Geography
Map reading: explore fictional Kestrel Vale
Read a fictional Kestrel Vale map and use its grid, compass, scale and key to answer questions. Two pupil pages move from references and straight-line distances to route description and site judgement. The separate teacher guide provides worked reasoning, tolerances and models for the open questions.
Fictional map: Kestrel Vale. Use the full PDF at its printed scale for distance measurements.
Read the complete materialRead the material
Read a fictional Kestrel Vale map and use its grid, compass, scale and key to answer questions. Two pupil pages move from references and straight-line distances to route description and site judgement. The separate teacher guide provides worked reasoning, tolerances and models for the open questions.
Pupil worksheet. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
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NAME CLASS DATE GEOGRAPHY AGES 11 TO 14 MAP SKILLS Map reading: Kestrel Vale Map reading: Kestrel Vale NC England KS3 Geography: Geographical skills and fieldwork I can give grid references. I can use 8 compass points. I can measure distance. N FICTIONAL MAP: KESTREL VALE Eastings first: along the corridor, then up the stairs. 186 186 48 48 61 61 80 80 100 100 120 120 140 140 160 160 A B C N 1:25,000 0 500 m 1 km 4 cm = 1 km KESTREL VALE KESTREL VALE Raven Knoll Raven Knoll Hollin Wood Hollin Wood Kest Marsh Kest Marsh River Kest River Kest Low Farm Low Farm to Hexley to Hexley 46 47 48 49 50 21 22 23 24 KEY (MADE FOR THIS MAP) River Main road Minor road or lane Footpath Railway Station Buildings Church School Campsite Viewpoint Woodland Marsh 100 Contour, every 20 m 186 186 Spot height (m) A Car park site Pupil activity | Page 1 of 2
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Use the lines at the bottom-left corner of the square: easting, then northing. EXAMPLE School: 4722 (47 along, 22 up). a) Station b) Campsite c) Viewpoint d) What covers most of 4623? Stand on the first place. Which way is the second? N NE E SE S SW W NW a) Church to viewpoint b) Church to school c) Low Farm to church d) Church to campsite 47 48 3 22 23 2 Split the square into tenths. Count tenths along, then up. School: 473222 a) Church b) Viewpoint c) Station d) What is at 483218? Measure centre to centre. 4 cm = 1 km: divide by 4. a) Church to station = b) Church to campsite = Go further: church to viewpoint = GEOGRAPHY AGES 11 TO 14 USE THE MAP ON PAGE 1 Find it, measure it, explain it Find it, measure it, explain it 1 Four-figure refs 3 Compass directions 2 Six-figure refs 4 Distance cm km cm km cm km 5 Describe a route Station to viewpoint by road: give directions, distances, features. Q5 6 Why here? Give two reasons why Kestrel Vale grew where it did. Use map evidence. Q6 7 A new car park Choose site A, B or C. Give a reason for it and one against the others. Q7 Pupil activity | Page 2 of 2
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Q HOW IT FOLLOWS FROM THE MAP ANSWER 1a Station symbol sits between eastings 47 and 48, northings 21 and 22 4721 1b Campsite tent: between 46 and 47, 22 and 23 4622 1c Viewpoint: between 48 and 49, 23 and 24 4823 1d Trees fill the square west of the river at the top left Hollin Wood 2a Church: 6 tenths past 47, 5 tenths past 22 476225 2b Viewpoint: 6 tenths past 48, 5 tenths past 23 486235 2c Station: 6 tenths past 47, 5 tenths past 21 476215 2d 3 tenths past 48, 8 tenths past 21: the farmhouse Low Farm 3a 1 km east and 1 km north of the church NE 3b 0.3 km west and 0.3 km south SW 3c From the farm: 0.7 km west and 0.7 km north NW 3d Same northing, 1.2 km further west W 4a Due south, 1 grid square: 4.0 cm ÷ 4 1.0 km 4b Due west: 4.8 cm ÷ 4 1.2 km Accept one tenth either way in the last digit of each six-figure part (for example 475 to 477). Distances: accept 0.1 km either way. Go further: 5.7 cm, about 1.4 km (the diagonal of one grid square). Talk question: the village is on the east bank, but the campsite is on the west bank near the marsh. Is that a sensible place for tents? What would you check first? SUPPORT AND STRETCH Support: give a tenths ruler (a 4 cm strip split into 10). Stretch: ask for the six-figure reference of their chosen car park site, and why the lane (about 1.4 km) is longer than the straight line. Print at actual size (not "fit to page") so grid squares measure 4 cm. Kestrel Vale and its key are fictional, not Ordnance Survey symbols. TEACHER PAGE ANSWERS CHECKED AGAINST THE MAP GRID Map reading: teacher notes Map reading: teacher notes NC England KS3 Geography: Geographical skills and fieldwork 1 Answers: tasks 1 to 4 SIX-FIGURE POSITIONS USED TO DRAW THE MAP School 473222 Church 476225 Station 476215 Campsite 464225 Viewpoint 486235 Low Farm 483218 Site A 468218 Site B 481222 Site C 486232 Use these to check any pupil's own references, for example for the site they chose in Q7. 2 Model answers 5 to 7 From the station go north on the minor road for about 850 m into Kestrel Vale. At the main road, with the church ahead, turn right (east). After about 150 m turn left onto the lane and climb north-east about 1.4 km, past spot height 61, up Raven Knoll to the viewpoint. Look for: directions, distances and features. Q5 A bridging point: the main road crosses the River Kest here. A dry site: the village is on the east bank, out of Kest Marsh and the flat floodplain. Flat land below the 80 m contour is easy to build on. Roads meet here, and the railway has a station close by. Look for: two developed reasons, each backed by map evidence. Q6 B is the strongest: beside the main road, flat, dry and close to the school, church and station. A is in the marsh beside the river, so it may flood and would damage wetland. C is up a narrow lane on a slope, far from the village. Credit C if argued for viewpoint visitors with its problems named. Q7 COMMON ERRORS Northings first: 2247 instead of 4722. Say "along the corridor, then up the stairs". Wrong corner: using the top or right line, giving 4822 or 4723. The square takes the numbers of its bottom-left corner. Six-figure: counting tenths from the wrong line, or giving the northing first (225476). Distance: forgetting to divide by 4, or measuring along the lane. Teacher guide | Page 1 of 1
A teaching sequence
Pupils should give four- and six-figure references in easting-first order, describe direction from the stated starting place and convert measured distances using the scale. Their route and car-park judgements should cite specific features and acknowledge a disadvantage.
Fictional map: Kestrel Vale. Use the full PDF at its printed scale for distance measurements.
Read the complete materialLocate a feature along then up
Use the bottom-left corner of a square for four-figure references. Divide it into tenths for six figures, asking pupils to explain “along, then up” as they locate a feature.
Which bottom-left grid lines identify the feature's square?
Fictional map: Kestrel Vale. Use the full PDF at its printed scale for distance measurements.
Read the complete materialUse compass and centre points
Stand mentally at the first place named in each direction question. Use the compass to describe where the second lies, then measure centre to centre for the straight-line questions.
Are you standing mentally at the first place named?
Convert at the verified print scale
Convert centimetres to kilometres by dividing by four. Compare the church-to-viewpoint straight line with the longer road or lane route before writing travel directions.
Why is the road route longer than the straight-line measurement?
Fictional map: Kestrel Vale. Use the full PDF at its printed scale for distance measurements.
Read the complete materialJustify a map-based choice
Describe the station-to-viewpoint route and justify settlement or car-park choices from map evidence. Ask for a reason supporting the chosen site and a reason against another, then discuss any trade-off.
What reason supports your chosen car-park site, and what trade-off remains?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
A useful response gives the station as 4721 and the church as 476225. Church to station is 4 cm, or 1 km, at the correct print scale. For the car park, B is strongly supported by access and terrain; a reasoned C choice can be credited if its slope and narrow-lane problems are acknowledged.
Give a little support
Use a 4 cm strip divided into ten parts to practise six-figure positions. Trace an easting and then a northing from the lower-left corner, and measure one centre-to-centre distance together. Keep the reference and distance tasks separate until each method is secure.
Take the idea further
Give the six-figure reference of the selected car-park site and compare access by lane with straight-line distance. Explain why the route to the viewpoint is longer, using its direction and terrain. Revise the site argument to include a practical drawback as well as an advantage.
Things to keep in mind
Print at 100%, without fit-to-page. Recheck the physical print before measuring. Kestrel Vale and its key are fictional.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Another starting point
Explore a different teaching task from this selection.
Map reading: Kestrel Vale with teacher notes
Give pupils both student pages. Keep the teacher notes separate. Find the north arrow, grid, scale and key, then model school at 4722 and 473222 before pupils try the station.
Explore resourceIdeas to try with your class
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet the creators whose teaching interests connect with this template. Find an approach to try with your class.
Struan Whitelaw
I lead Geography across secondary and teach a Year 8 unit on the Mekong Delta in coordination with Vietnamese Studies.
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Narin Kittisak
I begin Geography and Global Perspectives inquiries with local places, maps and field observations, asking pupils to compare evidence and identify what their account still needs to establish.
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Ewan Tasker
I use local Geography fieldwork with data-processing support that leaves interpretation to pupils, asking what observations show and how securely they answer the geographical question.
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Gareth Pryce
My classroom work is Year 7 Geography, so transition is not an abstract process for me: it meets pupils in the routines and subjects they encounter when they arrive.
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Kind Check-In
The pupil edition uses the fictional Kestrel Vale map for four- and six-figure references, compass direction, scale conversion and a car-park choice. Its example gives School as 4722 and 473222 in easting-first order.
Storytime Sidekick
For ages 11 to 14, the tasks progress from locating a feature to describing direction and measuring from centre to centre. The final site judgements require a reason and an acknowledged disadvantage rather than a bare preference.
Page-Turner Planner
The “along, then up” cue and bottom-left grid lines make the reference process concrete. Pupils can use the map key to identify features before splitting a square into tenths for a six-figure reference.
Book and Biscuit
Kestrel Vale is fictional, and a site preference is an exercise rather than a planning recommendation. Confirm scale measurements on the printed map and support the car-park judgement with features plus a disadvantage.