Settlement patterns (complete lesson)

This lesson introduces the terms linear, dispersed and nucleated settlements. It comes complete with PowerPoint and worksheets to structure the activities.

• The pupils first learn what the phrases mean, and then …
• … see if they can identify the patterns in aerial photograph examples of all three.
• They then go on to look at the causes that lead to the development of all three types of settlement pattern.
• After this, the pupils describe each settlement pattern in their own words …
• … and then using online maps like google, they try to find examples.
• The lesson starts to introduce the idea that the larger the settlement, the more services it has.
• Lastly, if the pupils have time, they find and print off aerial photos of each settlement pattern using the satellite feature of online mapping tools.