Wigmore High School Summer Learning 2020

Subject: Geography Year group: 8 Group/Set/Class: 8X/8Y/8Z

Teacher: Mrs McLoughlin and Mrs Jones

Date work set: Monday June 8th 2020 Date work to be completed by: Friday 19th June 2020

Topic: Rivers.

Learning outcomes:

To understand how rivers shape the land (middle course – meander and ox-bow lake)

To be able to spot river features on an OS map

Instructions: All activities to complete are highlighted in red. If you have any questions please email Mrs

Jones.

The work starts on the next page.

LESSON 1

We would like you to follow the BBC Home Learning Bitesize

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zsgyxbk

If you follow the lesson on River Landforms Year 9, you will re- visit some of the work we have already

done on rivers (V-shaped valley and waterfalls). This will be great for your learning and you could check

that you have got the key information regarding the upper course and its features.

The section titled ‘Landforms in the middle and lower course’ is what we will be looking at now. Make

sure you watch both clips on the meander and formation of the ox bow lake. The meander video is the first

video, second is the waterfall and the third is the formation of the ox bow lake.

You will then need to read the information about braiding and deltas.

Have a go at Activity 1 and 2.

To complete activity 4, click on the SAM learning river quiz and then select YEAR 9 then find 9 June

Geography and click on Rivers. You need to click on the green arrow next to your answer before you can

move on to the next page.

LESSON 2 and 3

Watch the following clip

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00xptzz

Copy the title and read the information below.

How are meanders formed?

Have you noticed that rivers rarely flow in a straight line? Usually they twist and turn as they make their way

down to the sea. Bends develop on a river mainly because of the water’s eroding power.

Meanders are bends in the course of a river. On the outside of a meander the water is deeper and the

current flows faster. The force of water undercuts the bank of the outside bend, forming a steep bank.

This is called a river cliff. On the inside bend the current is slower, the river deposits sand and pebbles,

forming a gentle slip-off slope.

Think about if you are a passenger in a racing car and it goes

around a corner. You would be thrown towards the outside of

the bend, often with quite a lot of force.

Thrown towards the outside of the bend

The same happens when a river goes around a bend. The force of the water is greatest towards the outside

of the bend and when it hits the bank it causes erosion. See diagram A below

Diagram B shows what happens on a river bend.

Meanders slowly move across the landscape. Lateral erosion occurs at this lower stage of the river, forming

a wide flat valley called a flood plain. Sometimes when the loop of a meander bend becomes extreme, two

erosion banks can meet at a narrow neck of a meander. Eventually the channel cuts through leaving the

meander loop detached, forming as an ox-bow lake. Have a look at the three different diagrams that each

show the same process of how an ox-bow lake is formed (see Diagram C, D and E)

Diagram A

Diagram B

The formation of an ox-bow lake

Diagram C

Diagram E

Diagram D

Diagram C

Draw a cross section of a meander from river cliff to slip-off slope.

Annotate your diagram to show where and why erosion and deposition is happening.

Having looked at the three diagrams showing how an ox-bow lake is formed, create your own way of

showing the process.

If you have an OS map at home, have a look and see if you can spot any features of the river that we

have studied. Can you spot the key words highlighted in yellow on the above map extract on your

OS map? Can you locate a particular feature e.g meander and give it a 4 or 6 figure grid reference.

If you don’t have a map at home, have a look on the internet or look at the following maps. If you

are able to, you could print out one of the maps, stick in your book and label the key features.

Annotate the physical characteristics of the river and its valley.

The following clip will help you to spot interlocking spurs on an OS map

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdDRFsX5jOk

What river features can you

spot on this map?

Can you spot a point on the

river which may, in future

years, become an ox-bow

lake?

What river feature can you

spot on this map?

How would you describe the

valley floor? Narrow with

steep sides OR wide and flat?

Explain why ?