road trip usa ks2

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Take your class on a road trip like no other as they discover the United States of America! Take in the incredible landscapes, learn about the fifty states and their characteristics, explore America’s wild side and much, much more with this Geography 'The USA' scheme of work for Year 3 and Year 4.

#TheCompleteSeries7lessons

Containing seven individual lessons with everything you need to teach your class about the USA, including detailed lesson plans, presentations, differentiated activities and a range of printable resources, this scheme of work will open their eyes to the incredible and varied country that is America.

This scheme of work is also part of a Topic Bundle . Perfect if you are teaching 'The USA' as a cross-curricular topic.

#Lesson1StateyourLocation

Children will start by identifying the USA as a country in the continent of North America, finding out where both of these are on a world map. They’ll consider what they already know about the USA and find out how it is separated into fifty states. Using compass directions, they will then identify each of the fifty states and describe where they are in relation to each other. Alternatively, they can test their memories to see how many of the states they can remember and recall in a given time scale!

What's included:

• Lesson plan
• Activity ideas
• Differentiated worksheets
• Differentiated clue cards
• Fifty States map

#Lesson2ExploringtheStates

Now that your class can identify the fifty states, they will find out how they are split into six regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southwest, South and West. They will explore the broad characteristics of each region before finding out more about the individual states in order to start comparing them.

• Fifty State Facts eBook
• States Regions map
• State Names cards

#Lesson3Landscapes

The breathtaking scenery your class will be shown in this lesson will help them to start understanding what a rich and varied landscape America has. Through these photos, they will find out about different geographical features of the USA, including mountains, coasts, prairies, forests and deserts. They will start to compare these landscapes using geographical language using photographs, or by exploring them for themselves using online maps.

• Picture cards
• Landscape keywords

#Lesson4AmericanCities

Children will start this lesson by identifying the difference between a village, a town and a city. They will then go on to explore some of the largest and most famous cities in the USA. They will find out about the capital of the USA, as well as the capital city of each individual state. They can then carry out their own research to find out more about an American city, or compare Washington, D.C. with London.

• USA Map sheet
• Information cards

#Lesson5NationalParks

This lesson starts by encouraging children to consider the effects of urbanisation on wildlife. They will then go on to find out what national parks are, how, when and why the first national park was set up, and the role that national parks play in the country today. They will be able to find out more about American national parks, particularly Yellowstone, identifying and explaining why they are important.

• Challenge cards
• Yellowstone National Park map

#Lesson6NaturalPhenomena

This lesson shows your class the wild side of America as they learn about blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, identifying where in America each of these phenomena are most likely to occur. They will also consider the effects these have on people and landscapes.

• Information sheet
• Poster template

#Lesson7VisitingAmerica

Now that your class have learnt so much about the USA, they can consolidate their knowledge by thinking about what a holiday in America might be like. The slides will show them some of the USA’s top tourist hot-spots which they can then use to help some travel agent customers decide where they should go on holiday, based on given criteria. They can also prepare a TV or radio advert to encourage tourists to visit a particular state. They can then show off all their American knowledge with an end of unit quiz!

• Customer cards
• State cards
• End of Unit Quiz

Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)

Download a free overview to support your teaching of this scheme of work.

Free Assessment Grid

Download a free, editable assessment grid to support your teaching of this scheme of work.

Curriculum Objectives covered

• KS2 - locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities
• KS2 - understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America
• KS2 - describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
• KS2 - describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water
• KS2 - use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
• KS2 - use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world

Customer Reviews

Really easy to follow and adapt to my pupil. Great resources and planning!!

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Really great lessons with some lovely ideas. Saved me so much time. Just what I was looking for.

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• Geography Ks2 Usa Six Week Unit

Geography KS2 – Take a six-week trip across the USA

PDF medium term plan; 1 x PowerPoint presentation; selection of worksheets

From sea to shining sea, the USA is a huge country in many ways. Our much younger cousin, just across the pond, presents an engaging and engrossing locale to apply a host of skills for geography KS2.

You can spend whole terms studying the USA (and I have).

The six lessons I outline below will guide students on a tour of the eastern seaboard of the United States, practising mapping skills and exploring the human geography of these locations.

So strap on your cowboy boots, fuel up your truck, and let’s hit the highway.  

Geography KS2 curriculum

The national curriculum for geography in KS2 says that:

Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America.

This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features.

They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge .

Learning objectives

Throughout this six-week plan, children will learn to:

• Explore a location
• Understand what social geography is
• Understand how a country is governed
• Compare different locations
• Understand the features of a cultural region
• Compare climate data

Matthew Lane is a teacher from Norfolk. Follow him on Twitter @MrMJLane  and see more of his work at theteachinglane.co.uk  

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Road Trip USA!

Teach children about the United States, past and present, developing children’s knowledge of Native American culture, map reading, and the physical and human features of key locations in the United States.

Whats Included?

This project is part of the Cornerstones Curriculum which is available through an annual licence for Cwricwlwm Maestro.

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Road Trip USA

Our usa state treasure hunt.

• Engage phot treasure hunt.docx

Buckle up, sunglasses on - we're going on a road trip across the good old US of A!

Year 4 will be using their map skills to navigate around some of the most famous landmarks and plan a bespoke road trip. 

They will meet the Iroquois tribe: Native Americans and learn about their amazing customs and traditions.

Year 4 designed and made a Native American Indian headress and dream catcher

• Year 4 watch me learn day may 2018 .docx
• Road trip usa web.docx

Unfortunately not the ones with chocolate chips.

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USA KS2 Geography Unit - 10 Week Unit of Lessons, PPTs, Resources

Subject: Geography

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

2 July 2020

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Fantastic and so generous! Ty :)

Amazing resources, thanks so much for sharing :)

Glad you liked it! There are lots of ideas on my website theteachinglane.co.uk

This looks great - thank you so much for sharing!

Thank you! There are lots of ideas on my website theteachinglane.co.uk

missiongeography

I have used this scheme since we opened Year 5, it is amazing work. Thank you so much!

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Are you ready for a Road Trip? Explore these eleven incredible cross-country road trip routes across the U.S.!

Pacific Coast

Border to Border

The Road to Nowhere

The Great River Road

Appalachian Trail

Atlantic Coast

The Great Northern

The Oregon Trail

The Loneliest Road

Southern Pacific

Oberlin to the Chalk Pyramids

Home / The Road to Nowhere / Kansas / Oberlin to the Chalk Pyramids

All across northwest Kansas, US-83 sweeps across beautiful rolling farmlands, paralleling railroad tracks and passing through low one-horse towns with towering feed elevators. Funky little Oberlin, (pop. 1725) about 12 mi (19.3 km) south of the Nebraska state line, is definitely worth a stop. It’s a picture-postcard town, with a Social Realist native limestone statue of a pioneering family marking its northern edge and a mini movie theater called the Sunflower Cinema (220 N. Penn Ave., 785/470-2200)—in honor of the Kansas state flower—playing Hollywood hits amid awning-covered storefronts along the two blocks of redbrick downtown streets.

The peace and quiet of today’s Oberlin is in stark contrast to its past: Oberlin was the site of the last Indian raid in Kansas on September 30, 1878, after a fierce skirmish had erupted between Chief Dull Knife’s Northern Cheyenne, heading to regain their lands in the Dakotas, and an infantry contingent from Fort Dodge at what is today Lake Scott State Park, near Scott City, 95 mi (153 km) to the south. The Oberlin cemetery contains a memorial to the 19 settlers who were killed in the Cheyenne attacks.

Oakley (pop. 2,108), south and west of I-70 and lined up along historic US-40, is an old big-time ranching and railroad town, featuring lots of utilitarian architecture, massive diesel engines, farm supply stores, and railroad tracks. The big event here, the Fick Fossil and History Museum (700 W. 3rd St., 785/671-4839, Mon.-Sat., free), just off US-83, features yet more unique exhibits: more than 10,000 fossilized shark teeth, a sod house, and some garish mosaics, including the Great Seal of the President of the United States, made entirely out of the aforementioned shark’s teeth. It was created by—who else?—Vi Fick. The local history and paleontology exhibits are quite good too.

The I-70 Business Loop (old US-40) offers the usual array of cafés and motels.

Chalk Pyramids/Monument Rocks

South of Oakley, the road bolts straight for over 20 mi (32 km), passing between an enormous sea of yellow flowers (in early summer) on one side and expanses of open range on the other. Later, the scenery peters out into a prickly, dry, faintly yellow rocky desolation that signals the fringes of the Smoky Hills region.

The prime topographical feature of the Smoky Hills is the surreal Chalk Pyramids, also known as Monument Rocks; they are referred to in the old WPA Guide to Kansas as the “Kansas Pyramids.” Whatever you call them, these highly eroded geological formations, which reach heights of 70 ft (21.3 m) above the plains, are composed of layers of ancient seabed from the Cretaceous period and were originally formed 80 million years ago. The impressive spires, karst-like formations, and shale cliffs farther on have yielded thousands of excellent fossils of sharks, shark teeth, fish, and reptiles. Although the pyramids are on private land, access is not restricted, but there are no facilities. To get there from Oakley, drive 20 mi (32 km) south on US-83, then east for 4 mi (6.4 km) on Jayhawk Road, around 3 mi (4.8 km) south on Gove 14, and another mile (1.6 km) east on Gove 16. From Scott City, drive 18 mi (29 km) north, turn east on Dakota Road, and zigzag east and north for around 9 mi (14.5 km). Don’t go in wet weather, however, or you’ll get stuck in the mud, and you could be there for some time.

You can get some good maps and directions at the friendly Keystone Gallery (620/872-2762), “conveniently located in the middle of nowhere,” midway between Oakley and Scott City along US-83; the gallery also has a display of fossils, and you can enjoy a sampling of local art and sculpture as well.

Related Travel Guides for the Road to Nowhere

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• Apple Books

Travel Map of the Road to Nowhere through Kansas