Year 7 Home Provision

Introduction to geography

What is geography?

Use the space below to write down what you think you will study in

geography?

The word broken down means:

Geo (the earth) Graphy (to study)

You may have written down lots of things, geography is a big subject and we

look at things and places from around the world. A good way to get used to

thinking like a geographer is the following activity. It will require you to do

some detective work for some of the answers.

It will show you how much of the world you actually come into contact with.

TASK: Complete the following sentences (the answers in italics are Mr

Eastwoods attempt!)

I live in….Thornton, Bradford

I was born in…..Newcastle, England

My favourite place I have visited is….South Africa

I really want to go to…..Canada

My favourite animal usually lives in….Australia/South Africa (Great White

Shark)

My favourite food comes from…..Italy (parma ham)

My clothes were made in…..India

My favourite gadget was made in….. Japan/China (PS4)

Give it a go and see how far around the world you are involved with!

I live in….

I was born in…..

My favourite place I have visited is….

I really want to go to…..

My favourite animal usually lives in….

My favourite food comes from…..

My clothes were made in…..

My favourite gadget was made in…..

CHALLENGE: Can you locate the countries from the task on this blank map?

When studying geography we often split our topics into two catergories.

Human geography and physical geography. Human geography is the study of

people, transport, buildings and anything to do with mankind. Physical

geography is the study of natural things like rivers and animals.

TASK: Sort the following subjects into human or physical geography.

Population, Rivers, Earthquakes, Disease, Electricity, Volcanoes, Traffic, Cities,

Farming, Maps, Oceans, Animal Habitats, Money, Weather, Deserts, global

warming

If you can add any more go for it!

HUMAN PHYSICAL

Map Skills

This section will show how and why we use maps. Map skills are really

important to become a great geographer and you will use these in exams!

A map is a diagram that shows us what a place looks like so we can find out

which way to go. There are lots of different types of map and you will probably

use them more often than you think.

TASK: Complete the following spider diagram to get as many different maps as

you can. Use the pictures to help get started.

Types of map

Parts of a map

A map more often than not has 4 features that are designed to help us

understand what it is showing. Try and match them up to get the correct

definitions. (answers on the back page)

KEY Shows which direction is North

SCALE Used to work out grid references

EASTINGS/NORTHINGS Shows the meaning of different

map symbols

COMPASS Used to convert distances on the

map

Once you have the right answer identify them on the map below.

Battlefield

Place of worship

Grid references

Grid references help find a spot on a map so you don’t have to search the

whole thing. The system works by using boxes laid over the top of the map so

you can find something easily by just seeking out the small section of the map.

This is where the eastings and northings are used.

First use the eastings (numbers running along the bottom) to identify a square,

then use the northings (running up the side) to finalise it.

Example:

To find the castle on this map, first I follow the numbers on the bottom to find

the bottom left corner of the square. On this map it is number 16. Then I use

the numbers up the side to finalise the square. This time it is 30.

These two numbers give you a grid reference. So to find the church I would go

to the grid reference of (16, 30)

TASK: Write the grid references for

A23 -

Lake -

Battlefield –

For further map practice visit https://www.thenational.academy and find the year 7 lessons

on map skills.

TIP: Always use the

bottom left corner of

the square as the point

you are trying to find!

Dangerous places

Despite maps helping us go places, there are some that are too dangerous to

go to and it is hard to know what is there. Places like area 51 in America, which

is said to contain aliens but we can’t know for sure as we can’t enter the base.

In Brazil, Snake Island has 4,000 species of poisonous snake making it too

dangerous to go.

The place we study at Rastrick is the town of Pripyat. The town suffered a

tragedy when a nuclear power plant exploded. The town was evacuated and

no one has returned. It is difficult to map because of dangerous radiation.

TASK: Research the town of Pripyat online, or at the library. Write a postcard

to school about what it must be like if you could visit.

Things to include:

What can you see? what does it feel like? What sounds can you hear? Has nature taken

back the buildings? Would you visit again? Is it scary? What did people leave behind?

Field Sketches

Another skill for geographers is field sketching. This is a basic drawing of an

area that you might be studying. The good news is you don’t have to be good

at drawing as field sketches have notes around the outside to help you

understand and remember the content.

Field sketches are used because they are current. If you use a photo from the

internet that may have been taken a long time ago and therefore isn’t

accurate. Plus, you only need a pencil and paper so anyone can do them!

This is an example from a year 10 field sketch. As you can see the drawing isn’t

brilliant but they have added information around the outside so they can

remember what they were drawing. It also explains the sketch if others are

reading. This is clearly a field sketch of a river.

TASK: As we are in lockdown, draw a field sketch of the view from your

bedroom window. If you can see it, draw it.

Add the following once you have finished:

A title (A field sketch of….)

Label some features (neighbours car, hedgerow etc.)

Some explanation sentences (this decorators van is not usually in my view;

however, it was parked on the street today so I have included it in my sketch)

Why are countries important?

As geographers, we must understand why countries are important to the

world. Each country is different from another so we must be able to find out

what makes them important to its residents and to the rest of the world.

Think back to the country who made your clothes! This would be a reason for

their importance. Without that country others wouldn’t have any clothes.

A good way to find out about countries is to create a fact file. This is a

collection of facts about a place. We are going to use the country of Brazil!

TASK: Create a fact file for Brazil using the information sheets following this

page and your own research. One of the main reasons countries are important

are its exports. This means the products they grow or create and send (export)

to other countries that need them.

Challenge: Find out Brazils biggest export and say why that makes them an

important country?

This is a template of a fact file that you can

follow if you like, or you can design one of

your own. The boxes separate the

information making it easier to read.

This is an example of

previous student’s work. This

was done last year on the

country of Ghana.

Brazil facts OFFICIAL NAME: Federal Republic of Brazil FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Democratic federal republic CAPITAL: Brasilia POPULATION: 183,888,841 OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Portuguese MONEY: Real AREA: 3,286,470 square miles (8,511,965 square kilometers) MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Serra do Mar, Serra do Espinhaço MAJOR RIVERS: Amazon, São Francisco, Paraná, Tocantin FLAG:

Brazil’s geography Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world. It forms an enormous triangle on the eastern side of the continent with a 7,400km coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. It has borders with every South American

country except Chile and Ecuador.

The Brazilian landscape is very varied. It is most well known for its dense forests, including the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, in the north. But there are also dry grasslands (called pampas), rugged hills, pine forests, sprawling wetlands, immense plateaus (areas of level high ground) and a long coastal plain.

Northern Brazil is dominated by the Amazon River and the jungles that surround it. The Amazon is not one river but a network of many hundreds of waterways. Its total length stretches 6,840km, making it the longest river on Earth. Thousands of species live in the river, including the infamous piranha and the boto, or pink river dolphin.

Southeastern Brazil was once completely covered with dense forest. Now it is the country’s industrial capital, home to Brazil’s biggest cities: São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It covers only 11 percent of the country but 43 percent of the country’s population lives there.

Brazilian people & culture

Most Brazilians are descended from three ethnic groups: Amerindians, European settlers (mainly from Portugal) and Africans. Starting in the 19th century, waves of immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, and even Japan added to this mix. This diversity of people has created a rich religious, musical and culinary culture.

Brazilians are football crazy, and their country has produced some of the most popular players in the world! Brazil has won the FIFA World Cup finals five times, more than any other nation.

Brazil is also home to the world’s largest carnival – Rio Carnival! Each year, in the days

leading up to Lent, around 2 million people take to the streets of Rio de Janeiro to enjoy music, dancing, elaborate costumes and parades.

Brazil’s wildlife & nature Brazil has the greatest variety of animals of any country in the world. It is home to 600 mammal species, 1,500 fish species, 1,600 bird species and an amazing 100,000 different types of insects. Brazil’s jungles are home to most of its animal life, but many unique species also live in the pampas and semidesert regions.

In the central-western part of Brazil sits a flat, swampy area called the Pantanal. This patchwork of flooded lagoons and small islands is the world’s largest wetland. Here live giant anacondas, huge guinea pig relatives called capybaras, and fierce South American alligators called caimans.

For thousands of years, people have been exploiting the jungles of Brazil. But since Europeans arrived about five centuries ago, forest destruction has become a major problem. Most of Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest is now gone, and huge tracts of the Amazon are disappearing every year. The government has established many national parks and refuges, but theses only cover around seven percent of the country.

Brazilian government & economy Brazil is a federal republic with a president, a National Congress, and a legal system. From 1888 until recently, the country struggled with democracy (where a government is decided by the population as a whole). But in 1985, the military government was peacefully removed, and by 1995, Brazil’s politics and economy had become fairly stable.

Brazil has many different soils and climates, so it can produce a great variety of crops. Its agricultural exports include sugarcane, latex, coffee, cocoa beans, cotton, soybeans, rice, and tropical fruits.

Brazil is also South America’s most industrial nation, producing chemicals, steel, aircraft, and cars.

Brazilian history Until recently, scientists thought Brazil was first settled by Asians about 10,000 years ago. But new evidence shows there were people living there at least 32,000 years ago. Some experts think they may have arrived from islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Brazil was added to the map of the world during the great European explorations in the late 15th century led by Portugal and Spain. When Europeans first reached the coast of Brazil, the country was home to about 30 million indigenous people, or Amerindians. Today, only about 300,000 remain, living primarily in Brazil’s remotest places.

Portugal established its first colony in Brazil in 1530. Colonists created sugarcane plantations along the coast and sent diamonds and gold back to Europe. Soon, people from West Africa were brought to Brazil to work as slaves. The discovery of large inland gold reserves brought thousands of people from the coasts and abroad to the interior of the country.

In 1789, Brazilians tried to kick out their Portuguese rulers. The rebellion was soon put down, but it started a movement toward independence, which was successfully gained in 1822. Kings of Portuguese blood ruled until 1888, when military leaders and landowners expelled the king. This was also the year that slavery was abolished in Brazil.

Answer Page

Key = Shows the meaning of map symbols

Scale = Used to convert distances on a map

Easting/Northings = Used to work out grid references.

Compass = Shows us which direction north is

Grid References

A23 – (14,32)

Lake – (13, 34)

Battlefield – (14,30)

Battlefield

Place of worship