Settlement patterns (complete lesson)

This lesson introduces the terms linear, dispersed and nucleated settlements. It comes complete with PowerPoint and worksheets to structure the activities.

The pupils first learn what the phrases mean, and then …

… see if they can identify the patterns in aerial photograph examples of all three.

They then go on to look at the causes that lead to the development of all three types of settlement pattern.

After this, the pupils describe each settlement pattern in their own words …

… and then using online maps like google, they try to find examples.

The lesson starts to introduce the idea that the larger the settlement, the more services it has.

Lastly, if the pupils have time, they find and print off aerial photos of each settlement pattern using the satellite feature of online mapping tools.