Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← Geography
GeographyThe United Kingdom25 min★★ difficulty

UK counties, regions and cities

Beyond the four nations, the UK is divided into counties and regions, each with its own mix of landscape, industry and city life.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Locational knowledge: Understand the wider context of the UK, including the physical and human geography of its counties and regions, and its major cities

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand the wider context of the UK, including the physical and human geography of its counties and regions, and its major cities

Key learning points

  • • Counties and regions
  • • Major cities
  • • Physical variety by region
  • • Why regions matter

This lesson at a glance

  • 25 minutes
  • 15 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

contextphysicalgeographycountiesregions

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 15 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 15

Watch first

UK counties, regions and cities

An English teaching video on this topic from HistoGraphy. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand the wider context of the UK, including the physical and human geography of its counties and regions, and its major cities

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 15

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Counties and regions

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 15

Learn

Counties and regions

England alone has dozens of counties, from Cornwall in the far south-west to Northumberland on the Scottish border, grouped into regions such as the South East, the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 15

Learn

Major cities

London, the capital, is a global financial centre with over 8 million people. Birmingham is a hub of manufacturing and transport, Manchester grew from the cotton industry, and Edinburgh is Scotland's historic capital and a centre for finance and tourism.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 15

Quick check

Which English region includes the Lake District's mountains and lakes?

6

Quick check

Part 6 of 15

Quick check

Which city is the UK's capital and a global financial centre?

7

Reset break

Part 7 of 15

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 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.

Stop here for now
8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 15

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Physical variety by region

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 15

Learn

Physical variety by region

The South East includes chalk hills like the North and South Downs; the North West includes the Lake District's mountains and lakes; Yorkshire includes the Yorkshire Dales and the industrial cities of Leeds and Sheffield.

10

Explore the idea

Part 10 of 15

Learn

Why regions matter

Government statistics, transport planning and economic policy are often organised by region, so understanding these divisions helps explain investment, migration and inequality across the UK.

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 15

Quick check

Which county lies in the far south-west of England?

12

Challenge round

Part 12 of 15

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

13

Challenge round

Part 13 of 15

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

England alone has dozens of ____, from Cornwall in the far south-west to Northumberland on the Scottish border, grouped into regions such as the South East, the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber.

14

Mastery quiz

Part 14 of 15

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: UK counties, regions and cities

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Which English region includes the Lake District's mountains and lakes?

  2. 2. Which city is the UK's capital and a global financial centre?

  3. 3. Which county lies in the far south-west of England?

15

Lesson round-up

Part 15 of 15

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

Flooding on the River Calder

The town of Harbrook sits where a steep valley opens onto a flat floodplain. In December 2015, 120 mm of rain fell in 36 hours onto ground that was already saturated. The river rose 2.4 m in five hours, and 380 homes and 54 businesses flooded. Two roads and the railway closed for eleven days.

Geographers pointed to physical causes — steep slopes, impermeable rock, heavy rainfall — and human causes: moorland drained upstream, new housing built on the floodplain, and drains designed for smaller storms.

Since then the town has planted 40 hectares of woodland upstream, built leaky dams in small streams, and raised flood walls to 1.8 m. In the storm of 2020 the peak river level was 0.3 m lower and 40 homes flooded, not 380.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. List two physical and two human causes of the 2015 flood.
  2. Explain how planting woodland upstream lowers the river's peak level.
  3. Using the figures, judge how successful the scheme has been. Quote data in your answer.

  • Case study notes

    Writing

    Write the place, the facts and the figures from this lesson so you can revise them later.

    Half a page

  • Explain answer

    Writing

    Answer in full sentences, giving causes and effects. Use one figure or place name as evidence.

    8–10 sentences

  • Map or sketch

    Diagram

    Draw the map, cross-section or field sketch with a key, title and labels, then photograph it.

    1 map with a key

  • Data work

    Working out

    Plot your figures as a graph on paper and write one sentence about the pattern.

    1 graph + 1 sentence

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 15 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Understand the wider context of the UK, including the physical and human geography of its counties and regions, and its major cities

Good Learning Co. — personalised UK curriculum learning, built around what each learner loves.