Sydney Opera House and that it's located in Australia? Well done.

Good job everyone.

Seven human wonders of the world are also examples of landmarks and display, memorable architecture.

The seven human wonders of the world include the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Petra in Jordan, Machu Picchu in Peru, Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil, and the Colosseum in Rome.

Geographers use images and maps to locate and investigate places.

You might have done that when you were looking at the seven natural wonders of the world.

Let's investigate the seven human wonders of the world together.

We will be using images and maps to locate them and find out about them.

The Great Wall of China.

Look at these two photographs here and discuss with your partner why you think the Great Wall of China is a human wonder of the world? Pause the video and discuss.

Good job.

I'm sure you talked there about the wall being quite long.

You can see that it snakes across the tops of these hills or mountains and that there's lots of trees or vegetation around it.

Shall we find out more about it together? The Great Wall of China is widely thought to be about 8,850 kilometres long.

That is really long.

You can see it located on the map there.

The building of the wall is thought to have started in the seventh century before our current era, and it finished almost 2000 years later.

So people kept adding to it and continued the building for 2000 years.

That's amazing.

I can't believe how long the wall is.

Let's have a quick check here.

Where is the Great Wall of China? Pause the video and complete that check.

There it is.

You can see it located there with the arrow.

The Great Wall of China is in China.

Next, let's look at the Taj Mahal in India.

Have a look at the picture of the Taj Mahal.

Why do you think this building is a human wonder of the world? Pause the video and talk to your partner.

How did you get on there? Did you talk about the white marble of the building? Did you talk about that mesmerising pool that's in front of it? I'm sure you talked about lots of other things as well.

Let's learn more about the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is located in Agra, India.

It was built in the 17th century and took 22 years to build.

That's a long time to build something.

There it is.

It's located on the map there in India.

The Taj Mahal is made from white marble and has an immense garden with a reflecting pool.

So you would've seen that reflecting pool in front of it and that gives the illusion of that white marble floating or lifting up and making you feel a sense of awe or wonder when you look at that building.

Next, it's Chichen Itza in Mexico.

Have a look at these two pictures and see if you can discuss with your partner why you think that Chichen Itza is one of the human wonders of the world.

How did you get on? Did you talk there about it looking like it's quite an important historical site and that it's got a stepped pyramid which has slopes on all four sides? You might have talked there about the complex as a whole, which you can see in the photograph on the right.

Let's find out more about Chichen Itza together.

Chichen Itza is a Mayan city on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which dates to the ninth century.

There you can see it located on the map.

The most famous of the city's monuments and temples is a stepped pyramid called El Castillo which is 24 metres high.

It's time for a check here.

Where is Chichen Itza? Pause the video now and see if you can locate Chichen Itza on that map.

How did you get on? Did you locate your Chichen Itza? There it is on the map.

Chichen Itza is on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

Well done if you got that right, you can give yourselves a thumbs up.

Fantastic learning so far on the human wonders of the world.

Shall we continue our learning? It's now time to look at Petra in Jordan.

Have a look at these two images.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner why you think Petra in Jordan is one of the human wonders of the world.

How did you get on? Did you talk about it being carved into the rock? Did you see how small the people are in the photograph on the right? That gives you an idea of the scale to see how large some of these buildings and monuments are.

Let's find out more about Petra together.

The ancient city of Petra in Jordan is located in a remote valley.

That means that it was secluded and not very easy to find.

And it was built in the third century before current era.

There you can see it located on the map.

The temples and tombs were built by the Nabateans and are nestled among sandstone mountains and cliffs, and the red stand stone there was quite striking and made those buildings stand out and quite memorable to visitors.

Now it's time to look at the next human wonder.

This place is called Machu Picchu and it's in Peru.

Have a look at these photos and discuss with your partner why you think Machu Picchu is one of the human wonders of the world.

How did you get on? Did you talk about Machu Picchu being on a mountain? Did you talk about the views surrounding it and thinking about how high up it is? Good job.

Let's explore this place together.

Machu Picchu is a 15th century Incan site, and is located high in the Andes Mountains in Peru.

The Incans were an ancient group of people that lived in Peru at that time.

There you can see it located on the map.

Machu Picchu includes features like agricultural terraces, plazas, residential areas and temples.

Now it's time to think about the next human wonder of the world.

This wonder is called Christ the Redeemer Statue and it's located in Brazil.

You can see there through those photos a closeup of the statue and then you can see a zoomed out picture of where it's located.

Pause the video and discuss why you think the Christ the Redeemer Statue is a human wonder of the world.

Did you talk about the location of the statue and it being really high up on one of those mountains overlooking a city? Did you talk about the bays that you could see in the distance as well? All of those colours of the greenery and the water also make it stand out and look quite striking.

Let's find out more about this statue.

Christ the Redeemer is a colossal statue of Jesus at the top of Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

There you can see it located on the map.

Construction began in 1926 and was completed five years later.

The statue is 30 metres tall.

That definitely is a colossal statue.

It is time for a quick check here.

Where is the Christ the Redeemer Statue.

Pause the video and complete that check.

How did you get on? Were you able to say that the Christ the Redeemer Statue is in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil? Well done if you were able to locate it.

Good job everyone.

I'll give you a thumbs up.

That's fantastic learning so far.

The final of the human wonders of the world is the Colosseum, which is in Rome, Italy.

Have a look at this building.

Pause the video and discuss why you think this is one of the human wonders of the world.

How did you get on? Did you say that this building is huge or colossal? Did you spot the size of the people in the first photo? It gives you an idea of the scale of this building.

It also looks like a big concert hall or stage.

Did you also think about the shape of it being quite unique as well? Let's find out more about the Colosseum.

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy, was built in the first century by the emperor Vespasian.

There you can see it located on the map.

It could hold 50,000 spectators who watched a variety of events like gladiator fights.

It's now time for another check.

Human wonders of the world include a, great wall of China, b, Great Barrier Reef, c, Machu Picchu, or d, Petra.

Pause the video now and complete this check.

How did you get on? Did you say, a, Great Wall of China, c, Machu Picchu, and d, Petra? Well done.

Those are all human wonders of the world.

Good job everyone.

Geographers sometimes add labels or captions to images to share their opinion.

So I've got an image here of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

We use labels to help find key features on photographs.

So you can see there I've used the label to identify the white marble of the Taj Mahal and also that famous reflecting pool.

We can use captions to explain an image.

For example, the location it was taken in.

So there's my caption.

It says the Taj Mahal India.

It shares the name of this special building and also the place.

Captions can also share an opinion of a place.

So you can see here that as well as the labels and the caption to say where it is, I can also share what I think of this place.

So here's my opinion of the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India is beautiful because of the white marble.

The reflecting pool is mesmerising and makes me feel wonder.

So there I've shared my opinion of this place.

Remember, we've also talked about opinions being unique to people and that everyone has got their own opinion.

It might be the same as your opinion or it might be different.

It doesn't mean that somebody is right or somebody is wrong.

We've got to respect that everyone's opinions are unique to them and that no one is right or wrong.

It's now time for task A.

What I would like you to do is to choose one of the human wonders of the world and draw a picture of it.

I'd like you to use labels and captions to share the name and location of it.

Then I'd like you to share your opinion as to why it is a special place.

Pause the video and complete task A.

Great, how did you get on? Here's an example of my task A and I've chosen to talk about the Taj Mahal.

You can see that I've drawn it there and I've written labels to identify the white marble of the building and also the reflecting pool.

I've written a caption underneath it that shares the name of that human wonder and the place of it.

So I've written the Taj Mahal India.

I've also used a caption to share my opinion of the place and explain why it's special.

I've said, "The Taj Mahal in Agra, India is beautiful because of the white marble.

The reflecting pool is mesmerising and makes me feel wonder." Good job everyone.

I'm sure you all had a good time there drawing, labelling, and writing captions for your chosen human wonder of the world.

It is now time to think about sharing information about these special buildings so that we can share our knowledge about them.

We've looked at special buildings from around the world.

Do you remember what these places were called? Let's have a quick reminder.

Pause the video and see if you can remember these buildings and where they were located.

So we had the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Eiffel Tower in France, the Gherkin in the UK, and then Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates.

Well done if you remember the names of those buildings and the places of them.

Let's think about now why these buildings are special.

Think about all that we've talked about and see if you can build on what you might have said earlier on in the lesson.

Why are these buildings special? Pause the video now.

Good job.

I'm sure you were able to talk about the materials, the architecture, the location of these places, and maybe even the function if you know what those buildings are for.

Let's think about them in more detail.

Here's a picture of the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Some pupils will ask a question, why are these buildings special? One pupil, Sofia here has said that the Sydney Opera house's architecture is special because it's close to the sea and it looks like seashells and the sails of a ship.

So can you see that? It's located on the sea and those white triangular shapes look like seashells, but they also look like the sails of a ship.

So it's linked the architecture to the location of the building.

When architects design buildings, they think about what the building is for and where its location will be.

So let's think about the Sydney Opera House.

This building is a landmark concert hall, and theatre, and it was designed to be an eye-catching, unique, and memorable tourist destination for visitors to Sydney, which is in Australia.

The location of this building is Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour in Australia.

So you can see that the architect has thought about where this landmark building is going to be and the function of it.

So what it's going to be used for and what it looks like to make it memorable for tourists.

We've also looked today at the human wonders of the world.

Stop here and have a little check.

Can you remember the names of these human wonders? Can you think about why these buildings were special? Do you remember where they are in the world? Pause the video and have that discussion as a class.

How did you get on? Did you remember the seven human wonders of the world? We had the Great Wall of China in China, the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Petra in Jordan, Chichen Itza in Mexico, and Machu Picchu in Peru.

Well done if you were able to remember and locate those places.

Did you think about why these buildings are special? Did you talk about how they were built, when they were built, how long it took to build them, and the materials that they're built from? Did you talk about what they look like, and the feelings that you get when you look at them, their sense of awe and wonder, and did you talk about the views that you might see? Good job if you did.

Well done everyone.

Let's see what some pupils have said.

Sofia has talked about the Colosseum in Rome.

She said the Colosseum in Rome is special because it is a huge amphitheatre that 50,000 people used to sit in to watch gladiator fights.

Aisha is talking about Petra in Jordan.

She said that it's special because it is carved out of the red sandstone mountains and cliffs.

So both of these pupils have talked about what makes those buildings special.

Let's think about the Colosseum in Rome together.

The Colosseum was an entertainment venue for spectators to watch gladiator fights.

It was designed to revitalise Rome.

That means bring Rome together as a capital of the Roman Empire.

The location is in Rome, which was the capital of the Roman Empire.

So there the architect or the person who designed this building had thought about the importance of the venue, the importance of the landmark, where it is and what its function was.

That means what it was used for.

How can we share ideas about special places with others? Pause the video and answer that question.

How did you get on? Did you talk about sharing ideas by writing them down, drawing pictures of them, maybe labelling some maps, or even creating an information display? Good job, well done if you did.

That's exactly what geographers do as well.

Geographers make models and maps to share their ideas about places including imagined buildings or imagined places.

Let's have a check here.

What do geographers make to share ideas about places? A, maps, b, paintings or, c, models? Pause the video and answer this question.

How did you get on? Did you say maps and models? Good job.

Well done if you did.

Geographers do make maps and models to share ideas about places.

Well done everyone.

You can give yourselves another thumbs up.

A map is a drawing of an area showing geographical features and where they are in relation to each other.

A model is a smaller representation of something that shows what it looks like and how it works.

We can be architects and use different materials from junk modelling to recreate these special buildings or create our own buildings with unique architecture, and that's what you are going to be doing for your next task.

What I would like you to do is to create a model or drawing of the special building, which was the human wonder of the world that you chose in task A, or you could choose a different landmark.

I want you to use labels and captions to share the name and location of it.

And I'd like you to share your opinion as to why it is a special place.

Remember to talk about its architecture, what the building is for, and its location.

Pause the video and complete task B.

Well, geographers, how did you get on with task B? Here's my example.

So you can see I've got an image there of Chichen Itza in Mexico, and I've labelled it with all of the key features.

So you can see that I've used the labels for El Castillo, the stairway, and the stepped pyramid, and I've used the caption there to name the place and to share the location of it.

So Chichen Itza Mexico.

I've used my junk modelling to recreate a model of the place and then I've shared my opinion of it.

I've said the stepped pyramid called El Castillo at Chichen Itza in Mexico is a special place because it is 24 metres high and has four stairways leading to the top where you can see amazing views.

I've talked about the location and the purpose of this building.

This building was designed to be the main temple in the Chichen Itza Mayan complex in Mexico.

It was a temple of the god Kukulcan who was part snake and part bird.

The location is in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which was a sacred place for rituals.

Its architecture is special because at certain times of the year, when the sun shines on the temple, it makes a shadow that looks like a snake crawling on the temple.

When humans clap at the top, it sounds like a bird call.

That's my example for task B, and I'm sure you've done a really great job of sharing information.

Well done geographers.

I'm sure you enjoyed learning about the human wonders of the world, thinking about their location and architecture, and sharing information about why these places are special.

Good job everyone.

We've now come to the end of our lesson.

Let's go through a summary of the learning that we've completed together today.

Human as well as natural features can be special.

Geographers use images and maps to investigate places.

For example, landmarks.

Geographers sometimes add labels or captions to images and maps to share their opinions.

Geographers often make models and maps to share their ideas about places including imagine buildings or places.

Good job everyone.

You've been fantastic today.

Thank you for joining me and sharing your learning with me.

I'll see you next time for more geography lessons soon.

Bye.