Contrasting Non-European Locality Study

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Enquiry questions

What is life like in a different part of the world, and how does it compare to our lives?

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Concepts

This study delivers 1 primary concept and 4 secondary concepts.

Primary concept: Place Study and Comparison (GE-KS1-C006)

Type: Skill | Teaching weight: 1/6

Place study involves developing detailed knowledge of a specific location, understanding its human geography (how people live and work there) and its physical geography (its natural landscape, climate and environment). At KS1, pupils compare a small area of the United Kingdom with a contrasting small area in a non-European country. Comparing places reveals both the universal features of human settlement (all communities need food, shelter, places to work and play) and the differences that arise from location, culture and natural environment. This introduces pupils to the geographical concept of place as somewhere with particular character, not merely a dot on a map.

Teaching guidance: Choose a contrasting non-European locality that offers genuine differences: a Kenyan village, an Indian town, an area of rural China. Gather photographs, maps and accounts of daily life in both areas. Structure comparisons using consistent frameworks: what people do for work, what children's lives look like, what the landscape looks like, what the weather is like. Avoid stereotyping: show the diversity within the contrasting location, not only its most exotic or dramatic features. Enable pupils to see both similarities and differences: children in both places go to school, families in both places share meals, people in both places play and celebrate. Making the familiar strange (looking at the UK through fresh eyes) and the strange familiar (finding shared human experiences across distance) develops geographical empathy. Key vocabulary: place, compare, contrast, similarities, differences, human, physical, local area, country, non-European, settlement, community, landscape, environment, characteristics Common misconceptions: Pupils may focus only on differences between places, ignoring the fundamental similarities in human needs and activities. Explicitly identifying shared human experiences across both localities prevents the othering of distant places. Pupils may believe that more distant places are automatically more different; showing that some non-European localities share characteristics with the UK (urban density, similar climates) challenges this assumption. Stereotyping of non-European localities is a persistent risk; using specific, contemporary photographic evidence rather than generalised descriptions maintains accuracy.

Differentiation

Model response (Entry): Same: both places have houses where families live. Different: the houses look different — ours are brick and theirs are made of different materials.

Model response (Developing): Our school is a brick building with a playground. The school in India might be outdoors or in a simpler building. Both places have children learning to read and write. The weather in India is much hotter, so children might have school at different times of day.

Model response (Expected): Houses in our area have sloped roofs because it rains a lot and the rain needs to run off. They have thick walls and heating because winters are cold. Houses in a hot, dry climate might have flat roofs, small windows to keep out heat, and thick walls to stay cool inside. The climate and available materials explain why the houses are different, but both are designed to keep families comfortable.

Secondary concept: World Geography: Continents and Oceans (GE-KS1-C001)

Type: Knowledge | Teaching weight: 1/6

The Earth's surface is divided into seven large landmasses called continents (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, North America, South America) and five major oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Southern). These are the fundamental units of world geography, providing the spatial framework within which countries, cities and physical features are located. At KS1, pupils learn to name, locate and recall these major global features, building the mental map that underpins all subsequent geographical learning.

Differentiation

Secondary concept: Weather and Climate (GE-KS1-C003)

Type: Knowledge | Teaching weight: 1/6

Weather describes the atmospheric conditions at a specific place and time - whether it is sunny, rainy, windy or cloudy - while climate describes the typical or average weather pattern of a place over a longer period. At KS1, pupils observe and record daily and seasonal weather patterns in the UK, developing understanding of why weather varies through the day and through the year. The relationship between latitude and temperature - how places nearer the Equator are generally warmer than places nearer the Poles - provides the foundational explanation for global climate variation.

Differentiation

Secondary concept: Physical and Human Features (GE-KS1-C004)

Type: Knowledge | Teaching weight: 1/6

Geography categorises features of the world into physical features - those created by natural processes including landforms, water bodies and vegetation - and human features - those created by people including settlements, buildings and land uses. At KS1, pupils learn the key vocabulary for both types of feature, developing the language to describe and categorise the world around them and in studied places. Understanding the distinction between physical and human geography is foundational to the discipline.

Differentiation

Secondary concept: Maps, Atlases and Globes (GE-KS1-C005)

Type: Skill | Teaching weight: 1/6

Maps, atlases and globes are the primary tools geographers use to represent and communicate spatial information. A map is a flat, symbolic representation of a part of the Earth's surface; an atlas is a collection of maps in book form; a globe is a three-dimensional spherical representation. Each has different advantages: globes accurately show the relative sizes of continents and the shape of the Earth, while maps are more portable and convenient for showing detailed information. At KS1, pupils learn to use and interpret each type of representation, developing their ability to extract locational information.

Differentiation

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Thinking lens: Patterns (primary)

Key question: What patterns can I notice here, and what do they allow me to predict? Why this lens fits: Seasonal weather cycles are the most accessible example of recurring natural patterns that pupils can observe directly; recognising the repeating sequence of seasons is the entry point for understanding cyclical physical processes. Question stems for KS1:

What is the same about these?

What is different?

What comes next?

Can you sort these into groups?

Secondary lens: Scale, Proportion and Quantity — The cognitive demand here is zooming between scales — from the global (continents, oceans) to the national (UK nations and capitals) — requiring pupils to hold nested spatial relationships in mind and understand that the same world can be described at different levels of granularity.

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Session structure: Comparison Study + Place Study

This study uses 2 vehicle templates:

Comparison Study (main structure)

A structured comparison of two or more examples, places, periods, or perspectives. Introduces each example with sufficient context, applies a systematic comparison framework, analyses similarities and differences with supporting evidence, and reaches an evaluative conclusion about the significance of those differences.

introduce_examples → systematic_comparison → analysis → evaluation Assessment: Comparative analysis using a structured framework (table, Venn diagram, or essay), demonstrating understanding of both examples and reaching a substantiated evaluative conclusion.

Place Study

An in-depth geographical study of a specific place at local, national, or global scale. Pupils orient themselves within the place, use maps and spatial data, collect information about its physical and human features, analyse geographical processes, compare with other places, and evaluate change or issues.

orientation → mapping → data_collection → analysis → comparison → evaluation Assessment: Place study report combining map work, data presentation, descriptive and explanatory writing about geographical features and processes, and comparative or evaluative conclusion. Teacher note: Use the PLACE STUDY template: help children find out about a place by looking at pictures, maps, and stories from there. Guide them to describe what the place is like using simple geographical words — hot, cold, hilly, flat, busy, quiet. Compare it with where they live. Encourage them to say what is the same and what is different. KS1 question stems:

What is this place like?

Where is it? Can you find it on the map?

What is the same as where we live? What is different?

Would you like to visit this place? Why or why not?

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Study scope

Scale: Local Themes: place comparison, cultural diversity, similarities and differences, daily life Map types: world political map, simple plan, aerial photo Data sources: Photographs, Video resources, Published locality packs, Google Earth Assessment guidance: Can pupils describe daily life in the contrasting locality? Can they identify similarities and differences with their own local area? Do they use geographical vocabulary (human feature, physical feature, compare, contrast) accurately?

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Locations

Non-European Locality (Multiple, locality, local)

Suggested exemplars: Kenyan village (Lamu, coastal Kenya), Indian city (Chembakolli, Tamil Nadu), Chinese village (rural Guangxi), Ghanaian town (Kumasi), Brazilian favela (Rio de Janeiro) Key physical features: Determined by school choice Key human features: Determined by school choice

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Contrasting localities

UK Locality vs Non-European Locality

The NC mandates that KS1 pupils compare a UK locality with a non-European locality to develop early comparative geographical thinking and openness to diverse human geographies. The contrast must balance genuine differences (climate, landscape, economy) with fundamental similarities (children go to school, families share meals, people work and play) to prevent othering.

Compare through: climate, settlement type, daily life, physical features, economic activity Stimulus questions:

How is the other place the same as our area? How is it different?

What do children in the other place do that is the same as what you do?

What does the landscape look like? Is it the same as ours or different?

What is the weather like there? How does it compare to our weather?

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Why this study matters

The contrasting locality study is a statutory requirement ensuring that pupils' earliest geographical experience extends beyond Europe, developing openness to diverse human geographies. Comparing a non-European locality with the local area teaches pupils that geography is about understanding similarities and differences between places, not just learning about 'exotic' locations. The school selects the specific locality, enabling choice of a place with meaningful connections to the school community.

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Pitfalls to avoid

Stereotyping the non-European locality — show daily life, schools, families, and modern infrastructure alongside differences

Focusing only on differences and not similarities — children in both places go to school, play, eat meals, and have families

Using outdated or poverty-focused imagery that creates deficit framing of the studied locality

Sensitive content

Avoid 'charity tourism' framing — present the non-European locality with dignity and agency

Pupils of the heritage culture may have personal connections — create space for their knowledge and experience

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Success criteria

Pupils can:

Describe at least 3 features of daily life in the contrasting locality

Identify at least 2 similarities and 2 differences between the localities

Use a world map to show where the contrasting locality is

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Cross-curricular opportunities

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Geographical skills (KS1)

These disciplinary skills should be woven through teaching, not taught in isolation:

Analysing and presenting geographical data — Selecting and applying appropriate methods — including graphs, thematic maps, choropleth maps and statistical summaries — to organise, present and analyse geographical data, and communicating the findings of that analysis with precision and clarity.

Eight-point compass and Ordnance Survey map skills — Applying the eight compass points, four-figure and six-figure grid references, and the symbols and conventions of Ordnance Survey maps to build knowledge of the UK and the wider world, and to navigate and locate features on topographic maps.

Geographical enquiry — Asking geographical questions, selecting appropriate methods to investigate them, gathering primary and secondary information, and organising findings into a structured response that demonstrates geographical thinking.

Applying maps, atlases and globes routinely across contexts — Building on primary map skills to use a wide range of map types — physical, political, topographic, thematic — fluently and routinely in both classroom and fieldwork contexts, applying them to study geography at multiple scales from local to global.

Geographical enquiry using multiple and complex sources — Designing and conducting geographical investigations that draw on multiple sources of information of increasing complexity — including statistical datasets, satellite imagery, fieldwork data and published research — to answer substantive geographical questions.

Fieldwork in contrasting locations — Planning and carrying out fieldwork in at least two contrasting geographical settings — such as urban and rural, or coastal and inland — collecting and recording primary data systematically and drawing evidence-based geographical conclusions from the results.

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Vocabulary word mat

Prior knowledge (retrieval plan)

Pupils should already know the following from earlier units:

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Knowledge organiser

Key terms:

locality

compare

contrast

similarities

differences

non-European

community

settlement

Core facts (expected standard):

Place Study and Comparison: Explaining why places are similar or different by connecting features to physical geography, climate or human choices.

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Graph context

Node type: GeoStudy | Study ID: GS-GE-KS1-004 Concept IDs:

GE-KS1-C006: Place Study and Comparison (primary)

GE-KS1-C001: World Geography: Continents and Oceans

GE-KS1-C003: Weather and Climate

GE-KS1-C004: Physical and Human Features

GE-KS1-C005: Maps, Atlases and Globes

Cypher query:

``cypher

MATCH (ts:GeoStudy {study_id: 'GS-GE-KS1-004'})

-[:DELIVERS_VIA]->(c:Concept)

-[:HAS_DIFFICULTY_LEVEL]->(dl)

RETURN c.name, dl.label, dl.description

``

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Generated from the UK Curriculum Knowledge Graph — zero LLM generation.