Year 6 - Geography
Coastal erosion
Coasts: what happens where the land meets the sea?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores how coastal landscapes form and change. Pupils learn about erosion, habitats and human activity at the coast, and investigate how coastal environments are used, protected and managed in the face of ongoing change.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to understand how coastal erosion affects people's lives.
Key Notes
- The coastline is eroded by the actions of the wind, waves and human activity.
- Erosion can create landforms such as caves, arches and sea stacks.
- Hard rock is eroded slowly and creates headlands, soft rock erodes quickly and creates bays.
- Maps can be used to identify headlands and bays formed by hard and soft rock.
Vocabulary To Learn
- waves: Waves are the movements of energy across water.
- erosion: Erosion is the process of Earth's surface, e.g. rock or soil, being worn away and transported from its original site.
- geology: The geology of an area is its physical structure and what rocks and minerals exist there.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Children may believe that waves are cause by tides.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this geography topic using two clear key points.
The coastline is eroded by the actions of the wind, waves and human activity. Erosion can create landforms such as caves, arches and sea stacks.
2. Define this geography term and use it in an example. 'waves'
Waves are the movements of energy across water.
3. Correct this common geography misunderstanding.
Mistake: Children may believe that waves are cause by tides. Correction: Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon . Waves are caused by wind blowing over the sea.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 6 Geography guide library.