How have rivers changed our lives?

All over the country and the world rivers shape the land and have shaped history. We are going to learn about why rivers are such a powerful force. As a geographer, I will know and be able to describe the features of a river and be able to name the seas around the UK and the rivers that feed into them. I will be able to explain the water cycle and how it effects the weather. I will use fieldwork to bolster my academic understanding of how rivers function and relate this to topographical features on maps. We will be able to use compasses to build our knowledge of the UK and wider world and have an understanding and be able to explain how human choices can impact the environment in both positive and negative ways and make decisions based on this knowledge. As a scientist, I will also use this knowledge practically help clear spills and pollution to solve real life problems which can have a lasting and long-term impact on the health of rivers in the UK and beyond. We will learn fieldwork and practical science investigation skills. These will be repeated several times during the course of the unit particularly the science skills of separating including separating, filtering and sieving.

A River’s Journey

This week we have been learning about a river’s journey! For our writing the children have been researching how a river flows and its different features, ready to write their own information text.  In geography, we have been really Adventurous Aardvarks and drawn the whole journey of a river, from its source to the lower course where it reaches the sea. We have considered its features at the upper, middle and lower courses of the river’s journey and added these to our drawings. The children have been Aspirational Ants with their presentation and have produced some amazing work!

Our wonderful Kearsney Abbey trip!

What a fabulous trip Respect had today! We made our way to Kearsney Abbey to look at the River Dour for our Learning Lift Off for this term’s topic of Riveting Rivers. We looked at the human and physical geography surrounding the river, studying and identifying the plants, birds and insects that live in and around the river. The children took part in pond dipping, a nature survey and a great game of ‘pooh sticks’ to see if we could measure the speed of the river at different points. What a fabulous way to start our river learning journey!