This is the first in a series of lessons that I am writing under the heading ‘Geography at Christmas’ over the next few weeks. This one is all about finding your way using the stars - like the wise men did. I teaches students how to find the North Star, Polaris, using the Little Bear or Plough and challenges them to plan some fictitious journeys across the Arabian desert.

This is the first lesson in the series, ‘Food and the Future’. It looks at some of the diets that people used to eat in the past, comparing these to the ‘Eatwell Plate’ and students’ own diets. It describes and compares Stone Age, Roman, Elizabethan and Post WW2 Ration diets and includes both a sorting exercise and a task in which students have to justify how they would rank their own diet alongside these examples.

This is a set of over 60 lesson plans used to teach a previous AS Geography syllabus (AQA in the early 2000s). They’re a bit dated now but there are plenty of ideas here which could still be used - particularly for the new, more challenging GCSE syllabuses. The topics are Demographics, Hydrology, Economic Geography, Climatic Hazards and Settlement. I’m giving this one away for FREE so you can judge whether it’s worth your while paying for the Key Stage 3 schemes - a total of well over 100 lessons for £20. Why not check them out, too?

This is an outline for eight lessons on the future of food. I’m putting it out there as a free resource and inviting comments. I’ve called it a ‘Sketch of Work’ rather than a scheme because that is all it is. If you think this is worth pursuing and you would buy it if it were a fully resourced scheme with lesson plans, worksheets and the like, please leave a review.

This is a complete scheme of work for a former A level syllabus (AQA, early 2000s). There are plenty of ideas here to use in the newer specifications and in the more challenging ‘new’ GCSE syllabuses. The two topics are Population and Resources and Managing CIties. This resource is FREE to help people work out if they want to fork out for the Key Stage 3 Schemes of Work which are also available online at roughly 20p per lesson.

This puzzle has fifteen clues, all of which relate to rivers. Ideal for use as a settling activity at the start of a lesson or to fill in a few awkward minutes at the end. Includes a separate sheet with the answers on it

This crossword contains fifteen clues all of which relate to coasts. Ideal for use as a settling activity or to fill in the last few akward minutes at the end of a lesson. Includes a separate sheet with the answers on it.

This crossword puzzle has fifteen clues, all of which relate to population. Ideal to use as an activity to get your lesson started or to fill on those awkward few minutes at the end. Includes a separate sheet with the answers.

This is a crossword puzzle with fifteen clues, the answers to which all relate to volcanoes and earthquakes. Ideal for use as a settling activity or to fill a few dead minutes at the end of a lesson.** Includes the solution on a separate sheet.**

This puzzle consists of fifteen clues. Ideal for use as a settling activity at the start of the lesson or for those few awkward minutes at the end before the bell goes. Includes a separate sheet with the answers on it

One of a series of standalone worksheets that can be used to get students thinking about topical issues. This one, on sea level rises, is ideal for use as extension work or homework. It includes a variety of tasks that can be completed independently.

This is a standalone lesson all about gold, suitable for KS2-KS4. In a series of short, engaging tasks, it explores the distribution of gold across the world, what it is used for and where it is mined. It includes links to videos about gold panning and gold mining, each accompanied by questions. It concludes with some open-ended questions about whether gold is a renewable or non-renewable resources and what this means.

This resource could be used as a practice paper for the Issue Evaluation aspect of the AQA GCSE Paper 3. It could also be used as a generic skills paper to give a baseline score at the start of a GCSE course. The issue it examines is a real example of urban-rural conflict in Warwickshire. The resource comprises a question paper, resource booklet and mark scheme.

This resource looks at how extreme the weather has become in the UK. It examines the reasons for droughts and floods and looks at some of the causes of heatwaves. It encourages students to work independently, ideally on a PC, to research some of the impacts of water shortages. It also touches on the increased likelihood of storms in years ahead.

This presentation examines the case for Fair Trade as a means of closing the development gap. It shows how Fair Trade has helped a Colombian farmer to provide his son with an education and at how the Chilecito Schools Project, working with the La Riojana Co-operative, has brought learning to the remote valleys of Argentina and wine to the rest of the world. Students are also challenged to think about the limitations of fair trade. There are a number of tasks and striking images in the presentation to challenge students of all abilities.

This is an assessment to test pupils' knowledge of the Superpowers Unit of Work. It includes questions on what makes a country influential, analysis of graphs, comprehension and the issues surrounding Mexican immigration to the USA.

This is a test on China which is best suited to Key Stage 3 students. It has questions on population distribution, the One Child Policy, air pollution and development. It runs to six pages.

This resource was used as part of a unit to cross the bridge between KS3 and GCSE. It aims to develop students' geographical skills. This lesson clarifies the difference between war and conflict. Students are then given a number of 'well-known' conflicts to look at in more detail, following which there is an exercise that involves looking at the parts of the world where there is the greatest tension.

This presentation deals with extreme weather in the UK. It outlines some recent extreme weather events (1987 Great Storm, 1976 Drought, 1963 Cold Winter) before looking at the 2010 Big Freeze. Students are asked to explain the causes of the Big Freeze and analyse its social, economic and environmental impact. There are activities including a plenary activity in which the class is invited to respond to a number of imaginary 'complaints' by members of the public during the Big Freeze.

This assessment broadly matches up with the unit In the Horn of Africa in the Geog.1 series. It consists of a question paper and a detailed mark scheme. The questions relate to knowledge of places, completing and reading a climate graph, the coffee trade, employment and development issues.