Tropical monsoon regionsMonsoon winds blow from sea toland in summer, bringing theseasonal summer rain. Monsoonwinds occur in both hot and coolareas, but are typically found inparts of Asia, the Indiansubcontinent and the Pacific Ocean.Tropical monsoon regions arecharacterised by:

• Locations near the Equator.• Lower temperatures at higher altitude.• Summer rainfall lasting up to three months and accompanied

by violent thunderstorms.• An agricultural landscape of terraces and ponds, constructed to

retain water whilst the seeds of crops germinate.• Dependence on staple crops such as rice and bamboo which

grow well when water is plentiful.• A shortage of flat land, so intensive farming methods and

terraced hillsides are necessary to ensure an adequate foodsupply.

• High population density, so food production is paramount.• Vulnerability to flooding, from too much monsoon rain• Vulnerability to famine, from too little rain (the ‘monsoon fails’),

which can devastate food supplies for years.• Developing dependency on tourism as an income generator.

Tropical rainforest regionsTropical rainforest can be found asfar apart as the Amazon in CentralAmerica and West Africa;Madagascar and Queensland inAustralia. Whilst all these locationsare unique, they do share somecharacteristics:• Location in hot tropical areas,

near the Equator.• Rainfall, usually daily – clouds build up during the day with

thunderstorms in the afternoon, resulting in constant highhumidity.

• Little seasonal temperature change: usually 35°C+ with aslittle as 2°C variation throughout the year.

• Luxuriant vegetation, with a high canopy as trees strive to reachthe sun. Without clear seasonal changes, plants and trees canlose their leaves at any time of year, so the forest alwaysappears to be green.

• Nearly 50% of the world’s wildlife lives in this zone and it is the source of raw materials for around 25% of all medicines.

• High temperatures and heavy rainfall mean that vegetation rots very rapidly, providing a rich habitat for exotic plants andflowers like orchids and ferns.

• Demand for tropical hardwoods is resulting in deforestation:the land quickly loses soil and nutrients and becomes infertile.

Polar regionsThese extreme environments arefound in Antarctica and the Arctic.No one owns Antarctica, althoughmany nations have scientificstations there; eight countries lay claim to the waters of theArctic, and Canada has laid claim to the North Pole itself.

Polar regions are characterised by:• Permanent snow and ice.• Long winters and short summers.• Snow storms and cold winds for much of the year.• Harsh climate and difficult terrain for plants, animals and people.• Loss of ice from polar icecaps, caused by global warming and

causing a rise in global sea levels.• Potentially rich mineral resources.• Environmental fragility: tourism needs strict control to

preserve the very places tourists wish to visit.

Antarctica and the Arctic are different in these ways:• Antarctica is a continental land mass (including an active

volcano, Mt Erebus) whilst the Arctic is a frozen sea.• Antarctica is colder than the Arctic and contains the largest

amount of ice in the world.• Penguins are found only in Antarctica; polar bears only in the

Arctic. The survival of polar bears is under particular threatfrom the earlier melting of the ice in spring: their main foodsource, the seal, can escape more easily in open water than over the ice.

DesertsDeserts are dry places which receivelittle or no rainfall for long periods oftime. They can be hot or cold and arefound throughout the world. They arecharacterised by:• High daytime temperatures and

cold nights: with little vegetationto trap it heat is quickly lost. Rapid heating and cooling of rockscauses them to crack and splinter, resulting in erosion.

• Rocky, stony or sandy landscapes: rocks can be fashioned intoweird and wonderful shapes by erosion, rain, high winds andsand storms.

• Rainfall less than 250mm a year, often during violentthunderstorms, resulting in flash floods.

• Vegetation adapted to the harsh environment, by storing water in fleshy leaves or stalks.

• Animals who can store water, such as camels, or nocturnalcreatures, who are active at night when the temperature ismuch lower.

• Settlements near oases or wells drawing water from deepunderground. People who live in the desert are often nomadic –they have to travel to find water and food for their animals.

• Mineral exploitation – deserts often lie above rich reserves of oil, gas and precious stones.

• Great potential for tourism – people are attracted by thebeautiful but harsh desert environment.

For investigating as a class, in groups or individually, these questionscan be adapted for any environment. NB ‘weather’ refers to the day-to-daypattern; ‘climate’ is the pattern of weather over the whole year.

Questions using the photos on the poster

With the whole class• Can you describe the photograph?• What can we tell about the weather, climate, plants and

animals that live here?• How do the weather and climate affect the plants/animals

that live here?• How does it differ from my place?• How different would it be to live there?• What clues are there in the pictures that people have been there?• Where are the people who might live and work in this place?• How might they have influenced or changed the place?

In groups, using an atlas• In which area of the world (or climate zone) could this photo

have been taken?• Which country could this photo come from?• Which continent is it in?• Which countries are near it?• Which countries are to the north, south, east and west of it?

To think about with a partner• What has this place got to do with us?• What has this place got to do with me?• How am I connected to it? How would I travel there?• Do we buy things from this place in our country?

Questions to broaden out work with pupilsand link with other subjects• What other sources can I use to find out about this

environment?• What more can we find out about the place from stories?• What do the music, customs, art forms and artefacts from

the country tell us about it?• What could happen here in the future – to the people,

vegetation, animals, weather and climate?

More challenging questions!Both teachers and pupils could consider these:• Where are the deserts in the world?• Are all deserts hot?• Does it rain in deserts?• Do people live in desert areas?• What use are deserts to people?• How do cities in the desert get water?• Are deserts advancing?• What is sea ice?• Where in the world does it form?• Is there land at the North Pole? And at the South Pole?• What is happening to polar ice?• Are glaciers retreating?• Are mountaintops always cold?• Are there towns and cities north of the Arctic Circle and south

of the Antarctic Circle?• In the monsoon areas of the world does it rain all year round?• How often does it rain in monsoon or Equatorial areas?

Daily? Seasonally?• Does it rain every day in areas of the world with Equatorial

rainforest climate?

• Which environments in the world do people most like visit on holiday? Could you do a survey of your friends and family?

• Can you look at population and climate maps of the world in your atlas or on the web to see where most people in the world live?

• Which environments seem to be the ones in the world wheremost people live?

The photos on the front, and these suggested activities, can be thebasis for you to plan a geography week. They support geographicallearning objectives from the National Curriculum programmes of study for key stages 1 and 2. The questions that follow cover thekind of issues you will encounter with colleagues, and there aresuggestions for how you might plan your week.

Why do a geography week?• to demonstrate how stimulating and enjoyable geography can be!• an intense focus on the subject deepens children’s

understanding• planning from the programme of study objectives allows you to

get away from the QCA units, be more creative, take risks!• it forms a portfolio of evidence and information about quality

practice for school review, SEF contribution or to inform a newcoordinator.

A geography week is different to a multi-cultural or globalcitizenship week.

Why focus on differentenvironments/places?• stunning physical landscapes inspire children’s motivation –

even without the people!• it awakens children’s interest in environments, climate zones

and different countries• parents love it – they deplore locational ignorance. In the 21st

century we are more globally aware than ever, but our placeknowledge is poor

• it develops atlas use: naming places, and understanding wherethey are in relation to other places. This spatial awareness isjust as important as naming the place!

How do we choose anenvironment/place?Look for environments/places which already have a meaning foryour school – these suggestions might kick-start discussion:• countries or environments where pupils or staff already have

family links• different year groups or classes, or groups within the class,

could take on contrasting environments/climate zones• each class/year group/key stage could take a different

continent and investigate a country or environment from theirchosen continent?

• access to good resources (photos, music, stories, artefacts)might help determine your choice

• challenge stereotypes – children will be intrigued by placeswith unexpected characteristics, e.g. a desert with the world’shighest concentration of casinos (Las Vegas in the MojaveDesert, Nevada); high-rise in the desert (Dubai, in the UnitedArab Emirates); desert activity holidays (Alice Springs in theGreat Australian Desert).

Make sure there is a real,tangible outcome to the week!Get the children to visualise a specific audience, e.g.• another class• the whole school• parents, or a curriculum governor• a partner schooland plan how to communicate with them, for instance:• display boards about the school• a whole school assembly• a presentation to parents/governor• e-mailing a presentation including text, photos and maps.

Planning for teaching and learning• you, and/or your geography co-ordinator, must secure the full

support of your headteacher, and the geography co-ordinatormust support non-specialist colleagues

• plan ahead with your SMT – maybe a year in advance. What willhappen to the normal timetable in this week? What about theunits/content which staff would normally expect to work onover the year? Depending on how you define the time for a‘week’ you may be adding a lot of hours – or making suregeography happens! Write to parents and governors in advanceto see if they can contribute. How much choice will pupils haveas to what they investigate and how?

• involve staff in decision-making and trying out activities theycan adapt (visit www.geography.org.uk/squaretwo/; and thereare also some relevant ones atwww.geography.org.uk/squareone/)

• discuss with staff what resources you have/will need. Whatpersonal resources do teachers have that would help? Doteaching assistants have helpful resources or knowledge?

Here are some starter ideas for activities with pupils of varyingages/abilities. Two are developed in more detail here; more areavailable on the website.

Add some detail (key stage 1)Using the line drawings of native animals, typical homes and/or vegetation provided on the website, can the children match them to the appropriate place? They could record this as a class by laminating the pictures and attaching them to the poster with blu tac, or individually by photocopying the line drawings of each photo on the website.

Using our senses (key stage 1)An opportunity for local fieldwork and drama – if you were in the photograph, what mightyou hear, see, feel, smell? Compare this to your own local environment.

Draw that place (lower Juniors)Using the photo descriptions on the website, can the children draw or paint their owninterpretations of that place?

Who said that? (lower Juniors)(See ‘Who said that?’sheet.) Match the speech bubble to the photograph.

Where in the world? (upper Juniors)(See adjacent sheet.) Using the map provided and the vocabulary bank cards on thewebsite, can the children locate and describe one of the photos geographically?

Follow a line (upper Juniors)Using an atlas, pick a line of longitude and investigate the range of different climaticzones along its length. A variation might be to pick a continent which contains several.

Compare us (any age)Using the four photographs on the poster, or those on the website, ask the children to point out any differences (quite easy) or similarities(harder). What are the distinct features of each that are not shared by any of the other places? (The wordbank on the website will beuseful here. But watch out for a few red herrings!).

Areas shown in the photosPhoto 1: Tropical monsoon – Vietnam Photo 3: Polar – Wager Bay, CanadaPhoto 2: Tropical rainforest – Sarawak, Borneo Photo 4: Desert – Northern Territory, Australia

More support on the webThe material on this poster is complemented and supported by additional material, free to download, on the GA website:• full descriptions of the four photos• many additional high-quality images• more ideas and detailed guidance on doing a geography week• key facts about Mediterranean, temperate and mountainous regions• vocabulary cards for desert, polar, tropical monsoon and tropical rainforest environments• line drawings based on the photos for children to match up (plus an odd one out!)• ‘Who said that?’ thought bubbles• line drawings of features found in the different environments.

Key geographical ideas and skills• using atlases• identifying and describing

features of an environment• using images to locate distant

places• improving world knowledge.

What you need• poster images (overleaf) and/or

additional ones on the GA website

• atlases showing climate zones• world map.

Pupil prior knowledge/understanding/skillsPupils will need to have had some experience of using an atlas before embarking on the activities suggested below. They will need to be familiar with using a coloured key on a world map, have some understanding of the term ‘continent’, and a range of geographical vocabulary.

What to do• Allow the pupils to study one or all four of the photos on the front of the poster, or others from the website.

Which climatic label would they give to each?• What visual geographical information gave them clues for their decision (e.g. ice, rocks/sand, stilt houses, palm trees)?• Using a world map showing countries, and a climate zone map in an atlas; can they work out where in the world might the photo

have been taken?• What geographical vocabulary would be appropriate to use as labels for features within the photo? (See wordbank on website.)

Variations• Can they suggest three locations in different continents for each?• Can they write a short, geographically descriptive paragraph about one of the photographs?

What next?• What questions would they like to ask about each location and the people who live there? Now try to answer them! The ‘Where in

the world?’ research activity sheet on the website could be used as a prompt here.• Draw the attention of older or more able pupils to the fact that it is easy to make generalisations about places based on superficial

evidence of the weather at the time a photograph is taken, rather than the underlying climatic trend in the region. For example it maybe very sunny and bright at the top of a mountain and pupils may be distracted by people wearing sunglasses. Don’t forget too thatthere are some vast, thriving cities sited in the most unlikely locations – such as Las Vegas, in the inhospitable Mojave Desert.Remember too that a ‘tropical’ climate will mean a greater annual amount of rainfall than pupils in the UK will be used to, but that itwon’t necessarily be raining heavily all the time. Finally, don’t forget that even hot places, such as deserts, may have temperatures of up to 45ºC during the day, but that at night they can plummet to -18ºC!

Key geographical ideas and skills• expressing an opinion about a place• sustainability• recognising how an environment affects people and vice versa.

What you need• the photographs overleaf, and/or ones from the GA website• the speech bubbles provided• large sheet of paper and marker pens• atlases• holiday brochures

What to doIn mixed ability groups, ask children who would want to visit any of the places shown on the poster. Allow them time to discuss this together and record on a large sheet ofpaper and then ask them to report back to the class, justifying their group’s decision.Record their ideas using the blank speech bubbles and display them by/on the relevantphotograph. Using a range of holiday brochures, invite the children to see if similar places are in fact holiday destinations.

VariationsWhat might the people who live in each place say about it?Depending on the age/ability of the children, they could either write their own speechbubbles, using the blank provided, or match the ones given on the website to the mostappropriate photograph. If writing their own, encourage them to include comments onwhat the place is like, and what challenges it presents to their daily life.

What next?Can the children find out about real children who live in similar environments?

Key facts Doing a geography week

For more help on planning a geography week visit www.geography.org.uk/squaretwo

Quick ideas for using the poster Where in the world ...? Who said that? World environment map

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Key questions for investigatingenvironments/places

GEOGRAPHY

FROMSQUARE

TWOwww.geography.org.uk/squaretwoThe four climatic zones shown on this poster are those with which children across the primary age range are likely to be familiar,

but make sure they understand that these are not the only ones. The World Environment Map shows the other climatic zones,which are also described on the website.

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I like wearing my fur-linedskates for playing hockey

My brother's job is to look after thechickens, the pigs and the water buffalo

My sister and I can wear thin clothes allyear round, but it's useful to carry anumbrella or a broad leaf every day to keepthe rain off

We have to be careful not to wastewater, as it's very hard to find

This poster, and the additional material on the GA website, are published by the Geographical Association with the support of the DfES.

The Geographical Association, 160 Solly Street, Sheffield S1 4BFTel: 0114 296 0088 Fax: 0114 296 7176 E-mail: ga@geography.org.uk www.geography.org.uk

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2 4What’s it like to be here?What’s it like to be here?