AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the new specification Unit 1C: In this lesson we look at coastal landforms along the Swanage coastline. The starter is called “perfect paragraph?” The pupils will see a response to a GCSE-style question and need to spot the errors in the paragraph, we then discuss if anything needs adding to the answer. We introduce Swanage to the pupils and its location. The pupils will be working on an A3 sheet of paper that will become a revision resource for them in the future. We start by locating Swanage and the pupils describe its location using geographical language. We the look at the discordant and concordant sections of the coastline and the pupils create an annotated map showing the locations of the landforms we will study as well as an explanation of how the geology affects the coastline. We then look at Old Harry Rocks. The pupils will do a field sketch from photograph which they then label to show all the features on the landform. We then look at Lulworth Cove and how it has formed on a concordant coast. The pupils create a 3 stage diagram to show how this formed., they annotate this too/ We finish with a post-it plenary based on a short question regarding the content of the lesson. In a nutshell lesson includes: Perfect paragraph? Starter. A3 poster worksheet with a variety of activities on the landforms around Swanage. Video clip. Post-it plenary. 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 the processes of longshore drift, deposition and wave refraction. We start with a retrieval practice grid which can be filled in with your own questions. We then introduce the concept of longshore drift. We watch a video clip, look at some sequential diagrams, and also consider why some parts of the coastline do not experience longshore drift, yet other parts do. The pupils use this knowledge to complete a worksheet which has several tasks such as explaining, drawing sequential diagrams and annotating. We then move onto deposition and wave refraction. We consider how wave refraction can create areas of erosion and deposition. The pupils create a diagram, which we label and annotate as we go along. There are several extension questions for the pupils to consider too. We finish with a simple post-it plenary on groynes and longshore drift. In a nutshell lesson includes: Retrieval practice starter Worksheet on the process of longshore drift with several activities. Annotated diagram of wave refraction. Video clips where appropriate Post-it plenary. 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 spits and bars together with the processes that lead to their formation. The starter is a true or false type quiz where the pupils have to find the landforms and processes associated with erosion. We have a brief reminder of what longshore drift and deposition are. We have a quiz around a photo of Spurn Head and then watch a video clip. The pupils then create annotated diagrams of spits, bars and tombolos. This is usually teacher led in my lessons, but would work as an info hunt/share. We then draw an annotated field sketch from a photograph of Dawlish Warren Spit. The pupils then label the feature of the spit and fill in the blanks on the paragraph. We finish with a 6 mark GCSE-style question: “Explain how the processes of deposition lead to the formation of distinctive landforms”. The pupils have some guidance in answering this. In a nutshell lesson includes: Retrieval practice true or false starter Video clip Annotated diagrams on formation of spits, bars and tombolos. Features of a field sketch from photograph with an example. 6 mark GCSE-style question with guidance should the pupils need it. 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 what managed retreat is and we also consider an example at Medmerry in West Sussex. The starter is a a simple true or false quiz that is used for retrieval practice, but is easily edited. We introduce the concept of coastal management schemes first and then we explore the definition of managed retreat with a simple fill in the gap task and the pupils consider when it might be appropriate as a strategy and when not. We introduce Medmerry, the pupils write a description of it’s location before we look at the scheme and why it was needed. The pupils have a worksheet, the questions are answered whilst the pupils watch a video clip on the scheme. They then complete a visual plan map of the scheme to show how the area is flooded. We then consider the benefits and costs of the scheme in a categorising task. We finish with a 6 mark question on the effectiveness of coastal management schemes. The pupils have some guidance on this if you feel they need it. In a nutshell lesson includes: Retrieval practice starter Short tasks on definition of managed retreat and location of Medmerry. Worksheet tasks with questions and a plan view map of the scheme. Information categorising task on costs and benefits of the scheme. 6-mark GCSE-style question with guidance should the pupils need it. Hope this saves you some valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

Requires the blue AQA GCSE Geography Oxford textbook AQA GCSE Geography lesson for Unit 1A. In this lesson we compare the Chilean earthquake of 2010 with the Nepalese earthquake of 2015. The lesson includes and photo interpretation starter and video clips where appropriate. the main body of the lesson is used by the pupils to fill out their differentiated worksheets on each earthquake. We then answer a GCSE-style question using a worksheet to help the pupils learn how to structure their answers. I hope this saves you valuable planning time. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/markthegeographer

AQA GCSE Geography lesson for the latest specification Unit 1B: In this lesson we look at the processes of weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition in glacial environments. The starter is just a quick photo mystery around glacial deposits. We then look at the extent of the ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We introduce freeze-thaw weathering as the principle type of weathering in glacial environments as the pupils create a sequential diagram. The pupils are provided with a diagram to annotate for the processes of abrasion and plucking. We watch a video on the transportation of material by the glacier and the pupils create a diagram. They then construct a paragraph on transportation by guessing the missing words using the picture prompts. They also construct a paragraph on deposition based on sentence fragments. We finish with a 4 mark GCSE-style exam question with guidance on how to answer it. 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 how plants and animals have adapted to the environmental conditions in the rainforest. The lesson has a retrieval practice starter to begin with. We then look at what biodiversity is and why the rainforests are particularly diverse. We then look at rainforest stratification and plant adaptations. The students have a sheet to complete and some information slides to use to complete the sheet. This could be used as a carousel or group work task. The sheet can even be coloured in! Then the students complete a mix and match up task on the most common types of animal adaptations. The students then complete a rating task with explanation as to how significant are threats to biodiversity in the rainforest. 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 1A: In this lesson we look at monitoring, prediction, planning and protection in regards to tropical storms. The lesson has a tropical stormed themed retrieval practice starter. We firstly introduce the importance of monitoring to aid prediction with measurements of SST’s. There is a cloze writing exercise on monitoring of hurricanes. A video clip from American tv provides a useful example of how tropical storms are monitored and their paths predicted even on mainstream television. There are some questions for the clip. We then look at protection, specifically storm shelters in Bangladesh, the pupils will have to label the storm shelter and annotate why these features of the storm shelter were needed. We then look at how building in vulnerable areas has made the risks of tropical storms and storm surges more severe. We then look at Bangladesh as a success story of monitoring, predicting, planning and protection, the students have a grid with the actions that have been undertaken by Bangladesh, they have to categorise them accordingly. 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 2B: In this lesson we look at the post-industrial economy and how it has changed the UK economy. The lesson starts with a quick retrieval practice quiz. We then introduce the idea of a post-industrial economy. The pupils then complete an information gathering exercise where they collect information on three sections of the economy that are behind these changes, development of IT technology, the services industry and finance and research and development. All the information is recorded in a A3 knowledge organiser. We then finish with a GCSE-style practice question with some guidance. 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 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

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

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