New
New
Year 2

The River Thames

I can explain the importance of the River Thames to London.

New
New
Year 2

The River Thames

I can explain the importance of the River Thames to London.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. People settled by the River Thames for navigation, trade and a water supply. Today, many bridges connect both banks.
  2. Today, Londoners use the most water in the country; much of this comes from the River Thames.
  3. Waste water is also pumped into the River Thames, which is why a new super sewer is being built.
  4. The Thames’ Barrier is a special piece of engineering that is designed to protect London from flooding.

Common misconception

Pupils may think the banks of a river actually "burst" in an explosive way when there is a flood.

During a flood, the water level of a river is higher than the banks, so the water 'bursts' out of the river, over the banks onto the surrounding land.

Keywords

  • Navigation - Navigation is finding a way from one place to another

  • Banks - Banks are the edges of the land beside a river or waterway

  • Bridges - Bridges are structures that enable people and vehicles to travel over another space, such as a river or road

  • Sewer - A sewer is an underground pipe that takes dirty water, such as from baths and toilets, to the sewage works to be cleaned

  • Flood - A flood is when there is too much water in a waterway, such as a river, and it overflows onto land that is normally dry

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Complete the sentence. The mouth of a river is where it meets the .
Correct Answer: sea
Q2.
How do we use rivers?
Correct answer: for transport
Correct answer: water supply
Correct answer: recreation
bathing
laundry
Q3.
About how many parks and green spaces are there in London?
3
30
300
Correct answer: 3000
30,000
Q4.
Why do people that live in cities enjoy spending time in parks?
Correct answer: because they can escape the noise and stress of the city
because parks are free to use
because they get bored of walking on pavements
because they go camping in them
Q5.
What is recreation?
reusing items instead of throwing them away
Correct answer: doing sports or hobbies for fun
writing stories and poems
making a mess and being untidy
Q6.
Put the words in order to complete the sentence. London is the world's first .
1 - National
2 - Park
3 - City

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these allows people to cross from one side of a river to the other?
steps
Correct answer: bridge
path
gate
Q2.
What does the Thames Barrier help to protect London from?
fire
Correct answer: floods
wind
lightning
Q3.
Where does most of our waste water end up?
in puddles
in bottles
Correct answer: in sewers
in rain
Q4.
Complete the sentence. We use water every day when we brush our .
Correct Answer: teeth
Q5.
Match the words to the definitions.
Correct Answer:river,A natural stream of flowing water.

A natural stream of flowing water.

Correct Answer:mouth,The part of the river that enters the sea.

The part of the river that enters the sea.

Correct Answer:banks,The land alongside the river.

The land alongside the river.

Correct Answer:flood,When a river channel overflows.

When a river channel overflows.

Q6.
Put the sentences in the correct order to describe what happens in a flood.
1 - The water in a river flows below the banks.
2 - The water level of the river begins to rise.
3 - The water reaches the banks.
4 - The river bursts its banks.
5 - River water flows onto surrounding land.
6 - The area around the river is flooded.