Street and House Detectives – EYFS & KS1 Geography Unit

Help pupils become real-life explorers with our EYFS geography unit, Street and House Detectives. This exciting Reception geography unit introduces pupils to their local area, helping them draw information from simple maps, recognise key landmarks, and develop early map skills. Through hands-on EYFS geography planning, pupils will explore the natural world, investigate their surroundings, and build a deeper understanding of the places they see every day.

What’s Included?

This EYFS local area topic is designed to spark curiosity and encourage enquiry-based learning. Each lesson builds on pupils’ knowledge, developing their confidence in simple map drawing and their ability to describe what they see.

• Week 1: What did you see on your way to school today? – Pupils take notice of their surroundings and begin recognising key features of their local area.
• Week 2: What journeys can we find in the stories we read? – Connecting geography with literacy, pupils explore journeys in familiar stories and compare them to their own experiences.
• Week 3: Let’s go on our own story journey! – Pupils create their own story journey, using their early years map making skills to represent their route.
• Week 4: Where in the world are we? – An introduction to simple maps for Reception, helping pupils understand location and direction.
• Week 5: Can we help with the post? – Pupils consider how items travel within their community and engage in EYFS fieldwork activities.
• Week 6: What have we learnt as street detectives? – A chance to reflect on their findings, using EYFS geography enquiry to explain what they have discovered.

Developing Early Years Map Skills

Understanding maps is a key skill, and this unit provides a strong foundation for EYFS map skills activities. Pupils will:

• ✅ Learn to draw simple maps of familiar places.
• ✅ Explore the natural world by noticing and describing features of their local area.
• ✅ Use positional language to talk about where things are.
• ✅ Develop confidence in EYFS geography enquiry, asking questions and investigating their surroundings.

Exploring Our Local Area in EYFS

This unit is perfect for outdoor learning geography EYFS, giving pupils real-life experiences of the places around them. Whether they are spotting street signs, drawing routes, or delivering letters, they will develop an understanding of how locations connect and function.

How Does This Support EYFS Outcomes?

This EYFS geography unit aligns with key EYFS outcomes, ensuring pupils make progress in their learning:

• Understanding the World: Pupils will explore the natural world and develop awareness of their surroundings.
• Communication and Language: They will describe what they see, hear and feel whilst outside, using new vocabulary.
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Pupils will ask questions to find out more and develop confidence in their observations.
• Problem-Solving and Thinking Skills: They will use talk to help work out problems and organise thinking when drawing maps and discussing their findings.

Ready-to-Use EYFS Geography Planning

This EYFS geography planning is designed to be engaging, practical, and easy to implement. It works well within continuous provision and supports Reception simple map drawing in a way that feels natural and exploratory. It also offers opportunities for KS1 pupils to build on their understanding, making it ideal for mixed-age classes.

Perfect for teachers looking for a Reception geography unit that encourages EYFS fieldwork activities, real-world learning, and exploring our local area EYFS. Get started today!