The Pebble's Journey

Curriculum Context: UK Geography (Key Stage 2, Year 3)

Focus Area: Locational Knowledge & Physical Geography
Specific Curriculum Link:

• Human and Physical Geography: Describe and understand physical geography, including rivers, the water cycle, and coastal features.
• Learning Outcome: By the end of the lesson, pupils will be able to describe the stages of a pebble's journey from a river to the sea, using geographical vocabulary and a story map.

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Lesson Objectives

1. Knowledge: Introduce pupils to the concept of erosion, transportation, and deposition in rivers and along the coast.
2. Skills: Develop pupils' ability to sequence events geographically and visually using a creative story map.
3. Understanding: Help pupils connect the movements of a pebble to the natural processes shaping the landscape (e.g. rivers, waves, beaches).

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Resources Required

• Large sheet of poster paper per group
• Felt-tip pens, coloured pencils, and rubber stamps
• Pre-prepared cards with key terminology (Erosion, Transportation, Deposition, Pebble, River, Estuary, Waves, Beach)
• A sand tray with small stones and water for hands-on demonstration
• Visuals of rivers and beaches from the UK (e.g., River Thames, Jurassic Coast)
• The book A Pebble in my Pocket (optional for additional narrative storytelling)

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter: Setting the Scene (5 minutes)

Objective: Spark curiosity with an engaging narrative.

• Begin by introducing "Percy the Pebble," a small imagination-based stone who starts off in a riverbed high in the hills of the UK. Say, "Today, we're going to follow Percy on his grand adventure to the sea!"
• Using a dramatic storytelling voice, describe how Percy begins his journey, starting off still and snug among other rocks. Then introduce the question: How does Percy change and move to reach the sea?
• Write the day's key question on the board: "How does a pebble travel from a river to the sea?"

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2. Hands-on Demonstration (10 minutes)

Objective: Explain how physical processes transform and transport the pebble naturally over time.

• Place a few small stones in the classroom sand tray with water running over the sand (to mimic a real river). Let pupils see and touch the stones to foster sensory engagement.
• While demonstrating:
  1. Introduce Erosion: Show how the pebble shrinks and smooths as it bumps into other rocks and the riverbed. (Use words like scrape, grind, smooth.)
  2. Introduce Transportation: Show how the pebble is rolled, lifted, and carried downstream by the flowing water.
  3. Introduce Deposition: Explain that at calmer parts of the river, the pebble might stop moving briefly before journeying on again.
• Connect the pebble’s journey to familiar UK geographies (e.g., "What if Percy was in the River Trent?" or "What if Percy joined the Severn Estuary?").

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3. Activity: Story Mapping the Pebble’s Journey (20 minutes)

Objective: Pupils work collaboratively to map Percy’s journey and create a visual narrative of his travels from river to the sea.

Steps:

1. Explain the Task (2 minutes):
   Tell pupils they’ll draw Percy’s story map, showing all the stages of his journey.

   • Their map should start in the hills (source of the river), pass through the river channels, reach the estuary, and finally stop at the sea.
   • They must label the key processes (erosion, transportation, deposition) and include fun details (e.g. fish, boats, shells at the beach).

2. Collaborative Work (15 minutes):
   Divide the class into groups of 4. Provide materials and prompts:

   • Group 1: Focus on Percy at the Source of the River (beginning of the river).
   • Group 2: Focus on Percy in the Middle Course (forming waterfalls, bends, and meanders).
   • Group 3: Focus on Percy near the Estuary and Coast, where the river meets the sea.
   • Group 4: Focus on Percy’s life on the Beach (waves smoothing him further).

   Once finished, groups combine their drawings to form a continuous classroom display showcasing Percy’s entire journey! (Encourage creativity—cloud speech/thought bubbles might show Percy’s thoughts, e.g., “I’m getting smoother!” or “The waves are so strong!”).

3. Mini Presentation (3 minutes):
   Groups share 1-2 things they’ve learned, pointing to specific processes on the story map.

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4. Plenary: Recap Percy’s Adventure (5 minutes)

Objective: Revisit the concepts to ensure understanding.

• Gather students and display the completed story map prominently.
• Recap Percy’s journey, pausing to check for understanding using these questions:
  1. What causes a pebble to erode and get smaller over time?
  2. What happens to a pebble when the river slows down?
  3. What do we call the part of the journey where Percy reaches the sea?
  4. Can you name any famous UK beaches or rivers where Percy might end up?

Encourage pupils to think about how landscapes are constantly changing, just like Percy’s journey.

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Differentiation

For students who need extra support:

• Provide a pre-drawn outline of Percy’s journey to help scaffold the story map (e.g., river bends, paths with blank labels for “erosion,” “deposition,” etc.).
• Pair with strong readers/writers for collaborative work.

For students needing extra challenge:

• Ask them to describe what might happen to Percy if he stayed longer in each part of the journey (e.g., "What would waves do to Percy if he was stuck on the beach for 10 more years?").

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Assessment

Informal Observation: Monitor students during their group work. Specifically, look for use of geographical vocabulary and creative storytelling linked to geographical understanding.

Work Review: Check their maps to ensure accurate labelling and proper sequence of events in Percy’s journey.

Verbal Checks: Use the plenary questions to gauge understanding.

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Homework/Extension

Ask pupils to draw or write a postcard from Percy, describing one part of his journey. For example: “Hello from the beach! The waves are so strong here, and I’ve been rolling around all day. I’m much smoother now—can’t wait to see where I’ll go next!”

Alternatively, they can research a famous UK beach or river to imagine where Percy might end up.

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By ensuring hands-on demonstrations, geographical vocabulary, creative storytelling, and collaborative map-making, this engaging lesson will make the processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition easy and memorable for Year 3 students!