Lesson video

Hi everybody, I'm Mrs. Lomas.

I'm a primary school teacher that is obsessed with geography, is probably the right way of saying it.

I really love teaching geography and I really love still learning about geography as well myself.

So hopefully you are ready for today's lesson.

Shall we find out what we're going to be doing? So today we are going to be looking at villages, towns, and cities in the UK as part of our where do people live and why settlements unit.

So let's see what we're going to be doing today, shall we? By the end of today, you will be able to locate and identify villages, towns, and cities in atlases and on Ordnance Survey maps.

We have some keywords in today's lesson.

They are: distribution, atlas map, symbol, and location.

Let's do some my turn, your turn first, shall we? Distribution.

Atlas map.

Symbol.

Location.

Well done.

Let's find out what these words mean.

So atlas maps show the location of places and features at global or national scale.

A symbol is used to show an important landmark, place, feature or area of a map, diagram, or drawing.

Distribution is how something is spread out across a geographic area, and a location is the particular position of something on Earth.

So keep an eye out for those keywords in today's lesson.

Today, our lesson is split into three parts.

What are grid references? What type of settlement do we live in? And locating cities in the UK using an atlas.

So let's get started with what are grid references.

So, Ordnance Survey maps give us lots of information about settlements, and we can use the key to find out more about the features of a place.

So you have both symbols and common abbreviations where it's a few letters or a shortened word.

So let's have a look at the symbols first.

Most of them are in blue.

You can see the triangle though for the youth hostel is not.

And you have other things such as a viewpoint, 180 degrees.

So you can see a really good view for 180 degrees, or 360 degrees means you can see really good view all the way around.

The little duck is a nature reserve.

And then if we have a look at the common abbreviations, the library is Liby.

You can see the ones that are to do with water are in blue, which is helpful, isn't it? Your teacher should have the key for the OS map that you are going to be using for task one.

So I'm just going to let your teacher hand that out and you can have a look.

So pause the video, explore the symbols, and then come back when you are ready.

How did you get on? Did you find lots of different symbols? Grid squares are drawn on maps to help locate places, and there are also numbers on every OS map which run from left to right and from the bottom of the map to the top.

So we can see here the vertical lines are called eastings and these are the ones that run from left to right.

And if you're trying to work out which one of these you are on, you say you go along the corridor.

This will make a bit more sense in a minute.

And then the ones on the side that run south to north are called the northings.

And these are the horizontal lines.

And to work out what number we're at here, we're going to say we're going to go up the stairs.

So each square on the map has a four-figure grid reference.

The grid square containing the lighthouse is identified by first locating the bottom left hand corner of the grid square, which is here.

And then to find the four-figure grid reference, we first go east along the corridor and look for the number to the left hand side of the box we want, which is here, number 57.

And then we go north, so we go up the stairs, okay, which is up the side.

And here we've got box 43.

So we put those two numbers together to create a four-figure grid reference, which would be 5743.

So you go along the corridor and up the stairs.

Along the corridor is your first number, up the stairs is your second number.

So have a look here.

What is in the four-figure grid reference 5841? So let's do a quick check.

What is in the four-figure grid reference 5841? Is it A, a lighthouse; B, a camping and caravan site; or C, a picnic site? So what is in the four-figure grid reference 5841? Is it A, a lighthouse; B, a camping and caravan site; or C, a picnic site.

Pause the video, have a look, collect your answers, and then come back when you are ready.

How did you get on? If you said that it was B, a camping and caravan site because it was in this grid square that's highlighted now on the screen, you'd be correct, well done.

So let's have a look at task A.

You are going to be using a map of your local area and the corresponding key and you're going to complete the table about the features of your settlement.

So here we have an example map and an example key.

So you are going to be looking at the one of your local area, okay? And you're going to work out what the grid reference is, what the symbol is, and what the feature is.

Okay, fill in your tables and then pause the video, come back for some feedback when you are finished.

How did you get on? So some things I could find on my map were in grid reference 2110, there was a place of worship which has the symbol PW.

At 2508 there was a school, which is Sch.

At 2110 as well there was also a well, which is a blue W because it's to do with water.

At 1811 and 2112 there were pylons.

Southwest, so I've given the compass direction there, so southwest from 1812 to 2508, there was a minor road.

And in grid reference 2611 and 2711 there was a shrub.

So hopefully you found lots of different features of your settlement area.

So that was looking at grid references.

Now let's have a look at what type of settlement do we live in.

So here we have a diagram that shows the population of different types of settlements.

So a hamlet, which you can see at the top there of the triangle, has a population of less than 500 people.

It has no services, such as a church or a post office.

It's often a group of houses dispersed in the countryside or running alongside a road.

Next we have a village, which generally has a population of between 500 and 3000 people.

It usually has a few services, typically a church, a post office, a school, and a pub.

And then we have a town.

A town usually has a population of between 10,000 and 100,000 people.

Towns can vary in size.

Large towns will provide a much greater variety of goods and services.

And here you can see on the diagram the distinction between a small town and a large town.

Then we have a city which generally has a population of more than 100,000 and therefore needs lots of facilities and services, including hospitals and universities.

And finally we have a megacity, which has a population of more than 10 million.

They are exceptionally large cities with extensive transport systems and they have global importance.

So let's do a little check.

True or false? You would find hospitals, airports, and universities in villages.

I want you to decide if that is true or false.

Pause the video, collect your answers, and then come back when you are ready.

If you said false, you would be correct.

And now I would like you to justify your answer using either A, these facilities and services are usually found in settlements with more than 10,000 people, or B, these facilities and services are usually found in settlements with less than 10,000 people.

Have a think, pause the video, collect your answers, and come back when you are ready.

How did you get on? If you said that it's because A, these facilities and services are usually found in settlements with more than 10,000 people.

And we know, don't we, that villages have a significantly smaller population than that.

So, task B.

We're looking at what type of settlement we live in.

So I want you to look carefully at the map of your local area and think about the type of settlement that your school is in.

Discuss with your geography buddy and then complete this sentence and explain your choice.

Our school is in a.

I know this because.

There are some keywords here to give you a little help.

You've got hamlet, village, town, city, megacity.

So those are the different types of settlement, aren't they? And then population, services, facilities, transport.

You may want to use these key keywords in your explanation when you are saying I know this because.

So have a look at your map, decide what type of settlement your school is in, complete the sentence, and then when you are ready, come back and we can check the answers.

How did you get on? If we were looking at where my school is, okay, for the example map here, said our school is in a village.

I know this because there are less than 100 buildings connected by minor roads, and the only facilities and services are our school and a place of worship.

If you need to make any changes on your task, then pause the video, have a little go, and then come back when you are ready.

So we've had a look at what are grid references.

We've also had a look at what type of settlement you live in.

Now we're going to be locating cities in the UK using an atlas.

So here we can see a satellite image of the UK at night.

So seen from space, the nighttime lights of the British Isles show where most people live.

And some parts of the UK are very densely populated, as you can see here with lots of bright lights.

Other places have fewer people and much smaller settlements, as you can see here where it's not such a big area of light, it's not quite as bright.

This is a picture of the whole of the British Isles, but we are concentrating on the UK so we won't actually be looking at Ireland even though you can see it on the picture here.

And the UK population was estimated to be 67,026,300 in December of 2022.

But not all of those people live in the same area.

Some people live in hamlets and villages, and some live in towns or cities.

And the UK had 76 recognised cities in the summer of 2023.

So that's just something to bear in mind whilst you have a look at this image.

You might want to pause the video and explore the image further.

So the lights show the location of some of the most significant cities in the UK.

The four capital cities are shown here.

We have London, the capital city of England, Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland, and Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland.

And then we have some other key cities in the UK, including Birmingham, which is the second largest after London.

And there's Manchester, Newcastle, and one more in Scotland, Glasgow.

And you can see, can't you, that they are much bigger areas of light, much brighter areas of light, much denser areas of light, and they are the biggest settlements in the UK.

So on the left we have a map of the significant cities in the UK.

And now here I have a blank map.

Okay? And this is where we are going to be finding the missing cities.

So here can you see the red square? Often in an atlas, a red square shows a capital city.

It might be slightly different in the atlases you are using.

So if I want to work out what this city is, I need to find a map of the UK, don't I, with significant cities on there.

So I have one on the left here, you might have a slightly different one in your atlas.

Okay? And then you need to look at the location of the city.

So we can see we are in the southeast of the UK and actually we are in England, aren't we? And we can see that the River Thames is coming in to the east.

So if I have a look at my map on the left with the labels on, on the left of the screen, I can see okay, I'm in England.

So it's either got to be Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester, or London.

And then I'm in the southeast of the country.

Well, London at the moment is the only one in the southeast.

And just to double check, I'm gonna see, yep, I can see the River Thames is coming in into England from the ocean.

And there's the city and that is London.

So I can see that this missing city is London.

What about this one? Okay, so again, we're going to be using clues to help us work out which one it is.

So I can see, can't I, that that's in Scotland.

So if I look at my map and if you look in your atlas and see this Edinburgh or Glasgow.

I can also see that it's just above to the north of the border between England and Scotland.

And it's also, I use the shape as well.

So not very technical terms sometimes, but you've got the sticky out bit and then it's in the bit where you've come in from the sticky out bit, okay? But I can see it's also to the east, which means it must be Edinburgh, okay? So this is a great way to use an atlas to help you, or another map, to help you work out what the missing cities are.

When we use an atlas to look at settlements, there are often clues about the size of the settlement in the font size or the symbol used.

On this atlas map, we can see the capital city of England, London, has been marked with a black square, whereas other cities are marked with a white circle.

In addition, London is written in capital letters and in a larger bold font.

What is significant about a country's capital city? Pause the video, collect some ideas, and then come back when you are ready.

How did you get on? Usually, the capital city is where the parliament or the president or the monarch's palace are and other government buildings as well.

Larger cities like Birmingham have also been highlighted using a larger bold font.

And then towns such as Ashford still use the white circle symbol but are labelled in a smaller non-bold font.

Let's do a little check.

What type of settlement would be shown using this font and symbol? A, a capital city; B, a village; or C, a town.

So what type of settlement would be shown using this font and symbol? A, a capital city; B, a village; or C, a town.

Pause the video, collect your answers, and then come back and check when you're ready.

If you'd said A, a capital city, you would be correct.

Well done.

So task C.

You are going to use your atlas to label the countries, capital cities, and four other significant cities in the UK on your blank map, which are Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, and Newcastle.

Also include your settlement and your nearest town or city.

Use the symbols from this key to represent the correct type of settlement.

And make sure to have a look at how you are writing the names as well.

So pause the video, have a go, and when you are ready, come back and we'll have a little look together.

How did you get on? Did you remember to capitalise the names of the four countries? Well done.

Did you remember that each capital city needs to be marked with a red square? Well done.

And which other city or town did you manage to add to your map? Pause the video here and make any alterations you need to make to your map.

So, in summary.

Atlas maps show the location and distribution of significant cities in the UK.

Font size and symbols usually show the size of the settlement.

OS maps help us identify the services and features of a settlement.

And hamlets, villages, towns, and cities have different features in them.

Well done, everybody.

You worked really hard today.

I hope you enjoyed using the OS maps and the atlases.

I love doing a bit of map work.

Don't forget to take the exit quiz just to see if there's anything you need to recap on before the next lesson, and I will see you soon.

Bye.