Geography · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Human Impact on the Land

Active learning helps students grasp the dynamic relationship between humans and land by making abstract changes visible and concrete. Through role-play, discussion, and hands-on tasks, students directly experience how decisions shape the environment around them.

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

• 15–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 30 min · Whole Class

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.

Explain how humans modify land for agricultural purposes.

Facilitation Tip

During The New Road simulation, circulate as students debate roles and give each group exactly three minutes to present their case to the town council.

What to look for

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.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Inquiry Circle
• 25 min · Small Groups

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.

Predict the environmental consequences of constructing a new town.

Facilitation Tip

For Farm to Fork, assign each group a specific stage in the food chain and require them to trace one food item through all stages before mapping the land changes at each step.

What to look for

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.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 15 min · Pairs

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.

Design strategies for preserving both human and physical features in our area.

Facilitation Tip

In Helping Nature, provide sentence starters on cards to support student pairs in articulating clear, actionable ideas before sharing with the class.

What to look for

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.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should emphasize the word ‘choice’ when discussing human impact. Students often accept land changes as inevitable, so frame every modification as a decision with trade-offs. Use local examples to build relevance and avoid abstract global cases that feel distant. Research shows students grasp cause and effect better when they role-play stakeholders rather than simply observe effects.

By the end of these activities, students will be able to identify human modifications to land, explain why these changes happen, and suggest ways to reduce negative impacts. They will use evidence from simulations and investigations to support their thinking.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The New Road simulation, watch for students assuming the road is inevitable or harmless because it benefits people.

  Use the simulation’s final vote to highlight that every change has supporters and opponents. Ask students to revise their initial arguments based on evidence from the simulation.

• During Farm to Fork, watch for students describing farms as natural because they contain plants and animals.

  Provide a checklist of human actions (clearing land, planting crops, building fences) and ask groups to mark which apply to their farm stage. Display these to contrast with natural ecosystems.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Inquiry Circle
• Think-Pair-Share