Presentation: Planning a Route with Digital Maps

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter · Geography · Year 8

3 minutes

Planning a route with digital maps: 3 routes, 1 that really works

You have a worksheet and a stimulus sheet called Aberllyn: the trip, the map, the route planner. Year 8 are visiting Castell Aberllyn. A map app has offered 3 walking routes from the station. Today you check the app against the map and against search results, pick the route that works for this group, and write a route card an adult could follow.

While the register is called: write your name, class and date on your worksheet, then read section 1, The trip brief, on the stimulus sheet. Underline the 3 things the group needs.

Starter question: What time does the group leave the station, and what time must it be at the castle gate?

DCF: Producing → Sourcing, searching and planning digital content No computers needed · Aberllyn is an invented town

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Hand out: one worksheet per pupil, one stimulus sheet between 2, and a ruler. No computers are needed: the map, the app results and the search results are all printed. Aberllyn, its castle, its council and every website on the sheet are invented, so nothing can or should be looked up.

Say aloud: “Name, class and date at the top. While I take the register, read the trip brief, section 1 of the stimulus sheet. Underline the 3 things the group needs. Find the time the group leaves the station and the time it must be at the castle gate.”

Starter answer: the group leaves the station at 09:50 and must be at the gate by 10:50. The 3 needs: a step-free route, because Cerys uses a wheelchair; a 5-minute toilet stop on the way; arriving by 10:50 for the 11:00 tour. The group is 28 pupils and 3 adults and walks at 3 km/h, which is 20 minutes for every 1 km.

Slide 2 of 7 · Today’s brief and key words · Geography · Year 8

2 minutes

Your brief: read the map, time the routes, check the sources, choose

The app does not know who is in your group, what time you need to arrive, or that one of the bridges might be shut. You will read grid references from the map, work out how long each route takes this group, decide which search result to trust about the footbridge, choose a route with evidence, and write a route card.

Four-figure grid reference

Easting first (the number along the bottom), then northing (the number up the side), for the bottom-left corner of the square. Along the corridor, then up the stairs.

Group time

The app times are for 1 adult at 5 km/h. This group walks at 3 km/h, so multiply the distance in km by 20 to get the minutes.

Trustworthy source

Judge a search result by who wrote it, when it was updated and how exact it is. An old post can be honest and still wrong today.

DCF: Producing → Sourcing, searching and planning digital content The app is a starting point, not the answer

Slide 3 of 7 · Step 1: read the map · Geography · Year 8

7 minutes

Step 1: grid references, direction and straight-line distance

Use the map on the stimulus sheet. Each square is 1 km across. The first row is done on the board: copy it, then fill in the other 6, and give 1 reason from the map why all 3 routes are longer than the straight line.

Question	Answer
Four-figure grid reference of the station	2060 (easting 20, northing 60, bottom-left corner of the square)

Step 1 on your worksheet · 7 minutes Easting first, then northing · use the scale bar for distance

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “The station is in square 2060. Copy that, then find the castle, the visitor centre and Pont Droed footbridge the same way. Then the bridge in square 2061, the compass direction of the castle from the station, and the straight-line distance using the scale bar or counting squares. Seven minutes.”

Quick check: Castell Aberllyn 2161; visitor centre 2260; Pont Droed footbridge 2160; the bridge in 2061 is Pont Fawr, the road bridge on route A. Direction of the castle from the station: north-east. Straight-line distance: about 1.7 km (accept 1.6 to 1.8 km); the castle is 1.2 km east and 1.2 km north of the station. Why the routes are longer: they must follow roads and paths, which bend, and they can only cross the Afon Llyn (the river) at a bridge; routes A and C go out of their way to reach a road bridge.

Slide 4 of 7 · Step 2: compare the three routes · Geography · Year 8

11 minutes

Step 2: fill the route table, group time = distance × 20

Use section 3 of the stimulus sheet, what the app says. Row A is on the board: copy it, then do B and C. Then answer: why are the labels “fastest” and “shortest” not enough to choose a route for this group?

Route	Distance (km)	App time (min)	Group time (min)	Step-free?	Toilets on the way?	Any other problem?
A	2.1	25	2.1 × 20 = 42	Yes	No	Busy main road; pavement only 1 m wide on Pont Fawr, too narrow for a wheelchair with people passing

Step 2 on your worksheet · 11 minutes Show the multiplication, so your time can be checked

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Row A is on the board. Copy it. Then fill in B and C from the app notes on the stimulus sheet. Write the group time as a multiplication: distance times 20. Then answer the question underneath the table. Eleven minutes.”

Quick check: Route B: 1.8 km, app 22 min, group 1.8 × 20 = 36, step-free No, 24 steps, toilets No, other problem: a user says the footbridge is closed. Route C: 2.6 km, app 31 min, group 2.6 × 20 = 52, step-free Yes, toilets Yes, at the visitor centre, other problem: longest, one gentle slope. Why the labels are not enough: “fastest” and “shortest” are worked out for 1 adult walking alone; they do not know about Cerys’s wheelchair, the steps, the narrow pavement or the toilet stop. For this group the shortest route is impossible and the fastest is not safe.

Slide 5 of 7 · Steps 3, 4 and 5: check, choose, write the route card · Geography · Year 8

20 minutes

Step 3, Step 4 & Step 5: check before you trust, choose and time your route, write the route card

Step 3 (6 min): read the 5 search results about Pont Droed footbridge. Which do you trust most, and why (who, when, how exact)? Which would you not trust? Will the bridge be open on Thursday 19 March? Plan 2 more searches with the exact words you would type. Step 4 (7 min): choose a route, rule out the other 2 with evidence, and fill in the timed plan from 09:50. Step 5 (7 min): write the route card, each line with a compass direction, a landmark and a grid reference.

Stage	Minutes	Clock time at the end
Leave the station	·	09:50

Route card, line 1 (given): Leave the station (2060) and head east along Stryd y Farchnad.

Steps 3, 4 and 5 on your worksheet · 20 minutes Remember the 5-minute toilet stop · be at the gate by 10:50

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Step 3: look at the 5 search results in section 4 of the stimulus sheet. Decide which to trust, using who wrote it, when, and how exact it is. Then plan 2 searches you would do before the trip. Step 4: choose your route, say what rules out the other 2, and fill in the timed plan. Step 5: write the route card. Twenty minutes for all 3 steps.”

Quick check, Step 3: most trusted is result 1, the Cyngor Sir Aberllyn closures page: the council looks after the bridges, it was updated on 2 March this month, and it gives exact dates (2 March to 27 March), the reason (repairs to the steps) and a diversion via Pont y Parc. Not trusted: the community noticeboard post saying the bridge is open, posted 14 months ago after an earlier flood closure, probably true then and just old now; or the 2019 travel blog calling a bridge with 24 steps “perfect for all the family”. (c) No: 19 March falls between 2 March and 27 March, so Pont Droed will be closed. Good searches: “Parc y Dref visitor centre opening times” (the group reaches the toilets at 10:20, so the centre must be open) and “Castell Aberllyn wheelchair access” (the towers are stairs only, so what can Cerys do instead).

Quick check, Steps 4 and 5: the right route is C, through Parc y Dref: the only route that is step-free, open, away from the main road and has accessible toilets. B is ruled out twice: Pont Droed is closed from 2 to 27 March, and it has 24 steps. A is step-free but runs along a busy main road, the pavement on Pont Fawr is only 1 m wide, and there are no toilets. Timed plan: walk to the visitor centre 1.5 km × 20 = 30 min, 10:20; toilet stop 5, 10:25; walk to the castle gate 2.6 − 1.5 = 1.1 km × 20 = 22 min, 10:47; 3 minutes to spare. Route card after line 1: east about 1.1 km to the gate of Parc y Dref (2160); north-east 0.4 km on the park path to the visitor centre (2260), toilet stop; north across the Afon Llyn on Pont y Parc (2261), the bridge with no steps; north-west about 0.7 km to the castle gate (2161), arrive 10:47. Accept any card where every line has a direction, a landmark and a grid reference.

Slide 6 of 7 · Self and partner check · Geography · Year 8

4 minutes

Swap with your partner and check against the success criteria

Tick each success criterion your partner’s work meets. Then correct 1 thing: a grid reference with the numbers the wrong way round, a group time without the multiplication, or a route card line missing its direction, landmark or grid reference.

I can give a four-figure grid reference with the easting first, and use the scale to estimate a distance.
I can turn a distance into a walking time for a group and work out an arrival time.
I can judge which online source to trust by who wrote it, when it was updated and how exact it is.
I planned searches to check facts the map app could not tell me, and wrote down the exact words I would use.
I chose a route that meets every need in the brief and used evidence to rule out the other 2.

4 minutes · partner check Finished early? The train home leaves at 13:30: when must the group leave the castle?

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Swap worksheets. Tick the criteria your partner has met. Check the route card: does every line have a compass direction, a landmark and a grid reference? Swap back and correct 1 thing.”

Extension answers: the group must be on the platform at 13:30 minus 10 minutes = 13:20. Route C with no toilet stop takes 52 minutes, so the latest the group can leave the castle is 13:20 minus 52 minutes = 12:28. The message to the castle should be polite, say the date and group size, mention that 1 pupil uses a wheelchair, and ask what she can see or do while the others climb the towers. The third extension needs a computer and a real map app; only use it if computers are available, and pupils compare the app’s walking directions with this group’s needs.

Slide 7 of 7 · Plenary review · Geography · Year 8

3 minutes

Round the room, then quick-check answers before handing in

Everyone names 1 thing the app did not know about this group, nobody repeats one. Then check these answers.

Question	Correct answer
Which route should the group take, and why?	Route C. Step-free, open, off the main road, toilets at the visitor centre. B is closed and has 24 steps; A has a 1 m pavement and no toilets.
What time does the group reach the castle gate, and how many minutes to spare?	10:47, 3 minutes to spare. 30 + 5 + 22 = 57 minutes from 09:50.
Which search result did you trust most about Pont Droed?	The council closures page: the council owns the bridge, updated 2 March, exact dates 2 to 27 March.

Check your name and class are on your worksheet Worksheets in · stimulus sheets stay with the pair