Key Stage 2 geography · Place knowledge

Studying a region of the Americas in KS2: a guide for parents

In Key Stage 2, children study a region in North or South America and compare it with regions they have studied in the UK and Europe. They learn where the region is, what its landscape and climate are like, and how people live and work there. The curriculum says North or South America but does not name a place, so each school decides, for example the Amazon in Brazil, the Rocky Mountains or California.

A region in North or South America, explained

This is the third of three place studies in Key Stage 2. The national curriculum asks children to understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country and a region in North or South America. It also asks them to extend their knowledge beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. A school chooses one region from the Americas. Typical choices include the Amazon region of Brazil, the Andes, the Rocky Mountains, California, the Mexican Yucatán or the Caribbean, but schools are free to pick something else.

As always, children begin by locating the region. They find North and South America on a globe, name the continents’ largest countries, and place the region in its country. They often meet new ideas along the way, such as how far it is from the UK (across the Atlantic Ocean), what time it is there, and how its position relative to the Equator affects its climate. Maps at different scales, atlases and satellite images are all used.

Physical geography covers landscape, rivers, mountains, climate and wildlife. Human geography covers towns and cities, languages, jobs, transport, farming and the use of natural resources. Take the Amazon region as an example: it is hot and wet all year, very close to the Equator, and drained by the Amazon river and its tributaries. People there include Indigenous communities, farmers, and city dwellers in places such as Manaus. Issues children may discuss include the clearing of rainforest for farming and mining, and the effect this has on wildlife and people.

A good place study avoids a single story. Children are encouraged to ask whose voices are missing, what has changed over time, and how a view from the ground would differ from a view in a tourist guide. They compare it with their UK and European regions, noticing similarities (towns, farming, tourism) as well as differences in size, climate and landscape. Good answers explain reasons as well as describing.

Words your child will hear

Continent: One of the world’s seven large land masses. North America and South America are two of them.
Rainforest: A thick forest in a hot, very wet climate, with tall trees and a huge variety of plants and animals.
Tributary: A smaller river that flows into a larger one.
Indigenous: The first peoples of a place, and their descendants, who lived there before outsiders arrived.
Deforestation: Clearing forest trees permanently, for example to make room for farms, mines or roads.
Biodiversity: The variety of living things, plants and animals, in a place.
Natural resource: Something from nature that people use, such as wood, water, minerals or fertile soil.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region in North or South America
Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America.

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

A worked enquiry: what is life like in the Amazon region?

Suppose your child’s school has chosen the Amazon region of Brazil, a common choice. How is it similar to and different from the UK region they have studied?

Locate it. The Amazon rainforest covers a huge part of northern South America, and the largest share is in Brazil. The Equator crosses the north of the region and most of it lies just to the south, so it is much closer to the Equator than the UK is. Find it on a globe and name the ocean you would cross to reach it from the UK.
Describe the climate. It is hot and humid all year, with daytime temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius in most months, and heavy rain, especially in the wetter season. The UK has cooler weather with clearer seasons, and rain is spread through the year.
Describe the landscape. The Amazon river and its tributaries are the main routes through the forest. Manaus, a city of around two million people, sits deep in the forest, and most people and goods reach it by river or by air, which is very different from most UK cities.
Describe how people use the land. Indigenous communities live in and from the forest. In some areas, trees are cleared for cattle ranching, soya farming and mining. This provides jobs and money but damages habitats and wildlife.
Compare. Both regions have towns, farming and people who depend on the environment. The difference is scale and climate: the Amazon is much larger, wetter, hotter and richer in wildlife, and there is more debate about protecting it.

The Amazon region is similar to a UK region because people there live in towns, farm and rely on their environment for a living. It is different because it is hot and wet all year, close to the Equator, covered by rainforest, and many places are reached by river. Because people clear forest for farming, there is a real choice to make between jobs and protecting wildlife.

Common mistakes and how to help

Treating South America, or the Amazon, as a single country

Children hear “the Amazon” and “South America” used as if they were names of places like France. The Amazon rainforest actually spreads across several countries, and the largest share is in Brazil.

What helps: Look at a political map. Count the countries in South America together and find the ones the Amazon river passes through.

Using “America” to mean only the United States

In everyday UK speech, America often means the USA, so North and South America as continents can sound confusing.

What helps: Use the word continents and a globe. Show that North America includes Canada, the USA and Mexico, and that South America is a separate continent to the south.

Picturing the rainforest as empty wilderness, or all of South America as rainforest

Books and documentaries tend to focus on wildlife, and rarely show cities and farms. South America also has mountains, deserts, grasslands and a long coast.

What helps: Look at a map of biomes and a map of cities side by side. Ask where people live and what other landscapes are on the continent.

Assuming people in the region live in only one way, past or present

Pictures of traditional life tend to be used a lot in children’s books, which can hide modern cities, schools, phones and shops.

What helps: Look for photographs of ordinary life in several kinds of place, and ask how a child of your child’s age might spend a day there.

How to help at home

Cross the Atlantic. On a globe, trace a route from the UK to the region. Ask your child which ocean you cross, which direction you travel, and roughly how long it would take to fly there.
Where does it come from? Check the labels on food and everyday items for ones from the Americas, such as coffee, bananas, chocolate or nuts. Find the countries on a map and talk about the climate that suits each crop.
Compare the weather. Find the average monthly temperatures and rainfall for a place in the region and plot them next to your own town. Ask what the difference means for how people live.
Hear more than one voice. Look for stories, pictures or songs from people who live in the region, not only visitors. Ask your child what they learn from them that a guidebook would miss.

Builds on

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Place study: a region in Africa
Key Stage 3: Place study: a region in Asia
Key Stage 3: Comparing and linking places in Africa and Asia