What this lesson teaches
I can present fieldwork findings with clear maps, graphs, sketches and text.
Syllabus K226, Topic 1.3, Key Question 4. How to present findings?
I can read maps, graphs, photographs and texts, and separate what they show from what they suggest.
Syllabus K226, Topic 1.3, Key Question 4 (part). How to present findings?
Make a guess
A ground photo shows a river with plants along its banks. Which statement can you make from the photo alone?
- The water is safe to drink.
- The river floods every rainy season.
- Plants grow along the river banks.
- The whole river looks like this stretch.
Show the answer
Plants grow along the river banks.
That is an observation: you can see it in the frame. Claims about floods or water quality need other evidence.
Say what you can actually see, keep guesses separate, and check the image's place, date and scale.
A photograph shows what was visible from one viewpoint at one time. Start with observations: features you can actually see. An inference is an explanation you suggest from what you see. It needs more evidence.
A ground photo has a foreground, middle distance and background. Things nearby can hide things farther away. In the USGS South Platte River ground view, water and rocks fill the foreground, plants line the banks and a bridge appears farther away. These are observations. The photo cannot tell you how often the river floods or whether the water is safe.
An aerial photo shows a local area from above. In the separate USGS aerial view, a river runs through the middle, plants line it and a narrow pale path runs along the right edge. Do not assume the ground and aerial views show the same stretch of river or the same moment.
A satellite image can cover a much wider area. The Terra MODIS image from 19 June 2013 shows smoke spreading from Sumatra towards Singapore and Malaysia. Read its labels and 100 km scale. It shows a regional pattern, not conditions in each neighbourhood.
To sketch the aerial photo, draw a frame with similar proportions. Outline the river, banks and path in their correct positions, then use simple shapes for plants. Point short labels at specific features. "Plants line the river" can be seen; "the river never floods" cannot.
Add the place and the date the image was taken. If only a publication date is known, label it as that. Do not invent a date, north arrow or scale if the image does not give one.
- Observation
- What you can actually see.
- Inference
- An explanation that needs more evidence.
- Aerial vs satellite
- Local view from above vs much wider area.
Step by step
Check the view
Place, date, viewpoint, scale and key.
Pick key features
Natural and human features and where they are.
Sketch and label
Simple outlines with clear labels.
Worked example: A satellite view needs ground evidence
NASA's 19 June 2013 image shows a smoke plume moving towards Singapore. It does not show how much pollution each person breathed. That needs ground measurements.
Watch out for this
A photo shows what everywhere outside the frame is like.
It shows one chosen area and moment. Much is hidden or out of view.
Check your understanding
Which label is directly supported by the aerial river photo?
- Plants line the river, and a narrow path runs along the right.
- The clear river water is clean enough to be safe to drink.
- This site floods each year, because the banks are low and flat.
Show the answer
Plants line the river, and a narrow path runs along the right.
Yes. These can be seen in the image.