Location! Location! Location! It’s not just housing that follows this mantra, but industry and commerce too. Whether you’re studying a particular region or an industry, you can get the abstract ideas across more easily with a specific case study.
Most children are familiar with shopping malls, so build on their knowledge and kick off with a discussion on the nearest one. Collect their contributions on the shops and facilities it has and how customers get there. You can do this as a quick whole-class exercise or in small groups.
Issue each group with an Ordnance Survey map and a sketch of the map with five possible sites for a new shopping mall added to it.
Devise a set of criteria to bring out the reasons for choosing the site. Is it near to residential areas where the customers live? How close to motorways is it for deliveries? Is there enough building and parking space? How good are the road and rail links? Is it easy for the workers to get there?
Make score cards, listing the location criteria down the side and the sites across the top. Each group then completes the grid by discussing each site and giving it marks out of 10 for each of the criteria. Then they add up the marks for each site, and the one with the highest should be the best overall.
Pace the lesson by controlling the time for each activity, but allow plenty of time for feedback and explanation of tasks.
Written work builds on pupils’ own experience and develops understanding of the concept of location and map skills.
Explain which site is best by incorporating all three. And you can extend the work by asking what problems might arise if the site were developed.
Sue Jones
