Key Stage 1 geography · Human and physical geography

KS1 towns, villages, cities, farms and ports: a guide

Human features are the parts of a place that people have built or made, as opposed to physical features made by nature. In Years 1 and 2 children learn a set of ten key words: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop. Using them accurately helps children describe their own area, compare it with other places and read the symbols on maps with understanding.

Towns, villages, farms and ports, explained

Geographers sort what they see into two groups. Physical features, such as hills and rivers, were there without any help from people. Human features were built, dug, planted or arranged by people. At Key Stage 1 the national list of human features is short and everyday: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop. Schools often add other everyday words, such as station, church or school, but these ten are the ones every child is taught, and children are expected to use them correctly in speech and in their writing and to spot them in photographs and on walks.

Villages, towns and cities are all places where people live and are usually described by size. A village is the smallest, perhaps with a shop, a school and a church or village hall, surrounded by countryside. A town is bigger, with a high street, many shops, several schools and often a railway or bus station. A city is the largest, with many buildings, lots of jobs and often a cathedral, university or large hospital. In the United Kingdom a place becomes a city when it is officially given that status, so a few cities are smaller than some large towns. Children do not need that detail, but size comparisons are the starting point.

Other words on the list describe buildings and places of work. A house is a building where a family or household lives, and homes also include flats and bungalows. A shop sells goods to customers. An office is a place where people do work such as using computers, answering phones and making plans, perhaps for a council or a bank. A factory is a building where things are made, often with machines, for example bread, furniture or cars. A farm is land and buildings used for growing crops or keeping animals to produce food.

Port and harbour are often confused. A harbour is an area of water sheltered by the shape of the land or by walls that people have built, so that boats can stay safe from rough seas. A port is a place where ships load and unload goods and passengers, often with cranes, warehouses and ferries. A big port usually has a harbour, but a small fishing harbour may not be a port in the full sense. Teaching is practical: local walks to count and name features, photograph sorting, and simple enquiry questions such as “Why do people live here?” or “What would we need in a new village?”

Words your child will hear

Village: A small place where people live, with few shops and services, usually in the countryside.
Town: A bigger place than a village, with a high street, many shops and more services.
City: A large place with lots of buildings and people. In the UK, a city is given that title officially.
Factory: A building where goods are made, often using machines.
Farm: Land and buildings used to grow crops or keep animals for food.
Port: A place where ships load and unload goods and passengers.
Harbour: A sheltered area of water where boats can stay safely.

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 human features, including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop

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

Try it: human or physical?

A teacher gives your child eight cards: river, harbour, hill, shop, beach, factory, forest and office. Which are human features, and how can they tell?

Choose one test question to ask about every card: “Did people build or make this?” If the answer is yes, it is a human feature. If it was there without people, it is a physical feature.
River: people did not make it. It formed naturally as water flowed downhill. Physical. Hill: shaped by nature. Physical.
Beach and forest are both there naturally, even though people visit them. Physical. A forest may be managed by people, but the trees are growing as plants do on their own, so we keep it in the physical group at this age.
Harbour: on the national list this is a human feature, because people build harbour walls and jetties and use the harbour for their boats. Human. Shop, factory and office are all buildings made by people for a purpose. Human.
Check the answer by saying one sentence for each: “A harbour is a human feature because people built the walls and use it to keep boats safe.”

Human features: harbour, shop, factory and office. Physical features: river, hill, beach and forest.

Common mistakes and how to help

Mixing up a city and a country, for example saying “London is a country”

Children hear both words often, and London, Cardiff and Edinburgh are named alongside England, Wales and Scotland.

What helps: Use a simple ladder: a country contains cities, towns and villages. Find your own town or village on a map of your country, then find a city, and say “London is a city in England.”

Using port and harbour as if they mean the same thing

Both are by the sea and both have boats, so they look the same in a quick photograph.

What helps: Ask two questions. Is it mainly keeping boats safe? That is a harbour. Are ships loading and unloading goods or passengers? That is a port. A picture with cranes and containers shows a port.

Thinking a farm is a physical feature because it has fields, animals and plants

The plants and animals are living things in the countryside, so a farm can feel natural.

What helps: Ask who made the fields, fences and barns and who decides what to grow. People organised the land, so the farm is a human feature, even though the crops and animals are alive.

Assuming human features are only buildings

Most of the words on the list are buildings, so children decide that a feature must have walls and a roof.

What helps: On a walk, point out roads, bridges, fences, parks, canals and paths. Each one was built or made by people. Ask your child to find five human features that are not buildings.

How to help at home

Street walk spotter. On a walk with an adult, name the human features you can see: houses, shops, offices, a farm if you live near one. Ask your child to say what each place is for and who works there.
Village, town or city? Talk about places you know or have visited and ask which word fits each one and why. Look at pictures of a village green, a high street and a city skyline and compare what you see.
Where does it come from? Pick a food at home, such as milk, bread or eggs, and talk about its journey: farm, factory, lorry, shop, kitchen. Each step uses a human feature.
Build a small town. Use boxes, building blocks or drawings to build a town with a harbour, a shop and an office. Ask your child to explain why each building is placed where it is.

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