Teachers' notes
Where on Earth?
Aims:
- To read and interpret clues about European countries, and match them with their correct locations on a map.
- To identify and distinguish between facts and opinions in a variety of different texts.
- To compare their own home town, village or city with a fictional town using a Venn diagram to identify similarities and differences.
- To use facts and opinions to write a travel article comparing two different places.
Age group 7–9
- England and Wales
Year 3/Year 5 - Scotland
Year P4/Year P5 - Northern Ireland
Year 4/Year 6
Literacy skills:
Identifying and making notes of the main points of text; identifying how different texts are organised, including reference texts, magazines and leaflets, on paper and on screen; using knowledge of different organisational features of texts to find information effectively; using layout, format graphics and illustrations for different purposes; grouping different material into paragraphs.
Curriculum links:
- Geography – England and Wales
- Social studies, People, place and environment – Northern Ireland
- The World around us, Geography – Scotland
Content:
- Interactive whiteboard: Read the clues about the different European countries. The children could talk about the clues in pairs before they drag the pins onto the right country on the map. The ‘Europe’ section of the ‘Illustrated Atlas’ Dorling Kindersley book contains information to answer the clues. Additional clues may need to be given to support children who are less familiar with these countries. Children who would benefit from further extension could be challenged to come up with their own clues about a particular country. Children could use their ‘Illustrated Atlas’ to check their answers. The postcards on screen 2 show a variety of facts and opinions. You might like to share some examples of facts and opinions first to help refresh their understanding. The children need to highlight the facts and opinions and then complete the sentences in the table to help reinforce their understanding.
- Activity sheets: The first activity sheet shows a travel advertisement for a fictional town. The children need to find the facts and opinions before recording them on the chart. You may choose to locate one of the facts and one of the opinions in the text as a class first before the children complete the activity in pairs or independently.
- Extension: The extension task asks the children to compare ‘Barton’ with their own home town/village/city using the Venn diagram. This is a good way to set up an article-writing task that compares two places. This activity could be simplified or extended to cater for the varying needs and levels of children. For example, to extend it further, children could be asked to structure their articles by using sub-headings, paragraphs, bullet points etc. Children who require support with this task could be provided with a simple framework to help them write their article, for example, headings such as 'Introduction', 'Why should you visit my town/village/city?' could be added.
Suggestions for questions:
- Activate prior knowledge: Has anybody been on holiday in Europe? Where have you been? If not, where would you like to go? Can you share some facts about a country or location you have visited? What did or didn’t you like about the place?
- Reflect on learning: Who can explain the difference between a fact and an opinion? Which would we use more for a) giving someone directions to school, or b) explaining how you feel?
- Extension: Can you find your own facts and opinions from newspapers and magazines? What types of information are included in advertisements? How are facts and opinions used in advertisements?