Y1/2 (A): What is it like here?
Use this unit hub to inform your Geography KS1 medium-term plan and to navigate to related resources. This is a variant of our Year 1, What is it like here? 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:
- Locate three features on an aerial photograph of the school and know the name of the country and village, town or city in which they live.
- Make a map of the classroom with four key features, using objects to represent the distance and direction of features in the classroom.
- Recognise four features in the school grounds using a map.
- Explain how they feel about three areas of the playground and find out how others feel by looking at the results of a survey.
- Draw a design to improve three areas of the playground using the results from the survey.
Lesson 3 involves fieldwork on the school grounds. It is important to risk-assess the proposed route taking into account any relevant school risk assessment policies and procedures. Refer to the Before the lesson section in Lesson 3 to prepare for this lesson. Please be aware this lesson may take longer than 1 hour.
Suggested prior learning
Around the world
Get startedLessons
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 1: Where in the world are we?
- To locate the school on an aerial photograph.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 2: What can we see in our classroom?
- To create a map of the classroom.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 3: What can we find in our school grounds?
- To locate key features of the playground.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 4: Where are the different places in our school?
- To draw a simple map.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 5: How do we feel about our playground?
- To investigate how we feel about our playground.
Y1/2 (A): Lesson 6: Can we make our playground even better?
- To create a design to improve our playground.
Key skills
Key knowledge
Related content
Unit resources

Knowledge organiser: Geography – Y1 What is it like here?
Aimed at pupils, a single page which gives key facts and definitions from the unit "What is it like here?".

Vocabulary display: What is it like here?
A display version of the vocabulary from the What is it like here? unit.
Cross-curricular opportunities
English
‘Pupils should be taught to:
- maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments.
- listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers.’
See National Curriculum – English key stages 1 to 2.