The UK's coastline
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain what the coast is and describe how we use the UK's coastline.
Key learning points
- The coastline is where the land meets the sea.
- The United Kingdom is a range of islands, each with their own coastline.
- Some parts of the coastline have a beach whereas other parts have cliffs.
- The coastline has many uses, for example for fishing and tourism.
Keywords
Coastline - the boundary between the land and the sea or ocean
Beach - area of land between low and storm tide marks made up of beach materials like sand, mud and stones
Cliff - a tall, vertical rock face
Tourism - people travelling to a different place from where they live for a visit or holiday
Common misconception
That all coastlines are sandy beaches.
Not all coastlines are sandy beaches. Some coastlines have beaches of stones called shingle, and some coastlines only have cliffs without any beach.
Teacher tip
Ask students if they have ever visited the coast before and if so can they share their experiences. What was it like? What did they do there? Alternatively, if you live at the coast, ask students to talk about what your local area is like. Does it have a sand or shingle beach, or cliffs?
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these landscapes is a coastline?
Q2.What can beaches be made from?
Q3.Some coastlines have cliffs instead of beaches. What is a cliff?
Q4.What sort of industries are often based at the coast?
Q5.Sea level in coastal areas regularly rises and falls each day. What is this known as?
Q6.Match the coastal processes to the descriptions.
Wearing away of materials such as rock over a long period of time
Building up of materials in one place over a long period of time
Moving materials along the coast by the sea
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these coastal areas has cliffs?
Q2.What is shingle?
Q3.Why does the UK have such a long coastline?
Q4.What are some reasons why people are attracted to live in coastal areas?
Q5.Which of these are part of the tourism industry?
Q6.What human features might attract tourists to a coastal resort?
To help you plan your 7 geography lesson on: The UK's coastline, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 geography lesson on: The UK's coastline, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 geography lessons from the Coasts: what shapes life at the coast? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.