Australian Geography Series Year 1: Places Have Distinctive Features is part of the Australian Geography Series which consists of nine books in total. This book has been written for students living in Australia who are studying Geography in Year 1. It is divided into three clear sections which connect to the National Curriculum.

The first section, entitled Describing Places, includes activities that allow students to identify and describe natural, managed and constructed features of places, locate them on maps, say how they should be cared for, and recognise how they can change. The activities in this section also provides students with the opportunity to examine Dreaming stories which identify the natural features of a place.

The second section of this book, Using Spaces, gives students the opportunity to investigate the different ways in which spaces are used in their home, school and community. It explores the idea that environmental characteristics and time of day affect how a space is used, and creates an awareness that rearranging spaces can suit different purposes and needs.

Environmental Features, the third and final section of the book, helps the children to describe, measure and record the weather, as well as compare the weather in their area to the weather in other places in Australia. The study of an indigenous seasonal calendar is also included.

All of the activity pages in Australian Geography Series: Year 1 Places Have Distinctive Features are visually appealing to help Year 1 students process the concepts being taught. As students complete the activities they will also be learning and practising a range of geographical skills, such as: sorting and classifying, mapping, labelling, matching, graphing and collecting data.

Author: Chenelle Davies