The course of a river is the path it takes from its source at the start to its mouth at the end

Downstream is the direction a river flows as it moves towards the mouth

A tributary is a smaller river or stream that joins a bigger river

A landform is a natural feature created by a process such as erosion or deposition

The river's journey

Geography

Introducing rivers

River processes and landforms

Flooding rivers

Flooding impacts and solutions

Rivers in the UK

Rivers in Europe

Mighty rivers of the world

This unit links to 'Climate zones: What are they and why do they matter?' in which the influence of climate on global geographies and environmental regions is developed with reference to understanding of the water cycle and rivers.

This unit builds on 'The water cycle: why is it important?' and develops this understanding further to investigate where water goes to and to look at where and why the major rivers are located and how local rivers are affected by weather variations. 

This unit explores how rivers change the land as they flow. Pupils learn about the journey of a river from source to mouth, the effects of flooding, and what makes rivers important. They compare rivers in the UK, Europe and other parts of the world.

Rivers: what's special about them?

Which of these describe the three parts of a river's course?

Which of these statements describe the lower course?

Where on the river are these landforms found?

What landforms can you see on this image?

What happens to rocks in the river as they are eroded?

narrow, shallow and slow with large rocks

larger, wider and faster with smaller rocks and sediment

very wide and deep with very small sediment

Can you match the river course to the correct description?

What process causes the Earth’s surface, e.g. rock or soil, being worn away and transported from its original site.

erosion takes place on the outside of the bend

erosion takes place on the inside of the bend

deposition takes place on the inside of the bend

deposition takes place on the outside of the bend

A meander is a bend in the river., which of these statements correctly describe the processes taking place?

As a river slows down it loses energy. This means what process increases?

The river's journey

Lesson outcome