Geographical Association

A Different View contains eight sets of images and each one is accompanied by a selection of activities for primary, secondary or cross-phase - we'll be adding new resources regularly so keep checking back. The activities range from starters to full lesson ideas and are designed to inspire and challenge young people to think geographically. The activities are all available to download as PDFs while the image families are provided as Zip files.

To accompany the activities we've prepared some general advice on using images with primary children, and an article on how to look for the geography in a photograph.

If you've created a five-minute starter or a full lesson plan based on one of these photos, complete this template and send it to John Lyon for inclusion on the website.

Full copyright information for all photographs is available on the credits page.

Photo Family: Energy Flows   Download Image Set

A lot of geographical investigation, particularly in physical geography, is concerned with energy. This is because so much geography is about movement. 'Why do things move?' is a great 'big question', and one that geography helps us investigate... read more

Photo Family: Vanishing Points   Download Image Set

Why do environments change? This is a vital question in an increasingly crowded world. Sometimes the answers are to be found in the physical environment itself. Sometimes, humans are responsible. Frequently, it is a combination of physical and human activity that causes specific changes... read more

Photo Family: Producers and Consumers    Download Image Set

Who gets what, where and why? This is an enduring 'big question', which brings us close to some of the moral and ethical issues of our times... read more

Photo Family: Moving Stories    Download Image Set

Who is my 'family'? Where do I belong? Who are the people around me? Where are they from and where might they be going? According to some educationists, these 'big questions' are representative of all young people's fundamental curiosity. Geographical perspective offers a 'progressive' alternative to narrower, more instinctive ideas about identity... read more

Photo Family: Running Free    Download Image Set

Young people have direct experience of using space and will know which spaces to avoid, or where they are made to feel unwelcome. But this topic need not be limited to young people. Excellent contemporary geographical enquiries look at space from the perspectives of different user groups including older people, disabled people, families with very young children and so on... read more

Photo Family: To the Ends of the Earth    Download Image Set

The real reason for this family of photographs is its 'wow' factor, or what some call 'awe and wonder'. The school curriculum is supposed to develop a 'spiritual dimension' to learning. Whilst it is not difficult to see how geography is a way into moral, social and cultural dimensions, the spiritual sometimes is seen as less geography (and more RE)... read more

Photo Family: Between Heaven and Earth    Download Image Set

This photographic family is redolent of another core concern of geography - if geography is the study of the earth as our home, it is an essential component to understanding the ultimate 'bottom line' in human history. That is, our dependence on the environment: the land, the water, the air and the sunlight... read more

Photo Family: Appearances Can Deceive    Download Image Set

'What is happening here?' and by implication 'How are we going to find out?'. These are critical 'big questions' which geography helps us ask... read more

A Different View has been produced and funded by the Geographical Association. The GA maintains its independence through the support of its members, whose subscriptions provide the GA's core funding and who give the GA its authority to speak for geography and its role in schools. If you are not already a member of the GA, you can join online now. We need your support!

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