As part of our ‘River of Life’ topic, the children have been learning about the physical geography of rivers. Many of them were able to name the rivers in our local area, capital city and even some in different parts of the world. They also made thoughtful suggestions about why rivers are such an important geographical feature to all living things including themselves, for example: rivers can be a habitat, a source of food and water, a means of transport, used for leisure and sporting activities, used to generate electricity and play a vital role in the water cycle. The children’s first task was to identify the location of the most significant rivers around the world using atlases, then to label them on a map. They demonstrated excellent map reading skills and learnt the names of many important rivers. This week, the children have been following the journey of a river from its source to its mouth and described how its features change along its course. Some excellent diagrams of a long profile of a river have been drawn and labelled, and technical vocabulary has been used to describe the features of the river at different points along its course. Over the next two weeks, the children will use this knowledge to describe the role that rivers play within the water cycle, and how these features impact on how they are used by people.
