The top improvement requested for Digimap for Schools was the addition of Aerial photography so we were delighted to make this available earlier this term. Why do schools need this?

• Key Stage 1 and 2 require pupils to interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including aerial photographs
• Key Stage 1 specifically requires schools to ‘use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features’

In Digimap for Schools you can use the transparency slider to view the aerial imagery and the present day map together, helping to introduce pupils to the concept of maps and how they differ from photographs.

We have some step by step teaching resources that feature aerial photography:

• Why use aerial imagery: http://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/schools/Resources/allstages/why-use-aerial.pdf
• Using Aerial Imagery – quick ideas: school grounds:  http://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/schools/Resources/Primary/using_aerial_imagery.pdf
• Landmarks: http://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/schools/Resources/Primary/aerial_landmarks.pdf
• Using Aerial Imagery – marks on the landscape:  http://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/schools/Resources/Primary/aerial_marks.pdf
• Travel, transport and trade: http://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/schools/Resources/Primary/aerial_forttt.pdf

All sorts of exciting things can be found in the photographs. If you spot anything unusual that you think pupils will particularly enjoy please do tweet it to us at @Digimap4Schools and we will compile a list of the best for a future blog post?

Concorde 216 – the last one to be built will move indoors into a new museum at Filton in 2017