The causes of flooding
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe the human and physical causes of river flooding.
Key learning points
- Floods occur when a river receives more water than the channel has capacity for.
- Heavy and prolonged rainfall are the main physical causes of flooding.
- Other physical causes of flooding are the shape and geology of the drainage basin.
- Deforestation and urbanisation are the main human causes of flooding.
Keywords
Prolonged rainfall - continuous rainfall that lasts for longer than expected
Relief - the physical shape of the land in an area, including its height and steepness
Geology - the physical structure of an area and what rocks and minerals exist there
Deforestation - the complete removal of trees from an area
Urbanisation - the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities rather than the countryside
Common misconception
Flooding is only caused by physical factors such as heavy rainfall.
Human factors can lead to flooding too, such as deforestation.
Teacher tip
Ask students to research a recent flooding event in the UK.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the process where water changes from a liquid to a gas?
Q2.Which river process involves wearing away the riverbed and banks?
Q3.What is it called when the river drops material it is carrying?
Q4.Which landform is found in the upper course of a river?
Q5.What type of erosion involves rocks grinding against the riverbed?
Q6.In which part of a river do you find wide, shallow meanders?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is prolonged rainfall?
Q2.How does steep relief contribute to flooding?
Q3.How does deforestation increase flood risk?
Q4.Flooding is only caused by physical factors like heavy rainfall.
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: The causes of flooding, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: The causes of flooding, 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.
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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.