Selside and Durban

Overview

This 45-minute session is designed for EYFS (age 4–5) and KS1 (Years 1 and 2, ages 5–7) students to develop essential geographical skills by comparing and contrasting the human and physical features of two distinct places: Selside (a rural village in England) and Durban (a coastal city in South Africa). Through differentiated tasks tailored to developmental stages, students will organise their observations using a Venn diagram, fostering critical thinking and visual/spatial awareness while meeting appropriate statutory requirements from the National Curriculum for England.

National Curriculum Links

EYFS (Understanding the World)

"Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things."
"Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries." (Development Matters)

KS1 Geography (Year 1 and Year 2)

Locational knowledge: "name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas" (Year 1 focus)
Human and physical geography: "identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles" (Year 1 and 2)
Place knowledge: "understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a contrasting non-European country" (Year 2)
Geographical skills and fieldwork: "use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied" (Year 1 and 2)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson:

EYFS: Children will identify physical and human features using visual prompts and stickers to represent these features in two different places.
Year 1: Pupils will draw simple comparisons and identify similarities and differences between Selside and Durban’s environment and human activities.
Year 2: Learners will write sentences to explain similarities and differences in human and physical geography between Selside and Durban, using a labelled Venn diagram.

Resources

Large printed images or photo cards of Selside and Durban (showing key human and physical features: e.g., village houses, hills, weather for Selside; city buildings, beach, harbour, warm climate for Durban)
Blank Venn diagrams (large for group display and individual versions for Year 1 and Year 2)
Stickers representing physical features (trees, mountains, sun, sea) and human features (houses, school, market, boats) for EYFS
Markers, crayons, and pencils
World map/globe for locating Selside and Durban
Simple writing frames for Year 2 to scaffold sentence construction
Interactive whiteboard (if available) for showing images and class brainstorming

Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

Engage: Using the globe or large map, show where Selside (Cumbria, England) and Durban (South Africa) are located. Highlight contrast in hemispheres/climates/environment.
Explain: Revisit the terms ‘human features’ and ‘physical features’ with examples from familiar surroundings. Use clear definitions:
- Physical features: natural parts of a landscape (e.g., hills, rivers, sea).
- Human features: things built or made by people (e.g., houses, roads, markets).
Prompt: Ask students what they notice about the pictures of Selside and Durban; record observations on the board.

2. Main Activity (25 minutes)

EYFS Task – Using stickers and picture cards, children place relevant human and physical feature stickers onto two large boards labelled Selside and Durban. Support them to talk about what the stickers represent. Staff model comparisons verbally ("Both places have water – see the river in Selside and the sea in Durban!")

Year 1 Task – Children use prepared pictures and write or draw on individual Venn diagrams:

Draw features unique to Selside on the left circle
Draw features unique to Durban on the right circle
Draw features both share in the overlapping section

Staff support with prompts and spelling key vocabulary words on a word wall (e.g., village, city, sea, hills, warm, cold).

Year 2 Task – Pupils write sentences using a writing frame:

Start sentence on a similarity: "Both Selside and Durban have..."
Then a difference: "Selside has hills, but Durban has..."
Use key vocabulary and include human and physical features.

Encourage pupils to annotate their Venn diagram with labels and simple sentence summaries.

3. Review and Share (7 minutes)

Invite volunteers from each year group to present one similarity or difference they identified.
Use the interactive whiteboard or an OHP to show a composite Venn diagram created from student input.
Recap what physical and human features mean and why it’s important to learn about different places in the world.

4. Assessment (3 minutes)

EYFS: Observational assessment of participation and ability to link stickers to features verbally.
Year 1: Review drawings on Venn diagrams to check understanding of similarities and differences.
Year 2: Assess sentence writing for correct use of geographical vocabulary and accurate comparison.

Provide feedback with positive reinforcement and suggestions for further exploration (e.g., finding other countries with similar/different features).

Differentiation and Inclusion

Visual aids and tangible resources for concrete understanding.
Sentence frames and word mats for less confident writers.
Adult support and peer helpers during sticker activity and writing.
Challenge for Year 2: Encourage use of comparative language (e.g., hotter, larger).
Sensory element in sticker placing for EYFS to engage tactile learners.

Extension Ideas to Wow

Create a simple augmented reality (AR) experience with pre-prepared photos where children can ‘step inside’ scenes of Selside or Durban (if technology allows).
Invite a guest speaker with knowledge of Durban or ask pupils' families about their travel stories for richer cultural context.
Use music or artefacts linked to the two locations to deepen emotional and cultural understanding.

Reflection Notes for Teachers

Monitor engagement levels carefully; the variety of activities caters for different learning styles and ages, so switch between auditory, visual, and kinesthetic modes.
Make notes on linguistic development of pupils, especially Year 2, as this lesson supports cross-curricular literacy skills.
Consider follow-up visits or virtual tours of both locations to deepen place understanding beyond this unit.

This lesson completes the unit "Exploring Local and Global Geography," encouraging empathy and curiosity for diverse environments and lifestyles, fully aligned with statutory requirements for early years and KS1 geography learning.

Teaching Instructions