Severn Trading Links
Activity title: Severn Trading Links
Curriculum area: Geography
NC objectives: Geography 1a, 1b, 1c, 1e, 2a, 2c, 2d, 2f, 3d, 3g, 4b, 6b, 6d, 6e, 7a & 7b.
Main learning objective: To learn about England’s trade and the imports and exports carried on the River Severn and their global extent.
Lesson plan ideas, activities and resource sheets
INTRODUCTION: 10 minutes
- Take a lemon/orange, bottle of wine, olive oil, salt fish (if available), peppercorns (or other spice) and a piece of wood. Ask the class if they can tell what links the objects together. Then show a sheepskin, piece of iron, cloth fabric and a piece of tree bark and ask the same question. The answers are that the first group are all goods that were imported into Britain and came up the Severn, while the second group are all things that were exported.
MAIN ACTIVITY: 40 minutes
- Provide the Class with 4.4a Imports and exports. Set them the task of identifying 10 things that were brought into the country or might have been made in the UK. This could be done in the class, as a field trip or as homework.
- Provide the Class 4.4b Thomas Workman’s cargo. Explain that their task is to fill in the cargo manifest of the ship, using the information provided on the map.
PLENARY: 10 minutes
- Go through the answers - allow pupils to read their answers aloud to the class.
- Ask some basic questions about the answers – which country was the most important supplier of cargoes? Why? Which was the farthest away? Which countries were the least visited? Might there be a reason for this?
Suggested extension activities or cross curricular links:
- Links with 5.3 Severn Cargoes and 5.4 Merchants’ Marks.
- Research the type of ship that that Thomas used (the image is the Matthew of Bristol).
Other resources
Guidelines - Severn Trading Links