AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the new specification Unit 1B: In this lesson we examine the distribution of the global ecosystems or biomes. The lesson has an ordnance survey map skills retrieval practice starter quiz. We then look at what a global ecosystem or biome is and what the general pattern of their distribution is. The students complete a cloze exercise and write a paragraph introducing the concept of global ecosystems. The students then complete a colouring by numbers worksheet to familiarise them with the distribution of the global ecosystems. They then complete a worksheet on where these ecosystems can be found, using atlases to give named examples of countries that feature those particular biomes. There is another extension to this where the students create a diagram to show the importance of latitude in the distribution of global ecosystems. We finish with a GCSE-style practice question with some sentence starters and a mark scheme provided for the students. Hope this saves you some valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

This is a worksheet that I use with the pupils to look at primary and secondary effects of Typhoon Haiyan. The pupils write any ‘storm statistics’ they can find on the storm related to the symbols next to them. I hope you find it useful.

GCSE christmas activity sheet on coasts. The pupils inform Santa all about the wonderful coastal features he flies over using their geographical knowledge. It also includes colouring activities so is perfect for a more relaxed final lesson of the term, yet still includes real geography! Needs to be printed or photocopied as A3 for best results! https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

A Key Stage 3 lesson for Religious Studies on Christmas. This resource is perfect for Christmas Cover work or just a final lesson before the holidays. There is a variety of activities for the pupils to undertake all with a Christmas theme which may involve research, creativity and revision. The sheets are best printed off as A3 sheets, double sided, but if lessons are short (45-50 mins) you could just use one side of the sheet. When using both sides it is a good double lesson or two single periods. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

Key Stage 3 lesson on comparing and contrasting Richard I with Saladin. The lesson would take about two periods to cover fully, but can easily be shortened. We start by thinking about what makes an effective leader during the medieval period. we then introduce the two leaders and the pupils will read the story of each leader before creating a character card that assesses the leaders strengths and weaknesses. We then go on to look at how the two men are similar and different by creating a Venn diagram. Finally there is an extended writing task where the pupils explain their choice of leader through evaluating their actions. Included in the lesson is: Starter activity Character card templates and information sheets on the leaders Venn diagram task Extended writing task with writing frame and support. Plenary. Hope this helps. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

Key Stage 3 History lesson on The Reformation, but could easily be adapted to suit other key stages. The lesson focuses on Martin Luther and how he played a key role in starting The Reformation. There are several activities included and all worksheets and video clips are in the resource. The lesson includes: Instagram starter. Video quiz sheet on Martin Luther’s life and beliefs. Consolidation activity “Who would have said what?” Differences in types of church labeling task Extended writing task Emoji’s plenary. Hope this proves useful. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

The second lesson in a Key stage 3 unit of work on the Welfare State. The lesson covers the reasons why the decade was known as ‘The Hungry Thirties’, then we seek to assess whether the decade deserves this name or not. We start with a simple multiple choice retrieval practice starter. We then move onto the start of the thirties and briefly introduce the Labour Party. We then look at a series of photographs from the 1930’s and the pupils try to work out what is happening and what this tells us about life in Britain in that decade. We then watch a video clip on the decade and the pupils write down examples of hardship and examples of prosperity. We then look at the situation from the point of view of various types of people. Using the emoji pictures the pupils annotate the emojis based on what reaction these various people would have to their situation in the decade with an explanation. We then answer the question whether the decade deserves the nickname. This is done with the pupils responding to a ‘To what extent do you agree with the statement’ type question. A countdown plenary finishes the lesson. I hope that this proves useful and saves you some time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for Unit 2C Water Management. The lesson is approximately one hour long, but can be extended. We start the lesson with a quick quiz to test the pupils knowledge around global water supplies and issues. We then complete an activity looking at water surplus and deficit patterns around the world. The pupils will be creating their own map and then answering questions around the patterns. We then look at why consumption is increasing with the pupils writing their own extended sentences to explain these factors. We then look at what factors affect water availability. The pupils will be completing a worksheet which helps them to explain how the factor affects water availability. We then use the worksheet to answer a GCSE-style question with guidance on how to answer this should the pupils need it. At a glance the lesson includes Quiz starter on global water supplies Map activity and questions arising from the patterns of deficit and surplus. Writing activity on why consumption is increasing Worksheet activity on factors affecting availability. Practice question with guidance. Hope this saves you valuable planing time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

Key Stage 3 lesson looking at the murder of Thomas Beckett in 1170. The lesson has a focus on causation with the pupils looking at long-term, short-term and trigger causes of his murder. The lesson includes an image source starter with questions. We then watch a video clip and the pupils complete a question sheet. We then look at how to identify short-term, long-term and trigger events before applying this to the case of Thomas Beckett. We then complete an extended writing task where the pupils write a report to Pope Alexander detailing the causes of the event and who is ultimately reposnsible for Beckett’s death. Included is: Picture source starter Video clip with notes sheet Activities around causation in history Information sheet and reading activity Extended writing task with structured guidance. Hope this helps. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the new specification Unit 2A: In this lesson we look at the environmental challenges of urban sprawl and housing provision in London. We start with a retrieval practice grid with questions based on the London unit so far (but you just amend to whatever you want). We then look at what urban sprawl is, we then consider the advantages and disadvantages of urban sprawl in a spray diagram. The pupils are given some sentence starters to help them consider what they might be. We move on to consider if there is a housing shortage in London. We use house prices as a proxy for this and the pupils spend some time working with a graph of house prices and completing some questions related to the graph. We then consider the options London has of developing on either brownfield or greenfield sites. The pupils complete a photo annotation task on the two types and what the advantages and disadvantages of building on both types are. We then move on to a mapping activity where the pupils map the available greenfield and brownfield sites for development. They answer some questions related to London’s options to solve its housing problems and what the impact on the environment might be. Once we have completed the diagram we tackle a 6-mark question on the effects of urban sprawl on the environment and people. There is guidance should the pupils need it. In a nutshell lesson includes: Retrieval practice starter Benefits and drawbacks of urban sprawl diagram task Greenfield and brownfield photo annotation task Video clips where appropriate Mapping London’s greenfield and brownfield sites task. GCSE-style question with guidance or live writing exercise. Hope this saves you some valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the new specification Unit 1A: In this fourth lesson in the section we look at the effects of climate change around the world. We start with a quote from Great Thunberg and the pupils discuss whether they think she is right that we should be panicking about climate change and its impacts. We then look briefly at climate change impacts in the UK where the pupils will annotate a map of the UK using information from a video clip. We then look at the impacts worldwide, the pupils will be given an A3 sheet with a map surrounded by the impacts, they first locate the region the where the impact will be felt, rate the seriousness of the impact and then categorise each one as either social, economic, environmental or political. Using the information they have now gathered they write a response to Greta Thunberg’s quote using evidence from the lesson. We finish with a post-it plenary using a 2-mark question from the 2019 exam. In a nutshell lesson includes: Discussion starter over Greta Thunberg Quote Annotated diagram of the impacts on the UK A3 map task on the effects of climate change worldwide Video clips where appropriate GCSE-style question plenary Hope this saves you some valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

This is a template for analysing geographical issues by examining what we should stop doing, what we should start doing and what we should continue to do. It works for most geographical issues though of course. I hope it proves useful. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the new specification Unit 2B: In this lesson we look at how trade and in particular Fairtrade can help reduce the development gap. The lesson has a retrieval practice starter based around Ordnance Survey symbols. We firstly introduce what tariffs and quotas are and the pupils fill in a table where they decide if the statement applies to a tariff or a quota. The pupils complete a cloze exercise on what free trade is and we then look at the benefits of being in a trading group or trade bloc. We introduce Fairtrade and there is a video clip, we then look at Uganda and coffee farmers in the country who participate in a Fairtrade scheme and community project. The pupils complete a guided reading exercise and there is also a video for this. We finish with a GCSE-style practice question with some guidance and structure provided for the students. Hope this saves you some valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the new specification Unit 1C: In this lesson we look at how coastal management has been undertaken at Lyme Regis in Dorset. The lesson has a retrieval practice starter based around a field sketch of a coastline. We firstly introduce Lyme Regis as an example of coastal management and consider which interest groups may have concerns about the construction of new sea defences. The pupils complete a worksheet where they read through the four phases of coastal management, highlight examples of hard and soft engineering and answer some questions. They then complete a map skills activity where they label on where the coastal defences have been built using 6-figure grid references. We then look at the positive and negatives of coastal management in Lyme Regis. We finish with a GCSE-style practice question with some guidance and structure provided for the students. Hope this saves you some valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the new specification Unit 1B: In this lesson we look at what valuable commodities and services the rainforest provides. The lesson has a rainforest themed retrieval practice starter. We look at what value the rainforest has to indigenous peoples and why these people may be at threat. Focusing on the Achua tribe we look at a video and complete some guided reading with the students completing some questions relating to the text. We then look at the valuable medicines that come from the rainforest, the students have to complete an annotated ‘rainforest cabinet’ using information from the slide. We then look at essential services. The students read the information on the various services the rainforest provides and rate them according to how important they are and explain why they think this. We finish with a GCSE-style practice question with some guidance and structure provided for the students. Hope this saves you some valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the 2016 specification Unit 1B: In this lesson we look at how ecosystems operate, from small-scale ecosystems to biomes. We start with a retrieval practice task based around coats. We begin by looking at what the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem are. The students are given an example ecosystem and have to categorise the components according to whether they think they are biotic or abiotic. We then look at different scales of ecosystems and look at trophic levels. The students work out which examples belong with which trophic level . We then explore an example of a food chain, using a small-scale ecosystem (a pond) the students have to work out which creatures belong in which trophic level. We then look at biomass in the food chain and discuss why biomass declines at each level. We finish with a 4-mark GCSE style question and there is some tips for students who need it on how to answer it. Hope this saves you some valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

This is a collection of GCSE revision sheets, best printed A3 for the following units.:- Unit 1: Tectonic Hazards: Comparing the earthquakes in Chile and Nepal Hot Deserts: The Thar Desert Rainforests: Characteristics of Tropical Rainforests Unit 2: The Urban World: Lagos revision map Urban Change in the UK: London revision map The Changing UK Economy: Revision map

A variation of the popular learning journey idea, but with a river instead. Obviously you start from the top (source) though with this one! Hope that it proves to be useful. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson as part of the Nigeria: A Newly Emerging Economy unit. The lesson is roughly one hour long but can be shortened or extended. In this lesson we introduce the concept of a TNC. We then do a quick activity on the incentives for TNC’s to locate their operations in different countries. The pupils then complete a sorting exercise on the problems and benefits of TNC’s in general before we look at Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta. The pupils create a visual chart to show the overall benefits and costs, but also the extent to which those factors are benefits or costs. We then go on to answer a 6 mark question with a structure strip for support. Included is: Starter on TNC’s in Nigeria Exercise on incentives for TNC’s in countries Sorting activity on costs and benefits Costs and benefits chart on Shell Oil GCSE style question with structure strip Hope this helps. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

A starter activity that makes the pupils think about words in context by firstly working out which word goes where, but then they must use the words verbally in another sentence within the context of the subject. Hope it proves useful https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer