Topic title: Rivers and Flooding
Year group: 8
When taught: June to July
What are we learning?
· Water Cycle
· Drainage Basins
· Causes of Flooding
· Flood Hydrographs
· Infiltration Investigation
Why is this important to know?
· This unit on Rivers and Flooding is a core component of Geography because these natural processes are fundamental to understanding how the Earth’s surface is shaped and how human communities interact with their environment.
· Rivers are essential features in the landscape, playing a crucial role in transporting water, nutrients, and sediments across continents. They support ecosystems, agriculture, and settlements, making them vital for both natural and human systems. Studying rivers helps students understand concepts like erosion, deposition, and the water cycle, which are key to physical geography.
· This unit also includes a fieldwork investigation on infiltration rates around the school site, providing important fieldwork and enquiry skills.
Where does this link into our past and future learning?
· This unit makes strong links with Science and the Water cycle, building on their prior knowledge to include key Geographical terms such as interception.
· It makes links with our local area, considering the impacts of flooding on our local communities.
· It also provides an introduction into key physical processes that students will return to in Year 9 in the Coasts unit, such as erosion and transportation.
How will we be assessed on this topic?
· Informal class assessment, quizzes and homework tasks
What makes a strong piece of work in this topic? What are teachers hoping to see?
· Strong use of a range of key terms from the water cycle and rivers terminology. Use the quizlet QR link to practice these, e.g. infiltration, interception, evaporation
· Use of key terms to explain the causes and range of impacts behind recent flood events
· Use the process of enquiry to write up a clear investigation into infiltration rates on the school site, that clearly evaluates the methods and results found.
What key words are there in this topic?
What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?
· Compare and contrast two recent flood events, including their causes and impacts. Consider why one event may have been worse due to its local human and physical Geography
· Analyse a flood hydrograph for a recent flooding event you have researched, including key terms like lag time, rising and falling limbs
What wider reading can be done on this topic?
