Geography · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Coastal Communities: Fishing and Tourism

Active learning brings coastal communities to life for Year 2 students by letting them step into different roles and see how places change over time. Hands-on activities connect classroom work to real jobs and landscapes, making abstract concepts like economic roles and tourism appeal concrete and memorable.

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

• 25–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 35 min · Small Groups

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.

What kinds of jobs do people do in a coastal town?

Facilitation Tip

During Role Play: Coastal Jobs Day, assign clear roles with simple props so students focus on actions and dialogue rather than elaborate costumes.

What to look for

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.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Concept Mapping
• 30 min · Pairs

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.

Why do many people like to visit the seaside for their holidays?

Facilitation Tip

When Mapping: Design a Seaside Town, provide a base map with key features like a harbor and beach to guide students’ thinking about land use.

What to look for

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?'

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Timeline Challenge
• 40 min · Whole Class

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.

What do you notice about how seaside towns have changed over time?

Facilitation Tip

For Timeline: Seaside Changes, use large, clear images and simple dates so students can sequence changes without confusion.

What to look for

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?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 25 min · Pairs

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.

What kinds of jobs do people do in a coastal town?

Facilitation Tip

In Survey: Holiday Likes, model how to ask friendly questions and tally results so students practice data collection skills in context.

What to look for

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.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with familiar contexts like a family trip to the beach to introduce the topic, then expand to unseen roles such as fishmongers or harbor masters. Avoid overloading young learners with too many technical terms; instead, use simple labels and repeated exposure to vocabulary like ‘pier’ or ‘catch.’ Research suggests that concrete experiences, like holding a model boat or sorting toy fish, build stronger memory connections than abstract descriptions alone.

Students will confidently name multiple coastal jobs, explain why families visit seaside towns, and describe how towns have changed over time. They will use maps, timelines, and models to show their understanding of how fishing and tourism shape coastal lives.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role Play: Coastal Jobs Day, watch for students who believe fishing is the only job in coastal towns.

  Use the role-play cards to introduce at least two tourism roles (like ice-cream seller or hotel receptionist) and have students act out each job during the activity, discussing how these roles support the community.

• During Mapping: Design a Seaside Town, watch for students who assume all seaside towns look and work the same.

  Provide three different seaside town photos and ask groups to highlight unique features on their maps, such as piers, fishing huts, or arcades, to show diversity.

• During Timeline: Seaside Changes, watch for students who think tourism has not changed coastal towns over time.

  Use the timeline cards to contrast early fishing villages with modern resorts, and ask students to explain how each change (like adding a pier) affected local jobs.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Concept Mapping
• Timeline Challenge
• Outdoor Investigation Session