Year 7 Geography Extended Homework Task – My Local Environment
Your task is to work independently to investigate certain aspects about your local
environment. The information below gives you details of the different tasks you
can choose to do; we have called them a ‘pathway’.
Sets 2 and 3 are expected to choose 2 different pathway tasks to do.
Set 1 is expected to choose 3 different pathway tasks to do.
Students can do more if they wish. Each pathway also includes and Gifted &
Talented extension task that students may wish to attempt.
Once you have decided which pathway tasks to complete, use the numbered
worksheets located on the VLE to help you, as they explain what to do in more
detail. If you are unsure of which worksheets to use please ask your geography
teacher for advice.
Pathway 1: What is Dudley town like?
Geography is about people and places. Think about Dudley town. Imagine that you
have a new pen-pal who lives in the USA. You decide to send a postcard to tell this
friend all about Dudley e.g. what it is like, things you can do there. Use books, the
library and the internet to help give you extra information to write about.
Decide on the best image for Dudley that could appear on the front of your
postcard. Paste or draw it onto the postcard template (task sheet 1) before adding
your message.
Gifted & Talented: To stretch yourself, identify 5 places within Dudley that
visitors could visit on a holiday, and label them on a map of the area.
Pathway 2: How do two different parts of Dudley compare?
The local environment is the place in which we live, work and play. The local
environment may be very pleasant, have been damaged by people living in it before
you, or may be being spoilt today. To prevent the environment from being spoilt
further, or to try and improve it if it has already been damaged, it needs to be
protected and carefully managed and looked after.
Look carefully at photos A and B on the task 2 worksheet. They show two
different types of environment within Dudley. Compare the two locations by
completing the activities.
Pathway 3: What is it like in your neighbourhood?
Most of us live in a neighbourhood. The area that immediately surrounds the
building in which we live, usually a few streets that make up part of a town.
You can use an environmental survey to measure the quality of life in your
neighbourhood. This survey will help you to identify any damage or problems. It
can then be used to help solve the problems and, hopefully, to improve your local
surroundings.
Have a go at your own survey by completing the activities on the task 3 worksheet.
Pathway 4: How can your local neighbourhood be improved?
Town planners think carefully about how an area should be built to make the most
out of it. The decisions they make often take into account who is going to use the
space and how crime can be kept to a minimum.
Think carefully about how you would improve your local area and create your own
design by completing task sheet 4.