Geography Recap – My Region (North West) and the Western United States

This week, Year 5 completed the penultimate lesson of our Geography unit, My Region and the Western United States. We spent the lesson revisiting everything we have learned and taking part in a fun recap quiz to test our knowledge. Throughout this topic, we have explored the fascinating geography of the Western United States and compared it with our own region, the North West of England. We learned that the Western United States is made up of 13 states and is much larger than the UK. Because of its enormous size, it contains a wide range of landscapes, climates and biomes, including deserts, rainforests, tundra and forests.

We also discovered that the Western United States has some incredible physical features, such as the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado River and famous volcanoes like Mount Saint Helens. Unlike the UK, some parts of the Western United States experience earthquakes and volcanic activity due to the San Andreas Fault. During our recap, we revised important geographical vocabulary, including population, population density, climate, biome, vegetation belt, industry and GDP. We used these terms to help us compare places accurately and explain similarities and differences between regions.

One of the most interesting things we learned is that although the Western United States has some very large and busy cities, much of the land is sparsely populated. In contrast, the UK has a much higher population density. We also explored how differences in climate and physical geography affect the way people live and work in different places.  Next, we will use all of this knowledge to make detailed comparisons between our North West region and different states in the Western United States. We are looking forward to finding out which places are most similar to where we live and which are the most different!

Well done, Year 5, for all your hard work throughout this exciting geography unit! 🌍✨

Year 2 had a fantastic time during our Outdoor Learning session, showing excellent teamwork, creativity and enthusiasm throughout the day 😊.

The children worked together to build dens 🏕️, sharing ideas and solving problems as a team to create strong and sturdy shelters. They also had lots of fun taking part in parachute games 🌈, developing their communication skills and working together to complete different challenges.

Using natural materials, the children created some wonderful nature art pieces 🍂🎨. They carefully collected leaves, sticks and other treasures from the outdoor environment to make their own unique creations.

We also linked our learning to Year 3's Geography unit on bee conservation 🐝🌼 by creating our own seed bombs. The children learned how these can help produce beautiful wildflowers, creating important habitats and food sources for bees. It was wonderful to see the children thinking about how they can help care for the environment and support local wildlife 🌍💛.

A brilliant day of exploring, creating and learning outdoors! 🌟👏🌱

In Year 2, we have been continuing our Geography learning by exploring different areas of Blackpool 😊.

The children looked at four different locations and created their own messy maps to represent each area 🖍️🗺️. They thought carefully about the landmarks they could see and included these in their drawings, showing great attention to detail.

We also discussed the difference between human and physical features 🏖️🏢, identifying what was natural and what was man-made on our maps. The children showed great understanding as they spotted beaches, roads, buildings and more!

Finally, we thought about where places are in relation to each other, using positional language to describe locations 📍. It was fantastic to see the children developing their map skills and geographical understanding 🌟👏

In Geography, we learned about different types of clouds and their names, like cumulus and stratus, and how they look in the sky. We also found out that clouds can give us useful information about the weather and how conditions might change. We used a grid to measure oktas, which helps us tell how much of the sky is covered by clouds.

Year 2 have begun an exciting new Geography unit where we will be comparing our local area, Blackpool, with Luxor in Egypt. The children are already full of curiosity and eager to learn more about different places around the world!

To start our learning, we recapped what we already knew about continents and oceans 🌎💡. The children worked together to create a fun ‘jigsaw’ activity, carefully matching the continents to the correct maps 🧩. This helped us to refresh our understanding in an interactive way.

We then used atlases to support our learning, locating and labelling the continents and oceans on a world map 🗺️. The children showed great teamwork and problem-solving skills as they explored where different places are in the world.

A fantastic start to our new topic—we can’t wait to learn more about how Blackpool and Luxor compare! 🌟

🌍 Geography Learning Across School 🌍

Our children have been busy exploring the world around them through Geography!

🧭 KS1 learned about their local area, the UK, continents and oceans, and began developing early map skills.
🐝 Year 3 explored the importance of bees and how we can protect them.
🌊 Year 4 learned about rivers, including a visit and outdoor learning at Stanley Park.
⛰️ Year 5 discovered mountains around the world, including the UK and the Himalayas.
🇬🇧 Year 6 studied the UK, using maps to explore settlements, land use and tourism.

Fantastic geographical learning from all year groups! 👏🌟

Today in Year 1, we set off on an exciting Geography adventure, beginning right here in our school grounds! We explored the physical features—like trees, grass and the playground equipment—and the human features, such as buildings, fences and paths. The children used great observation skills to spot the differences.

We then learnt that Blackpool is a town, and using aerial views, we thought carefully about the human and physical features we might find in our own local area. The children enjoyed identifying what makes our town special from above.

Next, we zoomed out to look at the four countries of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—and located where Blackpool sits within the UK. After that, we travelled even further out, exploring the seven continents of the world and gaining a sense of how Blackpool fits into the wider world.

To finish our learning, we explored the four seasons we experience in the UK: spring, summer, autumn and winter. We talked about the signs of each season and how the weather, plants and what we wear can all change throughout the year.

It was a fun-filled day of exploring, discovering and thinking about the world around us—starting small and ending with the whole globe!

Today our preschoolers set off on a super exciting egg hunt around the school! The children were challenged to find 10 eggs, but this wasn’t just any hunt. They used their maths skills to count how many eggs they had found and how many were still missing.

Along the way, the children also became brilliant little geographers! They followed simple directions such as “behind,” “next to,” “under,” and “around,” using positional language to describe exactly where each egg was discovered. 

By the end of the hunt, all ten eggs were safely found—and the children were proud, excited, and full of smiles. What a fun way to learn!

This morning, Year 3 enjoyed an energetic and engaging musical assembly from the Travelling by Tuba duo. Designed to inspire pupils across the primary range, the session delivered exactly that. The performers introduced a fascinating collection of unusual wind and brass instruments—many completely new to the children—and filled the hall with humour and captivating storytelling.

Pupils were taken on a musical journey around the world, encountering remarkable instruments such as the Chinese dragon‑headed trumpet, the Swiss alpine horn and giant Tibetan dungs. The children were amazed by their size and unique sounds, and the duo’s lively delivery kept everyone thoroughly entertained.

Year 3 especially enjoyed joining in with rhythms, actions and musical challenges. The performance also reinforced learning across music, history, geography and science, creating a rich cross‑curricular experience. The children left the hall buzzing with excitement and eager to share their favourite moments from this memorable musical adventure.

This week, Year 3 have been learning all about climate zones and how temperature and precipitation vary across the globe. To help us understand these differences, we located Manaus (Brazil), Nuuk (Greenland), London (United Kingdom), Seville (Spain) and Cairo (Egypt) on a world map. The children enjoyed spotting which places were close to the equator and which were nearer the poles.

We discovered that Manaus, in northern Brazil, has a hot, tropical climate with high temperatures and lots of rainfall. In contrast, Nuuk, in Greenland, is extremely cold with very low temperatures throughout the year. London has a mild and changeable climate, while Seville, in southern Spain, is warm and sunny with very hot summers. Finally, Cairo, in Egypt, has a desert climate, meaning it is very hot and receives very little rain.

Year 3 loved comparing these places and spotting global weather patterns. 🌦️🌍