Look at this map of the island of Ireland. Nothing is named on it. That is so we read the land, not the labels.
Find the green low land, the brown mountains, the rivers and the coast. Where do you think our own place sits on this island?
Our question for today is why towns are where they are.
People do not put a town just anywhere. Long ago, a town needed things the land could give.
A town needed fresh water for drinking and washing. It needed flat or gentle ground for houses and fields. It needed a way to travel, such as a river that boats could use, a safe place for ships to stop, or a path through a valley.
A river crossing was a strong reason. Where a river could be forded or bridged, people met, traded and stayed. A deep bay or river mouth could become a harbour. A steep hill could be a place to defend.
Geographers call a place where people choose to live a settlement. The land gave people what they needed, so they stayed. Some towns grew for more than one reason at once.
Today you will look at Ireland’s shape with no names on it. You will choose places for towns and say why. Then you will see where the real towns sit, and compare.
Work in pairs on the blank map of Ireland.
Look at the map with your pins and the real towns showing.
Come back to our key words: water, crossing, harbour and settlement.
Our finding is that many towns in Ireland sit where the land offered water, a crossing, a harbour, good ground or a place that could be defended.
Talk about which of those reasons matters most near our own place, and how you can tell from the land.
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