Lesson video

Hello, welcome to today's lesson.

This is a geography lesson, and my name is Ms. Roberts.

I will be your teacher today.

This lesson is about travel and transport in London.

Together, we are going to investigate the different ways that people get around in this big city.

I'm very excited to make a start today, are you? Great, let's go.

By the end of the lesson today you will be able to identify and name different types of transport used in the city of London, and you'll be able to describe some good points and some bad points about them.

Let's begin by looking at the key words that we are going to be using in this lesson.

The first key word today is trade.

Can you say trade? Well done.

Trade is the buying and selling of goods or services between different people, companies, or countries.

The next key word is public transport.

Can you say public transport? Good job, public transport is the shared use of vehicles, like trains, and buses, and trams, and planes.

These are usually found on routes where people pay fares, so people pay to use these vehicles and they share them with other people.

Our next key word is something we only find in London, and that's the London Underground.

Can you say London Underground? Well done, the London Underground is a public transport system.

It's made up of trains that travel through tunnels under the city.

Our next key word is congestion.

Can you say congestion? Well done, congestion is when there's too much traffic and movement is difficult, the traffic is moving very slowly.

The last key word for today is pollution.

Can you say pollution? Excellent, pollution is anything around us that makes the environment dirty or unhealthy.

You will be able to use these words yourself to talk about travel and transport in London at the end of this lesson.

The lesson today has two parts, and in the first part of today's lesson, we are going to investigate the question, how do people get around London? Later we'll be thinking about how we keep the city of London clean.

Let's begin then by investigating how people get around in London.

The city of London began when it grew around the River Thames.

You can see the wide river in the photograph here.

Throughout history, rivers have acted as natural roads, which end at the sea, and that makes rivers a great way to transport goods and people.

So this allowed trade to take place, which helped the city of London to begin to grow.

Today, the River Thames has other uses.

It is also used to transport people in water taxis, and on boat cruises, seeing the sites of the city.

In London, the police also travel up and down the river in special police boats.

This is a photograph of a police boat.

Why do you think that the police use the river to get around the city? Sam is suggesting that it could be because it's quicker than using the roads, because there's no traffic.

I think Sam has a very good idea.

The river is a more direct route than having to travel in and out around lots of inner city streets that are very busy.

Some of the bridges along the River Thames can be raised to let very big ships pass through.

Look at the bridge in the photograph.

You can see that the bridge has been raised into two parts, so that the ships can pass through the middle.

What problems do you think might happen when a bridge is raised like this? I think you have some great ideas.

And Sam suggests that people won't be able to get across the bridge, which is very true.

People will have to wait until the bridge is lowered again to be able to cross, or they may have to go and find another way to get across the river in a different place, perhaps by using another bridge.

I hope you've been listening carefully, because I'm going to check on what we know so far by asking a quick question.

I would like you to identify two ways that people in London travel using the River Thames.

There are four options for you to choose from.

Option A, sightseeing cruises for fun.

Option B, walking over bridges.

Option C, taking water taxis to work.

Option D, swimming between the banks.

Which two of those are ways that people in London travel using the River Thames? Have a think and make your choice.

Have you decided? Did you choose option A first? Yes, well done.

People travel when they go on site seeing cruises for fun.

Now, which of the three remaining is the other correct answer? Walking over bridges, taking water taxis, or swimming.

Well, walking over the Thames isn't really using the Thames, is it? So let's discount option B, that leaves us with option C and D.

Do you remember that earlier I mentioned how the River Thames is used by people taking water taxis? Option C is the other correct answer.

Which means that option D, swimming, is not a correct answer.

People use many different modes of transport to get around London, not just transport on the River Thames.

The busiest public transport network in London is called the London Underground.

The photograph is of a train on the London Underground.

It's a special type of train called a tube train.

Tube trains travel through tunnels deep under the city streets.

There are 272 stations on the London Underground system, and they connect people all over the city of London and the surrounding area.

Above ground, on the roads of London, there is another very busy form of public transport.

Take a look at the photograph.

What mode of transport can you see? Can you see the big red bus? Hundreds of double decker buses like these take people between different parts of the city.

And in London, most of the buses are painted in this bright red colour.

London buses are famous for being red.

In the past, buses had engines that needed fuel, like petrol or diesel to run, but today, many of the modern buses are electric.

Although a lot of public transport is available in London, some people still choose to use their cars.

Look how many cars are on the photograph of this bridge in London.

Lots of cars on the roads can cause them to be very congested, and cars can also cause a lot of air pollution in the city.

Look at the photograph.

These are another type of car, but these are not private vehicles.

Another type of transport seen a lot on the streets of London are these black taxi cabs.

Taxis are cars that people can hire, and the driver takes them from one place to another.

Taxi cabs are usually a lot more expensive than public transport.

Jun and Jacob are talking about getting around London.

Jun says, "There is a lot of public transport in London.

Tube trains, buses, and even water taxis.

It must be so easy to get around." Jacob replies, "Yes, but some people still choose to drive their cars too, which can cause problems in the city." What sort of problems do you think Jacob is talking about? Talk to a partner now and share your ideas.

All done? Excellent, you have some brilliant ideas.

Let's hear what Jun and Jacob said.

Jun said, "That's true, it makes the roads very busy when there are lots of people driving cars in the city.

And then there are traffic jams." Jacob says that, "Some cars release fumes, which causes air pollution." You may have had some of the same ideas as Jun and Jacob.

Well done, everyone.

Now, you've heard a lot of new words to do with travel and transport, so let's put that new learning to use by solving a word puzzle.

I am going to read some clues.

Solve the clues and write the word letter by letter into the correct place in the puzzle.

If you aren't sure of the answer to a clue, move on and answer some of the other clues first, because the letters of the clues you do know can help you to solve the clues that you are less certain about.

I'm going to read the clues now, listen carefully.

Clue one, these are high speed trains that travel underneath the city streets.

Clue two, this type of public transport is called a double decker.

Clue three, in London, the public transport in clue two is this bright colour.

Clue four, you can travel on the River Thames in this type of transport.

Clue five, the busiest public transport network in London is the London what? And the last clue, number six, you can catch this on the street or along the river.

Hmm, intriguing.

Pause the video now while you complete the puzzle and then we will look at the answers together.

Good luck.

All finished? Good job, let's look at the answers together.

Here is the solution.

The answers are, clue one, high speed trains or tube trains.

T-U-B-E.

Clue two, the double deckers are buses, that's B-U-S, for bus.

Clue three, double decker buses are red in London, R-E-D.

Clue four, boats travel up and down the River Thames, B-O-A-T, boat.

Clue five, the busiest public transport network is the London Underground, that's a long word.

You needed to be careful with your spelling there.

Underground is spelled U-N-D E-R-G-R-O U-N-D, underground.

Well done.

The last clue, the riddle, you can catch this on the street or along the river is a taxi, T-A-X-I.

Because people in London can catch a water taxi on the River Thames or they can catch a black taxi cab on the streets.

Well done, great work.

Now let's move on to the second part of today's lesson.

We've seen about the types of transport that people use in London, now we are going to think about how we keep the city of London clean.

Traffic congestion is a huge cause of pollution in cities like London.

Some vehicles release fumes from their engine.

Those fumes go into the air, and that can cause health problems for people as well as health problems for the whole planet.

So cities like London are trying to reduce congestion and pollution by making special rules to reduce the amount of vehicles in the central part of the city.

Drivers in London see signs like this to warn them when they are approaching the central zone.

People in London are also encouraged to use alternative forms of transport instead of their cars.

Look at the photograph.

What type of transport can you see there in the front of the photo? They are bicycles.

People can hire bicycles or electric scooters to get around the city of London quickly and without causing pollution.

This is much better for the environment.

Now, let's see if you were listening closely, can you answer this question for me? Which type of transport is the healthiest for people and the environment? Is it picture A, a taxi cab, picture B, a double decker bus, or picture C, a bicycle? Have a think and make your choice now.

Have you decided? Well, taxi cabs are vehicles just like buses are, and some vehicles do release fumes, so I don't think either A or B are going to be the best choice, especially not if they are older types of vehicles that still have those engines that need fuel.

I chose option C, the bicycle, because it's good exercise to keep you healthy when you are cycling, and a bicycle does not release any fumes to cause pollution.

Well done.

Let's use everything you know about travel and transport for a creative activity now.

I want you to design a poster about how people can help to reduce air pollution when they are moving around London.

You could encourage people to hire bikes or scooters when they're in the city.

You could encourage people to use public transport instead of driving their own cars.

Your poster should be bright and colourful so that people will notice it.

When you are finished, share and compare your poster with a partner and explain your choices.

Pause the video now while you complete the activity.

All done? You have some really, really creative ideas, good work.

Some of the Oak Academy children are sharing what they have put on their posters.

Aisha says that she has drawn a bike and a car, and she has put a big tick by the bike and a cross by the car.

Well done, Aisha.

Jacob has come up with a great slogan for his poster.

His poster says, "Scooters for commuters." Finally, Andeep has drawn a poster with a bike, and on his bike there are smiley faces in the wheels.

What imaginative ideas they all have, well done.

That brings us now to the end of the lesson, and we have learned a lot about travel and transport in the city of London.

Let's look back and review everything we've learned today.

We know that the River Thames was one of the earliest transport routes in London, and it was used for trade by boats.

We also know that London has lots of public transport, including its famous, bright red double decker buses and the London Underground.

There are also many black taxi cabs in the city.

Even though there is a lot of public transport, people still drive their cars in the city.

Some vehicles cause pollution, so there are special rules to keep the most polluting cars out of the city centre.

To reduce pollution, there are also bicycles and scooters that people can hire.

I found it so interesting learning about water taxis and police boats, especially today.

What did you find most interesting this lesson? I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again for another geography lesson about life in the city of London.

Bye for now.