Rivers Curriculum Map

Overview

This medium-term plan is designed for Year 7 SEN students who are working three years below their age-related expectations. The plan spans 7 weeks, with 45-minute lessons each week, focusing on the topic of Rivers. The content is heavily scaffolded, multisensory, and encourages active participation and practical understanding. It carefully aligns with the National Curriculum for England Geography Programme of Study for KS3, specifically addressing the strand on physical geography.

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National Curriculum Links

• Key Stage 3 Geography Programme of Study: Physical Geography

• Describe and understand key aspects of physical geography including river processes and features and hydrological cycles.

• Use fieldwork to observe, measure, and record physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans, graphs and digital technologies.

• Geographical Skills and Enquiry

• Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied.

• Ask and respond to geographical questions.

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of the 7-week unit, students will:

• Understand the basic features and processes of rivers and their environments.
• Identify key terminology: source, mouth, tributary, meander, erosion, deposition.
• Describe the water cycle simply and its connection to rivers.
• Use maps and simple fieldwork techniques to identify river features.
• Develop confidence in geographical enquiry through practical hands-on activities.

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Weekly Breakdown

Week 1: Introduction to Rivers

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what a river is.
• Recognise where rivers are found globally and in the UK.

Activities:

• Show pictures and videos of rivers worldwide and locally, including famous rivers like the Thames, Nile, and Amazon to highlight diversity.
• Group discussion: What do rivers look like? Why are they important? Use real objects like pebbles or water samples to stimulate sensory engagement.
• Simple atlas/map activity locating major UK rivers and some world rivers, using tactile maps or raised-line maps for sensory input.
• Create a large classroom river mural with key river vocabulary written on it; students add drawings or textures (e.g., cotton wool for clouds, blue paper for water).
• Role-play game where students pretend to be water droplets traveling through a river system, encouraging movement and verbal expression.
• Use a river-themed song or rhyme to reinforce vocabulary and concepts.

Assessment:

• Oral questioning on river vocabulary and simple mapping location task.
• Peer feedback during group mural creation.

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Week 2: The Water Cycle and Rivers

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the water cycle and its connection to rivers.

Activities:

• Sensory activity: creating a mini water cycle in a plastic bag with water and sunlight, observing condensation and evaporation over time.
• Label a diagram of the water cycle with teacher support, using colour-coded labels and tactile symbols.
• Match water cycle stages (evaporation, condensation, precipitation) to a river’s journey through a sorting card game.
• Use a simple animated video with subtitles and sound effects to reinforce stages of the water cycle.
• Group experiment: simulate rainfall using spray bottles on soil trays to observe water movement and runoff into a model river.
• Create a water cycle wheel craft to take home as a visual reminder.

Assessment:

• Annotated diagram of water cycle stages, orally explained by students.
• Group discussion reflecting on the mini water cycle experiment.

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Week 3: River Features – Source, Course and Mouth

Learning Objectives:

• Learn key river features: source, course, mouth.

Activities:

• Use a large floor map or river model to show river journey, encouraging students to physically move along the river path.
• Hands-on modelling clay activity, shaping river length with source, course, and mouth, adding tributaries and meanders.
• Use simple sentences to describe each part, supported by sentence starters and picture cards.
• Sensory exploration: feel textures representing different river parts (e.g., smooth stones for the mouth, rough soil for the source).
• Create a “river journey” storyboard in small groups, illustrating the river’s path with drawings and labels.
• Interactive quiz using flashcards to reinforce key terms.

Assessment:

• Students label a diagram with support.
• Teacher-led questioning and peer assessment during storyboard presentations.

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Week 4: River Processes – Erosion and Deposition

Learning Objectives:

• Understand basic river processes: erosion and deposition.
• Identify how rivers change the landscape.

Activities:

• Demonstrate erosion and deposition with a water tray, sand, and stones, allowing students to manipulate water flow and observe changes.
• Video clips with voiceover describing what happens, paused for group discussion and prediction.
• Group discussion: What do you notice? Use guiding questions and visual prompts.
• Create simple erosion and deposition posters in pairs, using drawings and keywords.
• Use role-play where some students act as water, others as soil or rocks, to physically demonstrate erosion and deposition processes.
• Sensory activity: feeling different soil types and discussing how easily they can be moved by water.

Assessment:

• Students complete a simple worksheet matching key terms to pictures.
• Verbal explanations during role-play and poster presentations.

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Week 5: Measuring Rivers – Use of Fieldwork

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how to measure a river’s width and depth.
• Record basic fieldwork data.

Activities:

• Simulated river survey using containers, rulers, and measuring tapes in the classroom or school yard, measuring “river” width and depth at different points.
• Record and present findings on a simple table/chart, using colour coding and symbols for clarity.
• Group work to create a map of the simulated river with measurement points marked.
• Introduce basic compass directions and use them to describe measurement locations.
• Use digital tools or apps (if available) to plot measurements on a simple map.
• Discuss why measuring rivers is important and how scientists use this data.

Assessment:

• Completed measurement tables and presentation in pairs.
• Teacher observation of group collaboration and data recording accuracy.

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Week 6: River Wildlife and People’s Use of Rivers

Learning Objectives:

• Identify animals and plants living near rivers.
• Understand human uses of rivers (recreation, water supply).

Activities:

• Picture and artefact sorting game (images of river wildlife and uses), including tactile items like feathers or leaves.
• Create a river usage map showing human activities around a river, using stickers or cut-outs.
• Discuss the importance of conserving river environments, supported by a simple story or case study about pollution or conservation efforts.
• Group role-play: act out different roles such as fisherman, conservationist, or swimmer to explore human-river interactions.
• Sensory walk (if possible) around a local water feature to observe wildlife and human use.
• Create simple fact cards about river animals and plants to share with the class.

Assessment:

• Oral group presentations of river wildlife and uses.
• Peer feedback and self-assessment on understanding conservation messages.

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Week 7: Review and Creative Project

Learning Objectives:

• Recap key knowledge of rivers and their importance.
• Apply learning creatively.

Activities:

• Students create a simple storybook or comic strip about a water droplet’s journey down a river, incorporating vocabulary and processes learned.
• Use a variety of materials (drawing, collage, digital apps) to support different learning styles.
• Peer sharing and teacher feedback, with opportunities for students to explain their work verbally.
• Group quiz or game revisiting key terms and concepts from the unit.
• Reflective discussion: What did you enjoy? What did you learn about rivers?
• Display completed projects in a classroom “River Gallery” for others to visit.

Assessment:

• Completed storybooks/comics assessed for understanding of processes and terminology.
• Participation in quiz and reflective discussion.

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Differentiation and Support Strategies

• Use of visuals, gestures and realia to support language development.
• Pause and repeat key vocabulary with kinaesthetic activities.
• One-to-one or small group support available during practical tasks.
• Use of technology such as interactive whiteboard maps and videos with subtitles.
• Simplified language prompts and sentence starters for written and oral tasks.
• Provide alternative communication methods (e.g., symbol cards, PECS) for non-verbal students.
• Scaffold tasks with step-by-step instructions and checklists.

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Resources Needed

• Large maps and atlases
• Images/videos of rivers and wildlife
• Modelling clay, plastic trays, sand, stones
• Rulers, measuring tapes
• Water cycle plastic bags
• Worksheets and templates for labelling and recording data
• Art materials for creative project (paper, colours, glue, scissors)
• Tactile materials (feathers, leaves, textured paper)
• Digital devices or apps for mapping and quizzes (optional)
• Interactive whiteboard or projector for videos and presentations

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This plan brings the National Curriculum alive through practical, sensory and creative approaches tailored for SEN learners, supporting their comprehension and confidence in geographical enquiry and physical geography.