Key Stage 1 geography · Human and physical geography

KS1 hills, mountains, rivers, forests and soil: a guide

Key Stage 1 geography teaches children the names of the natural features that shape the land. On the national list, the words about land are forest, hill, mountain, river, soil, valley and vegetation. Children learn what each word means, use it to describe pictures and places, and begin to see how the features connect: a river runs through a valley, plants grow in soil, and forests are one kind of vegetation.

Hills, rivers, forests and soil, explained

Hills and mountains are both high ground. A hill is a raised area of land with a rounded or gently sloping shape. A mountain is much higher and steeper, usually rocky near the top. There is no single height at which a hill officially becomes a mountain, and children are not asked to learn one. They are asked to describe the difference in words such as higher, steeper and rockier. A valley is the low land between hills or mountains. Valleys often have a river running along the bottom, which links two of the words together.

A river is a long ribbon of fresh water that flows downhill, beginning high up and usually travelling towards the sea. Children learn that water always runs from higher ground to lower ground, and that rivers are natural, unlike canals, which people have dug. Your child may also hear the words stream, for a very small river, and bank, for the land at its edge. Many schools ask children to follow one river from a hill to the sea in a picture or on a simple map, which also sets up the water cycle work in Key Stage 2.

Soil is the loose top layer of the ground, made from tiny pieces of rock mixed with the remains of dead plants and animals. Plants grow in it, and small creatures such as worms live in it. Vegetation is the word for all the plants growing in a place: grass, flowers, bushes and trees. A forest is a large area covered mostly in trees. Children often think vegetation means vegetables, so it helps to stress that it covers every kind of wild or planted plant growth, from moss on a wall to a woodland.

Teaching mixes first-hand and picture based learning. Children may walk to a park, field or hill if one is nearby, then talk about what they saw. Back in class they sort photographs, label landscape pictures, draw scenes and describe them aloud. The aim is accurate vocabulary, used naturally in sentences such as “The river flows through the valley between two hills.” Features such as these are also the building blocks for the maps, key symbols and fieldwork children meet elsewhere in Key Stage 1, so the words need to feel familiar. Coastal words such as beach, cliff and sea are on the same national list and have their own guide.

Words your child will hear

Hill: An area of land higher than the land around it, with a rounded, sloping shape.
Mountain: Very high, steep ground, often rocky near the top. It is bigger than a hill.
Valley: Low land between hills or mountains, often with a river along the bottom.
River: A long stretch of fresh water flowing downhill, usually towards the sea.
Forest: A large area of land covered mainly with trees.
Soil: The top layer of the ground, made of tiny pieces of rock and plant remains, where plants grow.
Vegetation: All the plants that grow in a place, such as grass, flowers, bushes and trees.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 1 says:

Pupils should be taught to use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to: key physical features and key human features
Key physical features, including: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: following a river from hill to sea

A picture shows a stream starting high on a hillside, running down between two hills and across low land to the sea. Trees and grass grow on its banks. Ask your child to describe the journey using geography words.

Start at the top. The water begins high up on the hill as a small stream. Water always runs downhill, so it flows down from here, joining up with other streams and becoming a river.
Next, notice the low land between the two hills. This is a valley, and the river runs along the bottom of it. Ask your child why the river is there and not on the hilltops: because water flows to the lowest ground.
Look at the banks. The grass, bushes and trees growing there are vegetation. The patch of dense trees in the corner is a forest, because it is a big area covered with trees.
Ask what the plants are growing in. The brown layer under the grass is soil. Plants need it to take in water and stay in place.
Finally, follow the river to the end of the picture, where it meets the sea at the coast. A river always ends somewhere, often in the sea.

“The river starts on a hill and flows down through a valley. Vegetation grows beside it in the soil, and there is a forest nearby. The river ends at the sea.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Using hill and mountain as if they were exactly the same

Both are high ground, and children often use “mountain” for anything big. Because there is no fixed height, the line between them is hard to see.

What helps: Compare two pictures. Ask which looks higher, steeper and rockier. The mountain should win on all three. Encourage your child to give reasons rather than a single word.

Thinking a valley is a type of hill, or a hole in the ground

Valleys are seen as the gap between two hills, so some children picture them as hills or deep pits.

What helps: Use two upturned bowls or cushions as hills. The dip between them is the valley. Roll a small ball down the side of one bowl to show how water would end up along the bottom.

Saying rivers can flow uphill, or that they are made by people

Some rivers look still, and children also see canals and ditches which people have built, so they merge them with natural rivers.

What helps: Pour a little water down a sloping tray and watch it find the lowest place. Explain that a river is natural, while a canal is dug by people.

Believing vegetation means vegetables, or that soil is just dirt

The two words sound alike, and everyday talk treats soil as something to wash off.

What helps: Look in a garden or park and say “vegetation” for every plant you see. Dig a small spoonful of soil and find tiny stones, roots and dead leaves to show that it is made of real ingredients.

How to help at home

Landscape from your pillows. Use cushions, towels and a blanket to build hills, mountains and a valley on the floor. Lay a long blue scarf for a river and ask your child to explain where the water would start and where it would end.
Park walk word hunt. On a walk with an adult, name what you can see: hill, river or stream, forest or woodland, vegetation. Keep well back from the edge of any water. Challenge your child to use a geography word instead of “thing” or “place” each time.
Plant in soil, look at soil. Plant a bean seed or cress in a pot. Before you fill the pot, spread a spoonful of soil on paper and spot the tiny stones and bits of plant. Wash hands afterwards.
Draw a landscape and label it. Ask your child to draw a scene containing a hill, a river, a valley and a forest, and then label each part. Swap and check each other’s labels.
Say it in a sentence. Choose a picture in a book or a view from a window and ask for a full sentence with two geography words, such as “The path goes through the forest to the top of the hill.”

Leads on to

Key Stage 2: Climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts
Key Stage 2: Rivers and the water cycle
Key Stage 2: Mountains
Key Stage 2: Volcanoes and earthquakes
Key Stage 2: Settlements and land use
Key Stage 2: Economic activity and trade
Key Stage 2: Natural resources