Lesson video

Hello everyone and welcome back to our geography lesson.

I'm Miss Harrison.

And today we're going to continue our learning of the geography of the United Kingdom.

And today we are going to zoom in on Northern Ireland and think about the geography of Northern Ireland, the different human features and the different physical features that we can see there.

Now you might notice that I am in a different place again today and today you can see behind me the beautiful landscape of the Giant's Causeway, which is the north coast of Northern Ireland.

And it's one of the physical features we're going to be looking at in our lesson today.

So, let's get started.

In our geography of the United Kingdom.

Today we're going to think about the geography of Northern Ireland.

First of all, we're going to recap the seven continents of the world, which you should know really well by now.

Then we're going to think about where Northern Ireland is located and the different human and physical geographical features that we can find within Northern Ireland.

Then we're going to be able to compare them to the other places that we have looked at so far.

So we've already studied the geography of Scotland and the geography of Wales.

So we're going to be able to compare the three countries that we have studied so far by the end of this lesson.

So for our lesson today, you will need a piece of paper, a pencil or pen to write with and your amazing geography brain.

I know you've all got this one with you already.

See if you need to go grab a pencil and paper before we begin, you can pause the video and do that now.

Okay, we're ready to get started.

So as our starter today, I wonder if you can remember all seven continents of the world that we've been practising this over our last two lessons.

And I want you to see if you can name them just from their shape.

So I'm going to show you all of the seven continents, but they're in a different order to the way that we see them on the map.

And you've just got the outline of each one.

So look at the shape of their land.

And I want you to see if you can write down which continent I'm showing you in A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

So pause the video now, see if you can write down the names of those continents that you can see.

Off you go.

Okay, let's see if you got all of those correct.

So have your pen in your hand, ready to give yourself a tick or fix your work if you need to.

So continent A was Europe and that is the where we live here in the UK.

Next up, continent B was Africa, give yourself a tick if you got that one, fix it if you need to.

Continent C, which is actually a huge continent of the world, and it is? Asia, give yourself a tick if you got that correct.

And then our next one, continent D was Australia, give yourself a tick if you got that one correct.

Next up we have continent E.

It's the one of the very, very south of our planet and it is? Antarctica.

And then continent F, we have North America.

And finally continent G we have South America.

I wonder if anybody managed to get all of those correct.

Well done if you did, you deserve a big tick.

If you didn't, that's okay.

Just have a little edit of them now and writing the ones that you maybe didn't get correct the first time and see if you can learn those before our next lesson.

So, in our geography lesson today, we're going to be zooming in from the seven continents of the world to the continent of Europe, which is where we live.

And I wonder if you can look at the map and find out where the United Kingdom is within Europe, just zoom in on your screen and have a look.

Well done if you got it, the United Kingdom is here.

So congratulations if you managed to spot that on our map of Europe.

So within the UK, today we're going to be focusing on the country of Northern Ireland.

So have a look at your map, see if you can point to Northern Ireland on your screen.

Well done if you got it right, Northern Ireland is at the north Northern part of the Republic of Ireland.

Now the Republic of Ireland is not part of the United Kingdom.

It's a separate independent country, but Northern Ireland, to the very north is within the UK.

So, we're going to be thinking about those different features that we can spot within the country of Northern Ireland.

So let's have a recap of what a human feature and the physical feature is.

Let's have a look.

So just as a reminder, our physical geographical features are things that occur on the natural landscape of the earth.

So they're not made by humans, they're things that occur naturally.

For example, things like mountains and lakes and beaches and cliffs, those are all examples of physical geographical features.

Whereas human geographical features are things that are related to the behaviour of humans.

So they might be things that are made by humans or that humans use to live their lives.

For example, cities, villages, shops, and factories are all examples of human features.

So, let's use that human feature knowledge and have a look for some of those within Northern Ireland.

So we're going to look at some of those human geographical features within Northern Ireland.

Now here's a map of Northern Ireland for you.

Northern Ireland has a population of 1.

8 million people, and there are many different villages and towns and cities of different sizes where different people live.

Now, the capital city of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

And we're going to focus in on Belfast for a moment.

See what human features we can see.

So Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.

It has a population of around 631,000 people.

And the city centre is full of lots of different human features.

Some of which you can see in the pictures on your screen, we've got things like shops and cafes and museums and restaurants, and also other things like Saint Anne's Cathedral, which is a cathedral that you can see on the right hand side of the screen.

That's another human feature, it's a place of worship within Belfast City.

Lots of people also visit Belfast to see different museums and historical buildings like the Titanic building, which you can see on your left-hand side.

You might have heard of the big ship, the Titanic sunk many years ago and that ship was built in Northern Ireland in Belfast itself.

So that's a place that people go and visit even today.

Or things like Belfast Castle, which is on the right hand side, which is a beautiful old castle.

Other historical buildings like Stormont, which is the parliament of Northern Ireland and the city hall are also visited by many tourists.

So lots of different human geographical features that we can see in Belfast.

Now, I want you to have a think about what we have learned so far in this unit.

So we've already looked at the geography of Scotland, the geography of Wales.

And today we're starting to look at the geography of Northern Ireland.

And we have looked at each of those capital cities, so Belfast, Northern Ireland, Cardiff, in Wales and in Edinburgh.

I wonder if you can remember some things about each capital city and write me three similarities or three differences between those three cities.

For example, I know that Cardiff and Edinburgh and Belfast all have a university within their city.

So that's one human feature that they have in common, but one human feature that they have that's slightly different is that for example, Belfast is near the coast and it has a dock within the city, which is a port where ships come in, like the dock where the Titanic was built, but Edinburgh isn't that close to the sea and so it doesn't have its own port or its own dock.

I wonder if you can write down three things that are similar or three things that are different between those three capital cities that we have studied.

Pause the video now, see if you can write those down.

Okay, so now we thought about the capital city and some of the human features we can see.

We're now going to look at the physical geography of Northern Ireland.

Some of those physical features.

So Northern Ireland, just like the rest of the UK has quite a varied landscape.

It has some lowlands, some hills and some small mountains.

Now Lough Neagh is the largest lake in the UK.

It's the largest freshwater lake in the UK.

And Northern Ireland is also known for its beautiful coastlines.

There are lots of different physical features that we can look at and study today.

The first thing we're going to focus in on is the lakes and the rivers.

Now, as I mentioned, Lough Neagh is a huge lake in Northern Ireland and it's the biggest fresh water lake in all of the UK.

It spans for 153 square miles, really, really huge.

There are many rivers that also flow through Northern Ireland, including the River Blackwater, which you can see on your screen, which flows from the Republic of Ireland and flows into Lough Neagh and that's where it ends.

Now, other physical features that we can spot in Northern Ireland, things like mountains and hills.

So you can see the Mourne Mountains on the left-hand side and they're in County Down, which is in the Southeast of Northern Ireland and they include Northern Ireland tallest peak, which is called Slieve Donard.

And that is a hundred, sorry, it's 850 metres tall.

So really, really tall mountain and it would take you a long time to get to the top.

We can also see the Sperrins Mountain Range which is in Northern Ireland, in the Northwest province of Londonderry.

And both of these places are really popular hiking spots, walking spots and climbing places within Northern Ireland.

And then let's have a look at the coastline of Northern Ireland.

Now it's very dramatic and it's one of the things that lots of people go to Northern Ireland to visit these beautiful cliffs, lots of tall cliffs looking out over the sea.

It's very popular with tourists because you can go rock climbing, you can do some walking and some hiking and see those beautiful different landscapes.

And one of those particular coastal landscapes, which lots of people go to visit in Northern Ireland is the Giant's Causeway, which is where I have behind me today.

And the Giant's Causeway is a rock formation of the Northeast coast of Northern Ireland.

And this is an area of thousands of interlocking basalt columns.

So all of these kind of circular columns that you can see in the pictures are made out of basalts, which is a type of rock.

And they are a product of an ancient volcanic eruption.

So many, many years ago, a volcano erupted in this area.

And it left behind these columns of stone, which almost looked like kind of stepping stones for a giant, which is where it gets the name, the Giant's Causeway.

Some of the columns even reach up to 12 metres high, really, really tall.

So this is another really amazing landscape that many people go to Northern Ireland to visit.

So now we've got a little bit about the physical geography of Northern Ireland.

I want you to have a think about if this is similar or different to where you live.

So where I live in South London, the physical geography is very different to a lot of the physical features we've seen in Northern Ireland.

There is no, there are no beaches or cliffs where I live in London, so that's something that's different but there is a river going through London and some parks and smaller hills around the outskirts of London.

So that's a physical feature that is similar between where I live and the geography of Northern Ireland.

I want you to think about the place where you live and think about whether the physical geography of Northern Ireland is similar or different to where you live.

See if you can put that into a sentence, pause the video and write your sentence now.

Excellent work team, okay.

So, now the final thing we're going to think about is the way that land is used in Northern Ireland.

And we've been looking at this in Scotland and in Wales, but in Northern Ireland, that's one thing that's slightly different.

So Northern Ireland actually doesn't have any national parks within it, it's the only country in the UK that doesn't have any national parks.

So we can think about the land use of Northern Ireland and split it into urban land use, which means land that's used for human settlements and for industry, so making products and rural land use, which is land in the countryside, which could be used for farming or natural areas for people to visit.

So let's have a look at some examples of urban land use.

So you've got different towns and cities in different parts of Northern Ireland, some by the coast and you've got lots of different human features within those urban areas like factories that you can see on the right hand side, near Belfast, and then a port on the left-hand side with lots of fishing boats and as well.

So that's an example of urban land use.

So things where people live and people manufacture things or industry and makes things.

Then we have rural land use, which is land that's in the countryside and is used for things like agriculture, which is similar to what we've seen in Wales and Scotland as well.

And there's lots of different types of agriculture in Northern Ireland, but there are no national parks, but there are lots of areas of natural beauty, which are visited by many tourists each year.

So you can see some of those rural landscapes that we can see in the pictures here.

So, what I want you to think now is, again, look at the area where you live within the UK.

And I want you to think about how that land is used.

Is it more of an urban landscape, like a big city or a place where lots of people live or is your local area more of a rural landscape? I want to challenge you to draw a map of your local area and think about whether the landscape is more urban or more rural.

And remember, it doesn't have to be one or the other.

You could have parts of your area being very urbanised and very, with lots of people and lots of buildings and factories and transport links, but you could also have more rural areas.

And I want you to draw some of the different human and physical geographical features that you can find in your area.

So are there any shops or schools or post offices that are human features you can add to your map? Are there any physical geographical features like lakes, or maybe you live by the coast and there are some cliffs or beaches, maybe there is a river running through your town or through your city, think about those physical geographical features that you can see.

Now, I would love to see the amazing maps that you have drawn today.

So maybe you'll be able to share those and I'll tell you how in just a moment.

First of all, pause the video now, think back on all of the information we have learnt about urban landscapes, rural landscapes, physical features, and human features, and see if you can draw your own map of your local area.

Off you go.

Okay, awesome work today team.

Now, as I said earlier, I would love to see any of the maps that you guys are drawing at home.

So if you're really proud of the work that you have done today, and you want to share it, then you could ask a parent or carer to take a photo of it and share that photo on social media tagging @OakNational and with the hashtag #LearnwithOak.

That way, the team at Oak National Academy will be able to see the amazing work that you are producing at home.

I hope you're proud of your work today.

I bet you've done something really, really amazing.

So well done for working so hard in our geography lesson today.

You can now go on to doing the quiz at the end of your lesson, to see how much you have remembered.

So, I will be back next time when we are going to learn more about the geography of the UK.

I'll see you soon.