New
New
Settlement features
I can name and recognise the key features of villages, towns and cities.
Lesson 1 of 6
New
New
- Year 3
Settlement features
I can name and recognise the key features of villages, towns and cities.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Settlements are places where people live and work, and often have a distinct community identity.
- Settlements vary in size from small hamlets, to villages, towns, cities and megacities.
- Larger settlements tend to have a wider range of buildings and land uses, and more facilities and services.
- Photos, including aerial photos, show the main features of villages, towns and cities.
Keywords
Settlements - Settlements are places where groups of people live and work.
Services - A service is a system that supplies a public need, for example waste collection.
Facilities - A facility is a building, piece of equipment or place that is used for an activity or purpose.
Population - The population is the total number of people living in a particular area.
Common misconception
Cities are only places where people work.
Remind students that cities are places that people live and work as cities include residential areas.
It is important to emphasise that these categories are generalisations and sometimes a village might have other services, or a town might be smaller that the population ranges stated. The definitions here are meant to be a guide.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these is not a country in the UK?
Which of these is not a country in the UK?
England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Q2.Match the countries of the UK to their capital cities.
Match the countries of the UK to their capital cities.
Q3.Which of these are human features?
Which of these are human features?
rivers
mountains
Q4.Which of these are physical features?
Which of these are physical features?
airports
schools
Q5.What is the main type of land use in the UK?
What is the main type of land use in the UK?
woodland
residential
industrial
Q6.Match the OS symbol to the correct label.
Match the OS symbol to the correct label.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Hamlets have a population of...
Hamlets have a population of...
more than. 10,000
more than 10,000,000
Q2.Hamlets usually have facilities and services.
Hamlets usually have facilities and services.
Q3._______ have a population greater than 10 million.
_______ have a population greater than 10 million.
hamlets
towns
villages
Q4.London is predicted to become a megacity by the year...
London is predicted to become a megacity by the year...
2020
2025
2050
Q5.Starting with the smallest, order the settlements by size.
Starting with the smallest, order the settlements by size.
Q6.Which settlement has the greatest range of facilities and services?
Which settlement has the greatest range of facilities and services?
hamlet
village
town
city
