Y1/2 (A): What can you see at the coast?
Use this unit hub to inform your medium-term plan and to navigate to related resources all in line with the KS1 Geography curriculum. This is a variant of our Year 2, What is it like to live by the coast? unit, which has been selected for mixed-age teaching.
We’re monitoring the upcoming 2025 National Curriculum updates and will revise our resources when we know more. Learn more
Unit outcomes
Pupils who are secure will be able to:
- Name and locate the seas and oceans surrounding the UK in an atlas.
- Label these on a map of the UK.
- Describe the location of the seas and oceans surrounding the UK using compass points.
- Define what the coast is.
- Locate coasts in the UK.
- Name some of the physical features of coasts.
- Explain the location of UK coasts using the four compass directions.
- Name features of coasts and label these on a photograph.
- Identify human features in a coastal town.
- Describe how people use the coast.
- Follow a prepared route on a map.
- Identify human features on the local coast.
- Record data using a tally chart.
- Represent data in a pictogram.
- Describe how the local coast has been used.
Lesson 5 involves fieldwork in the local coastal town (if this is not possible, visit a local village, town or city that attracts visitors. Please note: if a coast is not visited, parts of the lesson plan may need to be amended to suit the chosen location). It is important to risk-assess the proposed route taking into account any relevant school risk assessment policies and procedures. Please be aware that lesson 5 may take longer than 1 hour.
Lessons 3 and 4 require a device (one between two).
Suggested prior learning
Y1/2 (A): What is the weather like in the UK?
Get startedLessons
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 1: What are some of the UK’s amazing features and landmarks?
- To identify geographical characteristics of the UK.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 2: Where are the seas and oceans surrounding the UK?
- To locate the seas and oceans surrounding the UK.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 3: What is the coast?
- To explain what the coast is.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 4: How do people use our local coast? (Data collection)
- To investigate how people use the local coast.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 5: How do people use our local coast? (Findings)
- To present findings on how people use the local coast.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 6: Where are our oceans?
- To know the names of the five oceans and locate them on a map.
Related content
Unit resources

Knowledge organiser – Geography Y1/2 (A): What can you see at the coast?
Aimed at pupils, a single page document that gives key facts and definitions from the unit.

Vocabulary display: What can you see at the coast?
A display version of the vocabulary from the unit 'What can you see at the coast?'
Cross-curricular opportunities
English: Spoken language
Computing
Maths: Statistics