Contrasting Locality Detectives – KS1

Locations such as old Hamble–le-Rice and Warsash village – provide excellent sites as contrasting localities for infant aged children.

The opportunity to touch places – to develop a better sense of place – to explore similarities and differences between the locality that their school is in and another locality – a major conceptual framework.

Infant size localities are small for example if Hamble-le-Rice was used it would only include the following streets / roads:

  • Green Lane
  • School Lane (part of)
  • River Green
  • Lower High Street
  • Rope Walk
  • The Quay

If Warsash were used it would only include:

  • Passage Lane
  • Shore Road
  • Mariners Way
  • Crofton Way
  • Thornton Avenue

The key components of investigation are:

  • To identify and describe what the locality is like
  • To identify and describe where places are – both in relation to their school and within the locality itself – Where is the Lifeboat Station in Hamble?
  • To recognise why places are like they are. Why has this part of Hamble grown to look like it is?
  • How the locality is changing?
  • How the locality is similar and different to other localities.
  • How the locality is linked to other places

Outline for a locality day visit to either Hamble-le-Rice or Warsash.

Morning – An I Spy Trail to help children to get to grips with the key characteristics of a new locality – based for example on houses / homes, key buildings, signs / signals etc.

Lunch Time – Children write pre-addressed (to school – thence it can be used as an assessment) post cards to summarise what they have seen in the morning and what they think about the locality close to the river.

Afternoon – Enquiry – Secret Street Detectives – children investigate in more detail the geographical characteristics of one street in detective teams (see outline below).

Street Detectives (Secret Streets) – guidance for adult helpers

  • In fact this is a simple geographical enquiry. Askingquestions; collecting data; sorting data, displaying data and presenting their findings.
  • The key objectives for the activity are:

-To recognise, and begin to describe the key features of streets in Hamble or Warsash.

-To undertake a simple geographical enquiry.

-To express likes and dislikes about features of the Hamble or Warsash locality.

-To explore how streets can be similar and different.

  • Of course there are a wide range of observational, recording and geographical skills involved in the task.
  • You will be working with a small group, remember not to tell them too much. They are the street detectives. They have to develop, enhance and practice their own geographical detective / thinking skills.
  • Select a card with the name of your secret street on. Check out on the map of Hamble or Warsash where it is. Look at the large scale map - talk to the children about how they could get to their street. Don'tforget to talk about the risks of working outdoors withthem. Decide with them the risks and rules (in line with rules set out by the school).
  • Go over the types of clues that they might want to collectwhile they are out. Pictures, drawings, rubbings, artefacts, words, signs and signals, sounds, feelings, photographs etc. The list of clues is endless. You can of course select your own with your group.
  • Talk to them about how they could collect their clues andwhat resources they might want to use e.g.pencils, paper, crayons, cameras, tape-recorders and bags etc. These will be provided by your teacher.
  • Walk to their street with them. Talk about what you see on the route - it really is a walking and talking journey. Forexample: people doing different jobs; interesting signs andsignals; gardens; types of houses / homes; different cars,lorries and buses; the weather etc.
  • If you have visited Hamble or Warsash before tell them about it. Talk to them about places that you used to go to when you were their age. Anecdotes are really important to the children – they thrive on them. (Remember we are very old to them!)
  • When you get to their secret street spend some time(about 10-15 minutes) walking along it (or part of it) discussing the clues that they might want to collect. If you collectclues straight away they will have thousands. They need to be very selective about what they collect. The clues need to reflect the real geography of their secret street.
  • Clues - pictures of signs; pictures of houses; dates, feelings,drawings, words about the street; rubbings etc. If you have a tape recorder you may wish to collect street sounds.
  • Select a prime / safe location for them to work at, and startcollecting your clues. You might have to decide who does what. You might well have to help themwith the collection as well as scribes - drawing and writing outdoorscan be very difficult when you are little. Approximately 2 or 3 clues per person.
  • Check that they have got what they want and return to the agreed meeting point. Find an area where you can quietly sort out theclues with the children. Sort them into order for their presentation- this will be in the format of outdoors "show and tell" tothe rest of the class. At the end of each show and tell theothers in the class are going to try and work out which street you went to, what your secret street was like from the clues they have heard and (Assessment for Learning) what was good / not so goodabout the clues.
  • Back at school they can make up a simple display of their street to go on the wall, and use it to describe whattheir street was like / what was going on there. The teacher may wish to tape their thoughts about their street -talking street detectives. Talking display of the localstreets.
  • Pairing up groups at school also gives them an opportunity to beginto talk about similarities and differences between streets.You may wish to get the plastic Venns out for this to help them with sorting their clues.

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