SOUTHAMPTON: GATEWAY TO THE WORLD!
Designed to support a school trip to Red Funnel Ferries
GEOGRAPHY Key Stage 3
Variants: Low Ability students | High Ability students
Human and Physical Geography
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Students will learn about the human characteristics of a specific coastal environment (Southampton Port/Water) and consider why and how it developed in this location, relating their ideas to the physical geography of the area. They will conduct simple fieldwork while on the ferry to make observations about the different types of human activities they can see taking place, and practice applying geographical terminology correctly to record their observations. Once back at school, students will be able to develop their ideas further, by considering the links between the physical geography of the area and how this has provided favourable conditions for the development of certain human activities.
This is a geography resource which engages students with the environment of Southampton Water, whilst on their Red Funnel ferry journey across to and/or from the Isle of Wight. It includes pre-visit, on-site, and post-visit activities. This resource focuses on the human geography of the settlement of Southampton, the development of
the port and the economic activities taking place there. However, an understanding of how the physical geography of the area led to the development of human activities here is incorporated into the pre-visit activity. The resource task is aimed at investigating the development of Southampton as a major UK port, and looking at the wide variety
of different economic activities which take place there in order to
gain an understanding of the port’s significance locally, nationally
and internationally. The pre-visit activity uses historical mapping alongside current maps and aerial/satellite imagery to look at why
the settlement of Southampton developed here in the first place, and then consider how it has grown over time. On the ferry, students will then focus on the different types of economic activity taking place
in the area by looking for evidence of each type as they travel down/ up Southampton Water. The resource then introduces the concept
of the multiplier effect and students will start to appreciate the wider importance of the port on a local, regional, national and international scale.
The pre-visit activity is designed to set Southampton in a historical
context. Students will be able to recap/learn the key terms associated
with the development of settlements: site, situation and function. The
use of GIS is strongly recommended for this activity, if available, as it
allows students to examine a historical map of the early settlement
and then add layers showing the gradual growth of the settlement over time up to present day. This adds a level of sophistication to the activity, and also enables students to identify patterns of growth more easily than they would be able to by using the paper-based maps. The use of GIS is also a core part of the curriculum, and this provides an ideal opportunity for its use. However, if GIS is unavailable, a series of historical and present-day maps have been provided for this activity.
The on-site activities then focus on economic activity, and activity 1 introduces students to/revises the key terms: primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary economic activity through a matching-up exercise. The main fieldwork activity is then to complete a table detailing students’ observations of the different types of economic activity that they can see evidence of. An example of this would be that observing a fishing boat out on the water would provide evidence of primary economic activity, or a ferry an example of tertiary economic activity, and they should note this in the relevant columns. They can also use the maps earlier in the resource to look
for evidence, e.g. the oil refinery is evidence of primary economic activity in that oil is being extracted, and the power station is evidence of secondary economic activity as that oil is then used to create energy. Students will need some guidance before completing this table, and they should be encouraged to use their own knowledge to build upon their observations, e.g. they won’t be able to ‘see’ everything, but from what they do see combined with their own knowledge they should be encouraged to make assumptions and complete the table. The quaternary part of the table is the hardest to complete and this has been done as an example in the lower and middle ability resources, but higher ability students should be encouraged to think about this for themselves. Task 4 could be an extension for more able students; it introduces the concept of the multiplier effect and promotes students to start considering how the wide variety of economic activities they have witnessed contribute to the local economy / development (and more able students will understand that this then leads to regional and national benefits).
The post-visit activity looks at the international importance of the Port of Southampton. It utilizes a secondary source of information; an important contributor in all fieldwork. The Associated British Ports (ABP) website gives up-to-date information on shipping movement in to, around, and out of the port. The task involves presenting some of this information onto the world map. There are various ways of doing this and it is up to the teacher/ school to decide which is the most appropriate: a ‘day’ could be selected and all of the arrivals and departures could be displayed for that day. A particular type/category of vessel could be selected to display. Groups of students could take different information to display and then present back to the class. In this way, the activity can be tailored to the ability levels of the students.
Key Skills Practised
Understanding key processes in human geography (economic activity)
Geographical skills of observation, analyzing images and using maps to locate and transfer information
If available, the use of GIS to interpret information.
A good stimulus for starting the topic is the ‘Gateway to the World’ poster designed by Southern Railways - the link for this can be found by going to www.edudest.uk/followup and entering the code for this document (10720). Students will familiarize themselves with the geography of the area, and use historical as well as present- day maps to investigate the growth and development of the settlement and port of Southampton.
Students complete the post-visit activity, looking at the arrivals and departures for the port of Southampton, in order to gain an understanding of its international importance.
Students will be able to describe the location of Southampton, and explain the site and situation factors which contributed to its growth and development. Students will gain an understanding of the different economic activities taking place on and around the port and Southampton Water. Students will gain an understanding of the ways in which these economic activities contribute to economic development on a local scale , and then consider the wider economic importance of Southampton Port on an international scale.
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This page was last updated on: 01/06/2016