Geography · Year 1 · Human and Physical Features · Summer Term

Human Impact on the Land

Exploring how humans change the physical environment to suit their needs.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: Geography - Human and Physical Geography

About This Topic

The relationship between people and the land is a constant dance of change and adaptation. This topic explores how humans modify the physical environment to suit their needs, from clearing forests for farms to building sea walls to protect towns. This aligns with the National Curriculum's Human and Physical Geography targets, focusing on the interaction between the two.

By exploring these changes, students learn about the impact of human activity on the natural world. They begin to think about sustainability and how we can balance our needs with the need to protect nature. This unit encourages them to be responsible 'stewards' of the environment. Students grasp this concept faster through structured discussion and peer explanation using 'before and after' scenarios and collaborative problem-solving.

Key Questions

1. Explain how humans modify land for agricultural purposes.
2. Predict the environmental consequences of constructing a new town.
3. Design strategies for preserving both human and physical features in our area.

Learning Objectives

• Identify specific ways humans have changed local landforms for farming.
• Explain how building a new town might affect local rivers and animal habitats.
• Design a simple plan to protect a local park from litter and damage.
• Compare a natural landscape with one that has been modified by human activity.

Before You Start

Identifying Human and Physical Features

Why: Students need to be able to distinguish between natural landforms and things built by people before exploring how humans change the land.

Basic Needs of Living Things

Why: Understanding that plants and animals need specific environments (habitats) helps students grasp how human modifications impact wildlife.

Key Vocabulary

Agriculture	The practice of farming, including growing crops and raising animals, which often changes the land.
Construction	The process of building something, such as a house, road, or town, which involves changing the land.
Habitat	The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. Human changes to the land can affect habitats.
Pollution	The presence of harmful substances or contaminants in the environment, often caused by human activities.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The land has always looked the same.

What to Teach Instead

Students often think the world is static. Use 'before and after' photos of a local area to show how much humans have changed the landscape over time, which surfaces well during peer discussion.

Common Misconception

Farms are 'natural' features.

What to Teach Instead

Because they have plants and animals, children often think farms are natural. Explain that a farm is a 'human feature' because people have changed the land specifically to grow food.

Active Learning Ideas

Simulation Game: The New Road

The teacher presents a plan to build a road through a local forest. Students take on roles (e.g., a builder, a bird, a person who needs to get to work) and discuss how the road will change the land for better or worse.

30 min·Whole Class

Inquiry Circle: Farm to Fork

In small groups, students look at photos of a wild field and a farm. They discuss what changes the farmer had to make to the land (e.g., removing rocks, planting rows) to grow food for us to eat.

25 min·Small Groups

Think-Pair-Share: Helping Nature

Students think of one way people can help nature even when they are building things (e.g., planting new trees, building a 'hedgehog highway'). They share with a partner and then draw their idea.

15 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Farmers in the UK use plows to turn over soil for planting crops like wheat and potatoes, changing the appearance of fields and the soil structure.
• Construction workers build new housing estates and roads, which means clearing trees and flattening the ground, altering the natural landscape of an area.
• Park rangers work to protect natural spaces from damage, organizing clean-up events and putting up signs to encourage visitors to look after the environment.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Show students two pictures: one of a natural forest and one of a farm field. Ask them to point to one way humans changed the land in the second picture and explain why they think it was changed.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Imagine a new playground is being built where a small wooded area is now. What are two things that might happen to the plants and animals that live there?' Encourage students to share their ideas.

Exit Ticket

Give each student a piece of paper. Ask them to draw one thing they can do to help protect a local park or green space. They should also write one word describing why this is important.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can active learning help students understand how people change the land?

Active learning, like the 'New Road' simulation, helps students see that geographical changes involve different perspectives and trade-offs. By taking on different roles, they understand that while humans change the land for important reasons, those changes also have an impact on the natural world.

What is a 'human-physical' interaction?

It's a fancy way of saying how people and nature affect each other. For example, people build a bridge (human) because there is a river (physical) in the way.

How can I teach sustainability to Year 1?

Keep it simple: talk about 'looking after' the world. Use examples like recycling, planting trees, and not wasting water as ways we can be 'good' to the land while we live on it.

Why do we need to change the land?

Focus on basic needs: we need land for houses to live in, farms to grow food, and roads to move around. This helps students see these changes as necessary but something we need to do carefully.