Geography · Year 2 · Coastal Landscapes and Processes · Summer Term

Coastal Communities: Fishing and Tourism

Exploring how people live and work in coastal towns, focusing on fishing and tourism industries.

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

About This Topic

Coastal communities in the UK depend on fishing and tourism for livelihoods and local character. Year 2 students name jobs like fishermen sorting catches, lifeboat operators, and tourism workers such as hotel staff or beach vendors. They explain holiday appeal through attractions like sandy shores, piers, and rock pooling, connecting physical landscapes to human choices.

This topic aligns with KS1 human and physical geography standards by showing how coastal locations influence work and leisure. Students use photos and simple maps to compare traditional fishing harbours with modern resorts, answering key questions about jobs, seaside visits, and changes over time like new promenades or amusement arcades.

Active learning works well for this topic. When children role-play coastal jobs, build town models with craft materials, or create timelines from picture evidence, they actively explore links between people, places, and economies. These methods turn observations into understanding and encourage talk about familiar UK coasts.

Key Questions

1. What kinds of jobs do people do in a coastal town?
2. Why do many people like to visit the seaside for their holidays?
3. What do you notice about how seaside towns have changed over time?

Learning Objectives

• Identify at least three different jobs people do in UK coastal towns, such as fishermen, hotel staff, or ice cream vendors.
• Explain two reasons why people choose to visit seaside locations for holidays, linking these to physical features like beaches or piers.
• Compare a historical photograph of a coastal town with a current photograph, identifying at least two changes in how people use the coast.
• Classify coastal attractions as either natural features (like rock pools) or human-made features (like amusement arcades).

Before You Start

Local Human Environments

Why: Students need to have an understanding of different jobs people do in their local area before comparing them to coastal jobs.

Basic Map Skills

Why: Familiarity with simple maps helps students locate coastal areas and understand the layout of towns.

Key Vocabulary

Fisherman	A person whose job is to catch fish, often from a boat at sea.
Tourism	The business of providing holidays and visits for people, including services like hotels, restaurants, and attractions.
Harbour	A place where boats and ships can shelter from the sea, often used by fishermen.
Pier	A long structure built out over the sea, often used for walking, fishing, or as a landing stage for boats.
Rock pool	A small pool of seawater left among rocks on the coast when the tide goes out, often containing small sea creatures.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Fishing is the only job in coastal towns.

What to Teach Instead

Coastal areas have diverse roles in tourism too, like shopkeepers and guides. Role-play activities let students experience multiple jobs firsthand, building a fuller picture through talk and demonstration.

Common Misconception

All seaside towns look and work the same.

What to Teach Instead

Towns vary by region and history, with some focused on fishing, others on holidays. Comparing photos in groups helps students spot differences and link them to local features.

Common Misconception

Tourism has not changed coastal towns over time.

What to Teach Instead

Many shifted from fishing villages to resorts with piers and arcades. Timeline building with evidence reveals these shifts, as children sequence changes collaboratively.

Active Learning Ideas

Role Play: Coastal Jobs Day

Provide costumes and props for jobs like fisher, ice cream seller, and lifeguard. Children rotate roles in 5-minute turns, acting out tasks and sharing what each job involves. End with a class huddle to list skills needed.

35 min·Small Groups

Concept Mapping: Design a Seaside Town

Give large paper and markers. Students draw key features like harbours, beaches, and hotels, labelling jobs. Pairs add reasons people visit, then share maps with the class for feedback.

30 min·Pairs

Timeline Challenge: Seaside Changes

Collect old and new photos of a local coast. As a class, sequence them on a washing line with labels for changes like new piers. Discuss jobs added or changed.

40 min·Whole Class

Survey: Holiday Likes

Pairs create question cards about seaside fun, such as 'Do you like rock pools?'. Survey classmates, tally votes on charts, and report top reasons for visits.

25 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Many seaside towns in Cornwall, like St Ives, rely heavily on both fishing fleets bringing in fresh catches and a large number of tourists visiting art galleries and beaches during the summer months.
• The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) operates lifeboat stations in numerous coastal communities across the UK, providing a vital rescue service for both local fishermen and visiting holidaymakers.
• Traditional seaside resorts like Blackpool have developed attractions such as piers and amusement parks over many decades, transforming their coastal appeal from simple bathing to entertainment destinations.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Give each student a card with a picture of a coastal scene. Ask them to write down two jobs that people might do in that place and one reason why a family might visit for a holiday.

Discussion Prompt

Show students two different photographs of the same coastal town taken many years apart. Ask: 'What differences do you notice in the buildings and activities? How do you think these changes have affected the people who live and work there?'

Quick Check

As students are working on a model of a coastal town, walk around and ask: 'What job is this person doing?' or 'Why is this building here? Is it for fishing or for tourists?'

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you teach Year 2 about coastal jobs?

Use photos of real workers and simple descriptions tied to key questions. Role-play with props makes jobs relatable, while mapping activities show where they happen. This builds vocabulary and links to physical coasts in 30-40 minute sessions.

How can active learning help students grasp coastal communities?

Hands-on role play and model-building let children embody jobs and town layouts, making abstract ideas tangible. Surveys and timelines promote discussion, revealing patterns in tourism and changes. These approaches boost retention and connect to pupils' seaside trips, fostering deeper human geography skills.

What activities show seaside town changes?

Class timelines with sequenced photos work best, as children add labels for shifts like new attractions. Pair this with before-and-after drawings. It answers the key question directly and sparks talk about why changes happened, in under 45 minutes.

How does this link physical and human geography?

Physical features like beaches draw tourists and support fishing, shaping jobs. Map activities highlight these links, while discussions tie cliffs or harbours to work. This meets KS1 standards by showing place influences people, through observable UK examples.