Year 5 have been learning about the geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom and a region in Northern Europe (Scandinavia). Today we looked at different climate zones, maps of the arctic circles and our atlases to explain why some parts of Scandinavia have no light during winter and no darkness during summer. Did you know… In more northern parts of Scandinavia that extend into the Arctic circle, during parts of winter the sun never rises so it is dark all day and during parts of the summer the sun never sets so it is always light? We looked at the earth’s tilt in relation to why we have seasons. This then helped us to understand why some parts of Scandinavia have no light during winter and no darkness during summer.
We discovered that the arctic circle is an imaginary line of latitude that goes around the whole world and that anything above the Arctic Circle is very cold and much of the land is constantly covered in ice. This is why the climate in Northern Scandinavian is very cold.
Did you know…Svalbard is the place in Norway where the midnight sun occurs for the longest period? Here, the sun doesn’t set between 20 April and 22 August!
We had great fun comparing the temperature in precipitation in Scandinavian cities. We then talked about what it would be like to live in Scandinavia and why it’s different to the United Kingdom. Some of us thought it would super fun to have long winters for snow activities but most of us couldn’t bear to think of having long periods of darkness in winter! What do you think?
