Ordnance Survey maps: grid references, scale and relief
An OS map answers questions a photograph cannot: how steep, how far, how high, and what is hidden behind the hill.
Part of your national curriculum
- Geographical skills and fieldwork: Build on knowledge of globes, maps and atlases and apply and develop this knowledge routinely in the classroom and in the field
- Geographical skills and fieldwork: Interpret Ordnance Survey maps, including using grid references, scale, topographical and other thematic mapping, and aerial and satellite photographs
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Use grid references, scale, direction and contour patterns to describe a place.
Key learning points
- • Grid references
- • Scale and distance
- • Relief and contours
- • Describing a place properly
This lesson at a glance
- 25 minutes
- 21 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 21
Visual introductionPicture this
Ordnance Survey maps: grid references, scale and relief
An OS map answers questions a photograph cannot: how steep, how far, how high, and what is hidden behind the hill.
In a nutshell
Use grid references, scale, direction and contour patterns to describe a place.
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 21
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Grid references
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 21
Learn
Grid references
Always read along the corridor then up the stairs: eastings first, northings second. A four-figure reference identifies a whole square, for example 3721. A six-figure reference divides each square into tenths and pinpoints a feature to about 100 metres, for example 375218. Practise by finding a church, then a bridge, then a spot height, and checking each against the key.
Reset break
Part 4 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 21
Learn
Scale and distance
On a 1:25 000 map, 4 cm on paper is 1 km on the ground, and the blue grid squares are 1 km across. On 1:50 000, 2 cm is 1 km. Measure a straight distance with a ruler; for a winding road or river, lay a piece of string or mark the edge of paper in short straight steps, then compare against the scale bar.
Quick check
Part 6 of 21
Quick check
Part 7 of 21
Reset break
Part 8 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 21
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Relief and contours
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 21
Learn
Relief and contours
Contours join points of equal height, usually every 5 or 10 metres. Close together means steep; far apart means gentle. Concentric rings mean a hill, with the smallest ring highest. Contours bending upstream in a V mark a valley. Spot heights and triangulation pillars give exact heights. Reading relief lets you describe a landscape, justify where a settlement grew, or explain why a road follows a particular route.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 21
Learn
Describing a place properly
A strong description uses evidence, not impressions: name the feature, give a grid reference, give a direction and a measured distance. 'A nucleated village at 372218, roughly 2 km north east of the bridge, on gently sloping land below the 100 m contour and beside the A-road' earns marks. 'It is in the countryside near a river' does not.
Reset break
Part 12 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 21
Quick check
Part 14 of 21
Explore the idea
Part 15 of 21
Worked example
Worked answer: describe the site and situation of a settlement using map evidence (4 marks)
State the site first: the settlement occupies gently sloping land between the 80 and 100 metre contours on the inside of a river meander, which is flat enough to build on and above the floodplain (2). Then the situation: it lies about 3 km south west of the market town, at a crossing point of the river where two B-roads meet, giving it access to trade routes (2). Every clause is tied to something visible on the map, which is exactly what the examiner is checking.
Reset break
Part 16 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 21
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 18 of 21
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Measure a straight ____ with a ruler; for a winding road or river, lay a piece of string or mark the edge of paper in short straight steps, then compare against the scale bar.
A strong description uses evidence, not impressions: name the feature, give a grid reference, give a ____ and a measured distance.
'A nucleated village at 372218, roughly 2 km north east of the bridge, on gently sloping land below the 100 m ____ and beside the A-road' earns marks.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 21
Game · Recall cards
How do you read a grid reference?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 20 of 21
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Ordnance Survey maps: grid references, scale and relief
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. How do you read a grid reference?
2. On a 1:25 000 map, 1 km is…
3. Contours very close together show…
4. Which grid reference format pinpoints a feature to about 100 m?
Lesson round-up
Part 21 of 21
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Games
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Points this lesson
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Best run
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Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 21 · Watch & discover
How this is going
- Not looked at yet
Build on knowledge of globes, maps and atlases and apply and develop this knowledge routinely in the classroom and in the field
- Not looked at yet
Interpret Ordnance Survey maps, including using grid references, scale, topographical and other thematic mapping, and aerial and satellite photographs