Drainage basins
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe features of a river system and explain how water flows through a drainage basin to a river.
Key learning points
- A drainage basin is the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
- The edge of a drainage basin is known as the watershed.
- Source, mouth, confluences and tributaries are parts of the river system.
- Precipitation that falls in the drainage basin moves to the river through a series of stores and flows.
- A drainage basin is an example of an open system.
Keywords
Drainage basin - the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
Watershed - the boundary of a drainage basin
Tributary - a smaller river that joins the main river
Confluence - the point where two rivers meet
Mouth - where the river enters the ocean
Common misconception
There is one source to a river.
There can be many different sources within a drainage basin system.
Teacher tip
Use OS maps to find different features of the drainage basin.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a river?
Q2.Where do rivers start?
Q3.What is the hydrological cycle?
Q4.What is evaporation?
Q5.What is precipitation?
Q6.Where is most of Earth’s water stored?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is a drainage basin?
Q2.What is the boundary of a drainage basin called?
Q3.What is a meander?
Q4.Which statement is correct about the source of a river?
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: Drainage basins, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: Drainage basins, 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 Rivers: How do rivers shape the land? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.