Overview and core elements for Geography
Topic- Earthquakes and volcanoes
KS1- Volcanoes and Volcanic environments
KS2- Earthquakes and volcanoes
e. Level 1
f.
Pupils show their knowledge, skills and understanding in studies
at a local scale. They recognise and make observations about
physical and human features of localities. They express their
views on features of the environment of a locality. They use
resources that are given to them, and their own observations, to
ask and respond to questions about places and the
environment.
g. Level 2
h. Pupils show their knowledge, skills and understanding in studies
at a local scale. They describe physical and human features of
places, and recognise and make observations about those
features that give places their character. They show an
awareness of places beyond their own locality. They express
views on the environment of a locality and recognise how
people affect the environment. They carry out simple tasks and
select information using resources that are given to them. They
use this information and their own observations to help them ask
and respond to questions about places and environments. They
begin to use appropriate geographical vocabulary.
i.
Level 3
j.
Pupils show their knowledge, skills and understanding in studies
at a local scale. They describe and compare the physical and
human features of different localities and offer explanations for
the locations of some of those features. They are aware that
different places may have both similar and different
characteristics. They offer reasons for some of their observations
and for their views and judgements about places and
environments. They recognise how people seek to improve and
sustain environments. They use skills and sources of evidence to
respond to a range of geographical questions, and begin to use
appropriate vocabulary to communicate their findings
Core knowledge
KS1- Different environments around the world
YEAR ONE AND TWO TO TEACH THE MAJORITY OF THIS TOPIC FROM BIG
BOOKS:
W is for World: Book full of pictures of different parts in the world: spend
one week focusing on different areas of the world.
The snail and the whale: The snail and the whale travel the world. They
pass a volcanic environment. Use this as a hook to volcanoes.
Great Kapok tree: A story about the Amazon to use to make
comparisons between different environments.
Galapagos Islands: Use as a hook to introduce the Galapagos islands.
Volcanoes: Use as a hook to introduce volcanoes.
Q. When and Where do we live?
A. We live in London in England which is in Europe.
Q. What continents are there in the world?
A. The world has seven continents: Europe, Africa, Asia, North America,
South America, Australia and Antarctica.
Q. What other environments can we look at from around the world?
A. We are going to look at four main environments where volcanoes
are. We are going to look at: the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, Italy and
any other environments such as the amazon to make comparisons with
our own.
Q. Where are these environments?
A. The Galapagos islands are located in South America and are off
the coast of Ecuador. On the Galapagos Islands, most people Spanish.
Hawaii is an island which forms part of the United states of America.
Italy is in Europe. Brazil is in South America and the Amazon river runs
through Brazil.
Q. Do all of these places have volcanoes?
A. The Galapagos islands are made from volcanoes, some of Hawaii’s
islands are made up of volcanoes and Italy has some volcanoes in the
country.
Q. What is a volcano?
A. A volcano is a mountain or hill, typically conical, having a crater or
vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapour, and gas are or
have been erupted from the earth's crust.
Q. What is magma?
A. Magma is liquid rock inside a volcano.
Q. What is lava?
A. Lava is liquid rock (magma) which flows out of a volcano.
Q. What is an eruption?
A. An eruption is when magma and ash come out of the volcanoes
vent. (Lava)
Q. What are the Galapagos Islands?
A. The Galapagos islands were made by volcanoes. They have a lot of
species on them exclusive to the islands such as giant tortoises and
blue footed birds.
Q. How are the Galapagos Islands different to where we live?
A. The Galapagos Islands are all national parks because they have a
wide range of wildlife. The Galapagos Islands have different weather to
England. They are on the equator so they are subject to hotter
weather. The Galapagos Islands have a very small population. There
are 18 islands.
Q. When was the last time a volcano erupted on the Galapagos
Islands?
A. The last eruption was in 2005 and was the Sierra Negra volcano.
Q. What are the dangers of a volcanic eruption?
A. Ash and lava from volcanoes can burn everything it it’s path. The
ash and lava come from the crater.
Q. What volcanoes have erupted in Hawaii?
A. Hawaii is a very interesting place. Hawaii’s volcanoes include
Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the
world's most massive sub aerial volcano.
Q. What different types of volcanoes are there in the world?
A. There are lots of types of volcanoes including cone shaped
volcanoes and more broader shaped volcanoes. There are also super
volcanoes and submarine volcanoes which are located underground.
Volcanoes can also develop from glaciers and mud.
KS2Earthquakes and volcanoes
k. Level 4
Pupils show their knowledge, skills and understanding in studies
of a range of places and environments at more than one scale
and in different parts of the world. They begin to recognise and
describe geographical patterns and to appreciate the
importance of wider geographical location in understanding
places. They recognise and describe physical and human
processes. They begin to understand how these can change the
features of places, and how these changes affect the lives and
activities of people living there. They understand how people
can both improve and damage the environment. They explain
their own views and the the views that other people hold about
an environmental change. Drawing on their knowledge and
understanding, they suggest suitable geographical questions,
and use a range of geographical skills from the key stage 2 or 3
programme of study to help them investigate places and
environments. They use primary and secondary sources of
evidence in their investigations and communicate their findings
using appropriate vocabulary.
m. Level 5
n. Pupils show their knowledge, skills and understanding in studies
of a range of places and environments at more than one scale
and in different parts of the world. They describe and begin to
explain geographical patterns and physical and human
processes. They describe how these processes can lead to
similarities and differences in the environments of different places
and in the lives of people who live there. They recognise some of
the links and relationships that make places dependent on each
other. They suggest explanations for the ways in which human
activities cause changes to the environment and the different
views people hold about them. They recognise how people try
to manage environments sustainably. They explain their own
views and begin to suggest relevant geographical questions and
issues. Drawing on their knowledge and understanding, they
select and use appropriate skills and ways of presenting
information from the key stage 2 or 3 programme of study to help
them investigate places and environments. They select
information and sources of evidence, suggest plausible
conclusions to their investigations and present their findings both
graphically and in writing.
l.
Core knowledge
Consolidate all KS1 learning first then…??
Volcanoes
Q. How do volcanoes form?
A. Volcanoes are formed in the following way. When two of the Earth’s
plates collide together, pressure causes magma to be pushed to the
earth’s crust.
Q. What is the earth’s crust?
A. The earth is made of a four layers. The inner core, the outer core, the
mantle and the earth’s crust.
Q. Where are the plate boundaries.
A. The plate boundaries are located all over the earth and make up
the earth’s crust a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.
Q. What exactly happens when volcanoes erupt?
A. Volcanoes emit lava and ash which burns their surroundings.
Sometimes pyroclastic flows are formed which can travel up to
450mph. This is a combination of hot gas and rock.
Q. Case study one- What do we need to know about the Galapagos
islands?
 The Galapagos islands are an archipelago of 18 islands that are
volcanic. These volcanoes vary in age and shape.
 The last volcano eruption was in 2005 and was from the volcano
named Sierra Negra. The nine day eruption showed no warning
signs.
 There are lots of species on the Galapagos Islands due to the
islands being volcanic and the weather patterns.
Q. Case study two: What do we need to know about Pompeii?
 Pompeii was a town destroyed by a volcanic eruption from
Mount Vesuvius.
 This volcanic eruption took place in AD 79.
 Pompeii was buried under ash but has now been uncovered and
is preserved.
Q. What volcanoes have erupted in Italy?
A. Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupted hundreds of years ago and buried
an entire town under ash.
Q. What was this town called?
A. This town was called Pompeii and was mostly a very wealthy society.
The town has been dug up and is now preserved.
Q. What did they find when they dug up Pompeii?
A. When they dug up Pompeii they found lots of items that belonged to
people that had been buried in ash.
Q. Why do people live by volcanoes?
People live by volcanoes because land is very fertile and also because
the weather can be nice
Earthquakes
Q, What is an earthquakes?
A. An earthquake is caused by pressure on the earth’s surface. An
earthquake creates seismic waves which create shakes and
tremors.
Q, Where do earthquakes happen?
A. Earthquakes tend to happen near to plate boundaries as this is
where the pressure builds up. England hasn’t experienced many
earthquakes at all and when it does, they are very small
earthquakes.
Q, How are earthquakes measured?
A. Earthquakes are measured using the Richter scale. The Richter
scale runs from0-10 depending on the magnitude of the
earthquake.
Q. What are the physical effects of earthquakes?
A. The physical effects of earthquakes include shaking, trembling
and ground rupture.
Also, they can include landslides and avalanches, fires and soil
liquefactions, tsunamis and floods.
Q. What are the human effects of earthquakes?
A. The human effects of earthquakes can include injury and loss of
life, road and bridge damage, general property damage, and
collapse or destabilization (potentially leading to future collapse)
of buildings. The aftermath may bring disease, lack of basic
necessities, and higher insurance premiums.
Q. Case Study one: San Francisco earthquake and the San Andreas
Fault
 The San Francisco earthquake was in 1989 and was 6.9 on the
Richter scale.
 The earthquake called landslides and liquefaction.
 The San Andreas fault is a line that runs through California and is
causing destruction such as that at the University of Berkeley
football stadium.
 California is at risk from a lot of future earthquakes.
Q. Case study two: Indian Ocean earthquake and Tsunami




The Indian Ocean earthquake was in 2004 and was 9.3 on the
Richter scale.
It was the third largest earthquake ever recorded.
The earthquake, on the ocean floor, caused a tsunami.
It had an impact on Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
Resources
Earthquakes and volcanoes
For children
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-earthquake.htm
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/earthquakes.html
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/101-videos/earthquake101
http://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/SEMD1LXJD1E_Earth_0.html
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/tsunamis.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/specials/2004/asia_earthquake_d
isaster/default.stm
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/videos/earth/bigearthquake.html
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/04/forcesofnature/force
s/e_4.html
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-volcano.htm
http://resources.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/homework/mountains/volcanoeruptions.html
http://www.ngkids.co.uk/did-you-know/Volcano_Facts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAR3P3Fshok&safe=active
http://www.onegeology.org/extra/kids/volcanoes.html
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/volcano.html
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/galapagosislands.ht
ml
http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_rome/pompeii.php
For adults
http://www.forell.com/projects/academic-university/uc-berkeleycalifornia-memorial-stadium-seismic-upgrade/
http://seismo.berkeley.edu/docs/hf_trip.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/natural_hazar
ds/managing_hazards_rev1.shtml
http://www.cumbavac.org/earthquakes_volcanoes.htm
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/pompeii