Look at this map of Ireland. Nothing on it is named, on purpose.
Where is the land high and brown? Where is it low and green? Where can you see rivers, lakes and the sea?
Our question for today is why towns are where they are.
People have always needed somewhere safe and useful to live. Long ago they looked carefully at the land around them: the hills, rivers, coast and open ground. We call the shape of that land the landscape. They needed fresh water to drink and for animals. They needed a way to travel, to trade and to meet other people.
A river that could be crossed, a quiet harbour for boats, or a stretch of flat ground for houses and fields could all help. A place that offered these things gave people a good chance to stay and trade. That chance is called an opportunity. Over time, more people came. Houses, markets and roads grew. That growing place is called a settlement. Some settlements stayed small. Others became towns and cities.
Ireland's land is not the same everywhere. There are mountains, low plains, long rivers and a coast full of bays. When we look at a map with no names, we can still see what the land is like. We can ask: if you were choosing a place for a town, where would you put it, and why?
We are going to pin towns on the blank map, using only what the land shows us.
Real towns stays off for now. We will look at it later.
In your copy, finish this sentence:
I think many real towns will sit near … because …
Look at the map we pinned. The real towns appear over our own pins.
Where do our pins and the real towns agree? Where is a surprise? For each surprise, what reason might still fit the land?
So why are many towns where they are? Use the evidence on the map.
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