This is the first in a series of lessons that I am writing under the heading ‘Geography at Christmas’ over the next few weeks. This one is all about finding your way using the stars - like the wise men did. I teaches students how to find the North Star, Polaris, using the Little Bear or Plough and challenges them to plan some fictitious journeys across the Arabian desert.

This is a standalone lesson all about gold, suitable for KS2-KS4. In a series of short, engaging tasks, it explores the distribution of gold across the world, what it is used for and where it is mined. It includes links to videos about gold panning and gold mining, each accompanied by questions. It concludes with some open-ended questions about whether gold is a renewable or non-renewable resources and what this means.