Fieldwork in our local area
Traffic and footfall count
Is your road busier at one time of day than another?
Watch first
Physical and human features on the same map.
Read the film in words (English) ↓
What the film shows
- A spinning globe slows to show the continents and the equator.
- Lines of latitude and longitude are drawn on, then the tropics are shaded.
- The view zooms into one region, where physical features are labelled: mountains, river, coast.
- The same region is shown again as a human map, with cities and routes drawn over the physical features.
What you need
Tick each one as you find it — 0 of 4 ready.
Stay safe: Stand well back from the road with an adult. Never count from the kerb or a driveway entrance.
Plan the fair test
- Change: The time of day you count
- Measure: How many of each kind of traffic pass in ten minutes
- Keep the same: Same spot, same ten minutes of counting, same categories, same counter
Objectives this evidences
- Use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies
- Use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world
Do it, one step at a time
Step 1 of 5
- Step 1. Pick one safe spot well back from the kerb and mark it on a sketch map with a compass direction.
- Step 2. Make a tally sheet with columns for cars, vans and lorries, bikes, and people on foot.
- Step 3. Count for exactly ten minutes and tally everything that passes.
- Step 4. Come back to the same spot at a different time of day and count for exactly ten minutes again.
- Step 5. Draw both counts as a grouped bar chart, then write which time was busier and give a reason.
What should happen
School and work times give sharp peaks. Two ten-minute counts are enough to show a difference, but not enough to prove a pattern.
Think about: How would you make this more reliable without spending all day on it?
Write up your result
A sentence or two is enough to save it.
The lessons behind this practical
Each one opens with the same short film, and the film has a written transcript underneath if reading is easier than watching.
Now the quiz for this topic
Questions come from the lessons behind this practical, so nothing is asked that has not been taught.
Quiz
Fieldwork in our local area quiz
4 questions from the lessons in this stage. No timer, and you can try again as many times as you like.