Geography
Map reading: Kestrel Vale with teacher notes
Use the fictional Kestrel Vale map to practise grid references, compass directions, measured distances and a route description. Compare three car-park sites using map evidence, then check responses with the separate teacher notes.
Fictional map: Kestrel Vale. Use the full PDF at its printed scale for distance measurements.
Read the complete materialRead the material
Use the fictional Kestrel Vale map to practise grid references, compass directions, measured distances and a route description. Compare three car-park sites using map evidence, then check responses with the separate teacher notes.
Student activity: UK, print scale corrected. 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
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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
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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.
A teaching sequence
Locate places with four- and six-figure references, describe direction and distance, and justify a site choice with evidence from a fictional map.
Fictional map: Kestrel Vale. Use the full PDF at its printed scale for distance measurements.
Read the complete materialRead the key and four figures
Read the map key and locate the station, campsite and viewpoint using the bottom-left corner of each square. Say the easting first, then the northing.
Are you reading easting first, then northing from the bottom-left corner?
Fictional map: Kestrel Vale. Use the full PDF at its printed scale for distance measurements.
Read the complete materialLocate with six figures
Divide a square into tenths and locate the church, viewpoint and station with six figures. Check what lies at 483218 and discuss why the order of the two coordinates matters.
What do the tenths add to the four-figure square reference?
Check directions and printed distance
For directions, start at the first named place and look towards the second. Measure distances centre to centre on the corrected print and divide centimetres by four to obtain kilometres.
Does a printed grid square measure 4 cm before you divide by four?
Explain the route and trade-offs
Describe the road route from station to viewpoint with directions, distances and features. Ask pupils for two map-based settlement reasons and a car-park recommendation with a reason against alternatives.
Which map detail supports your site choice and a reason against another?
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
Use the teacher notes to check station 4721, campsite 4622, viewpoint 4823 and the six-figure positions. Church to station is 1.0 km, church to campsite 1.2 km and church to viewpoint about 1.4 km. Accept the stated tenths and distance tolerances. For the route and site choice, ask which mapped feature supports each reason; the teacher notes favour site B and allow a reasoned alternative.
Give a little support
Model along then up with the school example. Give a 4 cm strip divided into ten equal parts to practise tenths, and trace the route before asking for a written description. Work through one distance calculation together.
Take the idea further
Ask pupils for the six-figure reference of their chosen car-park site. Compare the lane distance with the straight line and explain why they differ. Use the campsite question to distinguish map evidence from checks that would need a real site visit.
Things to keep in mind
Kestrel Vale and its key are fictional; the symbols are not presented as Ordnance Survey symbols. Print the student PDF at Actual size or 100 percent and verify that a grid square measures 4 cm. Resizing changes ruler measurements. The map supports reasoned explanations rather than proving why a real settlement grew or where a real car park belongs.
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: explore fictional Kestrel Vale
Print at actual size and measure a grid square: it should be 4 cm. Locate the school example, first as 4722 and then as 473222, before beginning the questions.
Explore resourceIdeas for using this resource
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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Planning List
The fictional Kestrel Vale map includes a scale, north arrow, key, grid and land features such as a marsh, railway, school and campsite. The teacher-notes edition should be kept distinct from the pupil-facing map when preparing answers.
The Curious Pencil
The map supports KS3 skills in grid references, compass directions and measured distance. The easting-first reminder (along the corridor, then up the stairs) gives teachers a phrase to reinforce the order before pupils work independently.
Chalk & Chai
The scale of 4 cm to 1 km and eight compass points let staff model one reference and direction before setting the remaining tasks. The key identifies features specific to this fictional landscape.
Organised Pile
Kestrel Vale is a fictional 1:25,000 map with grid references, a scale bar and eight compass points. Keep teacher notes separate from pupil answers and check the printed grid and scale before measuring a route.