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The topic of rivers is a key element of all GCSE specifications and is stipulated by some awarding organisations as a choice for assessed fieldwork.
Often, the Bradshaw model is used as a theoretical framework which pupils measure river characteristics against. However, this poses two significant issues. Firstly, the Bradshaw model itself doesn’t appear in the specification as a piece of explicit content and so this is an additional theory which needs to be taught.
Secondly, the number of sites which can be accessed and measured in a day in the field is limited, rendering comparison to the Bradshaw model fairly useless. This resource simplifies the premise somewhat by asking pupils to assess whether the characteristics of a river change as it flows downstream. It can be done over a fairly short distance.
The other thing which this resource builds in is pupil independence. The way in which the fieldwork is set up in the classroom encourages pupils to make educated decisions, giving them ownership and fostering independence.
What they actually end up doing and measuring in the field will probably be the same as everyone else who measures the characteristics of a river, but it is the set-up to the investigation which is key. The idea for this resource came from two Secondary Geography Quality Mark Centres of Excellence in Fieldwork – Reading School and Cambourne Village College.
Assessing whether the characteristics of a river change as it flows downstream
Aim: To assess whether the characteristics of a river change as it flows downstream
Access required: Three different sites along the course of a river. These don’t need to be widely spaced, but should be obviously different in terms of land use, sinuosity of channel, distance downstream etc (see example below). Pupils should consider the extent to which these sites are accessible and create their own risk assessment for the three sites.
Method: Set up the fieldwork in the classroom with the ridiculous statement ‘rivers don’t change as they flow downstream’. Students then work in groups of three or four and draw on their knowledge and understanding to show that rivers do in fact change as they flow downstream. They discuss a possible location, methods they would use, equipment they would need to bring and sampling strategies they would employ to prove this. This activity could be scaffolded if pupils don’t have the confidence to do this independently.
Almost all groups will come to the conclusion that they would like to measure river width, depth and velocity, although there might be some additional, interesting characteristics which they can feasibly measure. Inevitably, they also want to go to exotic locations in order to prove the statement! However, by posing questions around the logistics of this – how are you going to get there? How much is it going to cost? etc. they will quickly realise that somewhere more local is more practical. Giving them an OS map of the local area and asking them to give the grid references of some suitable locations will also allow them to practice their map skills.
Data collection: Students carry out the methods that they have planned in order to collect data which will help them to prove that rivers do change as they flow downstream. Often this will involve measuring the width of a river with a tape measure, measuring the depth with a metre stick and taking velocity readings with either a floating object – such as a cork or stick – or a hydroprop.
As an extension, and with a small group, pupils could carry out their fieldwork on a wider and deeper river using canoes as transport. In this example, teachers gave the students safety parameters for canoeing, but students created their hypotheses, developed their sampling strategy and agreed as a group how to work together to collect all the data.
Questions:
- How might we need to adapt our data collection methods and equipment if measuring a wider and deeper river?
- How might using different equipment e.g. cork vs hydroprop, affect the accuracy and reliability of our data?
- Why might this information be important and to who? (links to careers, understanding flood risk and management, ecosystem health and resilience to climate change)
Data Presentation:
Pupils can choose how to best present their data to disprove the ridiculous statement, but it is likely that cross-sections, using their width and depth data, and velocity graphs or maps will be key.
Adaptation:
If it is difficult to get off-site to a river, then this activity can be adapted to any small stretch of flowing water on the school site or in the local area.
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The Geographical Association (GA) has worked closely with the Field Studies Council (FSC) to develop these resources.
