River management
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe different types of river management and explain the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches.
Key learning points
- Hard engineering is the building of fixed structures to help prevent river flooding.
- Soft engineering is working with nature to reduce the risk of river flooding.
- There are economical and environmental costs and benefits to different types of flood management.
- Flood management in one part of the river will have an effect on other parts of the river downstream.
Keywords
Hard engineering - the building of fixed structures to help prevent river flooding
Soft engineering - working with nature to reduce the risk of river flooding
Costs and benefits - the negative aspects of doing something and good reasons for doing it
Mitigate - making the effects of something less severe
Flood risk - the probability of a flood event occurring and its potential impact
Common misconception
Hard engineering is always very effective at protecting from flooding.
Channel straightening, dredging and embankments can all make flooding worse downstream, as the channel can hold more water and speed up the flow.
Teacher tip
Ask students if they have seen any examples of flood protection. Could use Googlemap street view to show examples of flood defences in Keswick.
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a river?
Q2.The place where a river begins is called the .
Q3.What is the end point of a river called?
Q4.What process wears away rocks and soil along a river’s path?
Q5.Which of the following is an example of river deposition?
Q6.What is a floodplain?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is the main aim of river management?
Q2. engineering involves building permanent structures to prevent flooding.
Q3.What does soft engineering focus on?
Q4.Why is it wrong to believe that hard engineering always protects against flooding?
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: River management, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: River management, 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.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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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.