Lesson Plan – Shopping for Profit
CURRICULUM FOCUS
Retail service provision. Using a GIS to evaluate potential sites for a new retail outlet.
LESSON OBJECTIVES



Consider how retail patterns change over time, e.g. in the local area.
Identify the locational requirements of a large retail outlet, e.g. supermarket.
Use a GIS simulation to evaluate several sites for a new supermarket.
LESSON OUTCOMES




List the criteria by which retail locations are judged.
Apply these criteria to choose suitable sites for a new supermarket.
Justify the decisions that have been made.
Reflect on the value of GIS to retail planners and developers.
PROGRAMME OF STUDY OBJECTIVES
Geographical enquiry and skills
1 In undertaking geographical enquiry, pupils should be taught to:
d analyse and evaluate evidence and draw and justify conclusions
2 In developing geographical skills, pupils should be taught:
c to use atlases and globes, and maps and plans at a range of scales, including Ordnance
Survey 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 maps
g decision-making skills, including using ICT
Knowledge and understanding of places
3 Pupils should be taught:
d to explain how and why changes happen in places and the issues that arise from these
changes
Knowledge and understanding of patterns and processes
4 Pupils should be taught to:
a describe and explain patterns of physical and human features and relate these to the
character of places and environments
Breadth of study
6g The changing characteristics of settlements, including:
ii
how and why the provision of goods and services in settlements varies
iv patterns and changes in urban land use
6h Changing distribution of economic activity and its impact, including:
ii
the geographical distribution of one or more economic activities
iii how and why the distribution has changed and is changing (for example, the impact of
new technologies), and the effects of such changes
This lesson plan also supports the following QCA Sample Scheme of Work:
Unit 9: Shopping – Past, Present and Future
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS



Pupils should be able to identify examples of retail land use in their local area.
Pupils should already be aware that shopping patterns change over time.
Pupils should already be familiar with the use of Ordnance Survey maps.
RESOURCES





Teacher laptop or desktop PC (for demonstration only)
Interactive whiteboard (for demonstration only)
Data projector (for demonstration only)
Enough PCs for pupils to work in paired groups
Printed copies of the accompanying activity sheets
ACTIVITIES
Summary
Starter – 5 minutes – Whole class – The impact of supermarkets on shopping patterns in the
UK.
Introduction – 10 minutes – Teacher led – The locational requirements of a new supermarket.
Development – 30 minutes – Paired groups – Pupils complete a GIS-based decision-making
simulation on the best location for a new supermarket.
Plenary – 15 minutes – Whole class – Pupils feedback their decisions and reflect on the
learning that has taken place.
Homework – Pupils write a structured report for Max-Mart Ltd on the ways in which GIS can
be used in wind farm development.
Starter
5 minutes – Whole class
The teacher should refer pupils back to previous work on shopping.
The teacher should then share the lesson objectives with the class.
Project a large scale map of a local town or city centre on the interactive whiteboard screen.
Highlight all the different supermarkets shown on the map.
Project a historical map of the same area to demonstrate the changes that have occurred.
Emphasise the tremendous impact that supermarkets have had on UK shopping patterns.
Ask pupils to suggest reasons why so many people choose to shop in supermarkets.
The teacher should record each valid suggestion on the board for reference.
A wide variety of suggestions can be expected.
Introduction
10 minutes – Teacher led
The teacher should ask pupils to describe the distribution of the supermarkets shown on the
map and to consider the potential reasons why they are distributed in such a way.
The teacher should emphasise that supermarkets have many locational requirements. In
other words, there are many site factors that need to be satisfied if a new supermarket is
going to be successful. The teacher should highlight the idea that relatively few areas in any
town or city will possess the correct combination of locational characteristics.
The teacher should then ask pupils to identify some examples of these locational
requirements.
Typical examples are likely to include:
 large amounts of land
 cheap land prices
 far away from competing stores
 easy to get to
 lots of wealthy customers nearby
Selected pupils should be asked to explain why each locational requirement is so important.
Development
30 minutes – Paired groups
The teacher should direct the pupils to the GIS simulation activity.
Pupils are initially presented with a title screen and a series of briefing screens that describe
the context for the activity.
The pupils are asked to complete a GIS-based decision-making simulation.
Pupils adopt the role of a site analyst for a large supermarket chain.
Their aim is to evaluate the suitability of 5 potential supermarket sites.
Pupils will evaluate each site using the criteria listed below:
 Availability of land




Cost of land
Ease of access
Distance from competitor stores
Access to higher-income customers
As with a real GIS, pupils are able to zoom in and out and to adjust the amount of map
information on offer by adding or removing layers of information from the display.
Detailed step-by-step instructions on how to use the GIS and how to score each potential site
are provided in the accompanying activity sheet. It is recommended that teachers use the
activity sheet to familiarise themselves with the simulation before attempting the activity in
class.
Once all 5 sites have been scored, pupils are able to access a new screen where they can
confirm which 3 sites they think are best. They are then given feedback on their choices and a
rating based on the quality of their decision-making.
Pupils are then given the opportunity to review their choices in an attempt to improve their
rating.
The ultimate aim is to acquire the highest rating by choosing the best combination of sites.
Plenary
15 minutes – Whole class
The teacher should lead a discussion on the main activity.
Pupils should be asked to feedback their views on the relative advantages and disadvantages
of each potential site.






What was the best combination of sites?
Which site was best overall?
Why was it the best?
What was the worst combination of sites?
Which site was worst overall?
Why was it the worst?
If time allows, the teacher could take a tally of the pupils’ chosen schemes.
Pupils should then be asked to consider the likely effects of the following events on their
scores.
How might the following events influence your final decisions?
 EVENT A – Star decide to close their store at 190868.
 EVENT B – A rival offer for Site 3 increases the cost of land to £750 per m².
 EVENT C – A new major road is built between the junctions at 197851 and 202837.
Pupils should then be asked to evaluate the activity they have just completed.


In what ways is the activity over-simplified?
How could it still be improved?
If possible, allow time for pupils to reflect on the learning that has taken place.



What have you learnt about retailing?
What have you learnt about GIS?
How did you learn?



What did you find easy?
What did you find difficult?
How did the use of the GIS affect the learning outcome?
Finally, allow time to set up the homework task.
Homework
Pupils should be invited to produce a report for Max-Mart Ltd on the ways in which GIS can
be used by supermarket chains. The report should be persuasive in style, so as to convince
the reader that GIS can play an important role in supermarket planning and management.
Pupils should use the writing frame provided in the accompanying activity sheet to scaffold
their writing and structure their report correctly.
Pupils should be asked to identify for themselves the success criteria by which the homework
will be assessed.
Typical examples of such success criteria are likely to include:
 Imaginative use of ideas
 A good balance of detail across the before, during and after sections
 Appropriate references to the information contained in the GIS-based simulation
 Effective use of persuasive language, etc.
INCLUSION AND DIFFERENTIATION
There is a great deal of work in this lesson that can be adapted to meet the demands of
individual classes.
Teacher selection of the pairings can enable peer support for those pupils who have difficulty
making use of ICT applications. Alternatively, pupils could be placed in small groups when
completing the tasks. This allows for a greater level of collaborative learning and decisionmaking and provides an opportunity for the teacher to work with targeted groups of pupils.
The main task can be differentiated by using the guidance notes in the accompanying activity
sheet. Pupils making slower progress will appreciate the step-by-step support provided and
will benefit from the structured questions on offer. Pupils making faster progress, however,
should be able to complete the GIS simulation without the need for such support. Teachers
can edit the activity sheet to match the particular needs of their classes.
The homework task can be differentiated by using the writing frame included in the
accompanying activity sheet. Pupils making slower progress, for instance, may require
additional scaffolding in order to structure their report. In contrast, pupils making faster
progress may well be able to structure their accounts in a more independent manner. Again,
teachers can edit the writing frame to match the particular needs of their classes.
PROGRESSION
This lesson builds on studies that pupils have previously undertaken on shopping. For
example, pupils should already be able to identify examples of retail land use in their local
area and should know that shopping patterns change rapidly over time.
Pupils are now required, however, to reflect on the impact of supermarkets on shopping
patterns and to consider the locational requirements of a new supermarket. This will raise
their awareness of the changes that have occurred in retailing over recent decades and will
help to prepare them for later work on retail service provision in the local area.
Suitable follow-up work may include a study of how new technologies, such as the arrival of
online shopping via the Internet, are leading to further changes in UK shopping patterns.
ASSESSMENT
This lesson has been planned with an emphasis on assessment for learning.
Explicitly sharing the learning objectives, for example, helps pupils to know what they should
have learnt by the end of the lesson. This gives them a basis from which they can judge their
progress in the lesson. Questioning sessions have been planned to include open questions
that will extend learning and increase challenge. The plenary session includes an opportunity
for pupils to reflect on their learning and to self-assess the progress they have made.
Pupil understanding can be assessed informally by their ability to contribute to the starter
discussion and to apply the information given by the teacher to complete the GIS simulation.
The use of success criteria in setting up the homework task provides the framework by which
pupils’ work can be self-assessed, peer-assessed or formally teacher-assessed at a later
date.