Geography Week 2 - Towns along the river

Apologies for being so UK centric last week, and a huge thank you to everyone who pointed it out so nicely. I am so pleased to say not a COB or TUB among you. Yes, I got it wrong, Sorry! I was so happy with the cycling that I forgot to think about our overseas learners.

This week I would like you to think about the one of the major towns along the river near you. Many of us live along the River Thames so the major towns to be considered are Oxford, Reading, Windsor and Henley on Thames. For our USA home schoolers, you can research towns like La Crosse or Saint Paul along the Mississippi. Those of you who live in North Carolina can chose the nearest river to you, after all you have a number to choose from, and then a reasonable size town. We are not looking at cities this week.

So, let us look at the definitions: A town is a medium-sized human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages but smaller than cities, though the criteria surrounding the size varies considerably in different parts of the world.

A city is a large town. In the UK, the title of City was granted by the monarch, it was traditional given to a town with a cathedral. If enough people lived in the area to raise sufficient funds to pay for the cathedral, the area was populated enough to be called a city and all it means is that you can call your self a city and not a town. Worldwide, a better definition would be an area in which large numbers of people live fairly close together. Cities usually have their own separate government and systems for maintaining and providing unities and transportation.

I would like you to produce a word document with information about when the town was established, any key events linked to the town, the industrial history of the town, do they have a university, the transport links, any key features with the river, if your town has a castle or fort let’s hear about it. Basically, why did people choose to live in the town?

Two sides of A4 would be sufficient. However, I know some of you really struggle with writing, so pictures and photographs are allowed as long as they don’t take up more than 50% of the page – you know who you are! And straight copy and paste without reading and editing is not allowed – you also know who you are! ;)