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Global Differences Guide: Free Printable Guide for Year 6
- ForYear 6
- StageKey Stage 2
- CostFree
- FormatPrintable PDF
Global Differences Guide is a free printable geography guide for Year 6 (ages 10 to 11). Children think about how people's lives are different around the world, and about what is the same for everyone. They use a checklist to tick off and lines for writing. It needs only a pencil, and page 2 gives the grown-up notes, help for children who find it hard, and a stretch idea.
It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, the free library of printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795. Print both pages, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for yourself. Black and white printing works well.
What is on the sheet
Children work through a checklist of everyday parts of life: food, clean water, a safe place to live, healthcare, school, and family and friends. They tick items off and use the lines to write their own thoughts. The aim is to talk and reason. Children think about why each part matters to a person, how it might look different in another place, and what people everywhere share.
- Food
- Clean water
- A safe place to live
- Healthcare
- School
- Family and friends
What children do on the sheet
Read the checklist
Children read each everyday item slowly and picture what it means in a real person's day.
Tick and think
They tick items off as they talk about them. Ask why each one matters to a person.
Write on the lines
They put their own ideas into words. A short sentence is enough, and spelling is not the focus.
Compare and share
Children think about how places can differ and what stays the same. Talk about it together.
Why think about how lives differ?
People around the world live in different places, speak different languages and have different customs. Places can differ in weather, in buildings, in jobs and in the way a school day looks. In Key Stage 2 geography, children learn that human geography is about people and the places they live in, and how the two connect.
Year 6 children are ready to think about this with care. They can compare two ways of life without saying one is simply better. Looking at everyday things such as food, school and family is a gentle way in. It builds empathy, which means understanding how another person might feel, and it helps children explain their reasoning clearly.
Did you know?
- Geographers usually group the land on Earth into seven continents.
- Thousands of different languages are spoken around the world.
- Some places on Earth are very hot and dry, and others are very cold.
- Maps and globes are two ways to show where places are.
- Jaques of London has been making games for families since 1795.
Skills and curriculum link
- Empathy
- Comparing
- Discussion
- Explaining your thinking
- Human geography
This sheet supports the area below. It is matched to the published England framework. Please check it against your own school plan.
| Framework | Subject or area | Strand | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Curriculum (England) | Geography | Human and physical geography | Year 6 |
What children will be able to do
- I can say that lives differ around the world.
- I can name one way places are different.
- I can talk about what is the same for everyone.
Ideas to help the conversation
- Different is not wrongPlaces and people can be different without one way being better. Use words like different, similar and the same.
- One person, one dayPicture an ordinary day for one person. What do they do from waking up to going to bed?
- Weather and placeThe land and weather around us shape how people live. Think about homes, clothes and travel in a hot place and a cold place.
- Look close to homePeople in the same town can live in different ways too. Start with your own street or class.
Key words
- CountryAn area of land with its own borders and government.
- ContinentOne of the very large areas of land on Earth, such as Europe or Asia.
- CultureThe way of life of a group of people, such as their customs, food, music and beliefs.
- CompareLook at two things and say how they are alike and how they are different.
- EmpathyUnderstanding how someone else might feel.
- NeedSomething a person must have to live and stay well.
How to use it
- Print both pages. Page 1 is for your child. Keep page 2, which has the notes for you.
- Read the checklist together and talk about each item. Keep the tone gentle and curious.
- Work through the activity together the first time. Talk about each choice before your child ticks or writes.
- Check against the notes on page 2. Listen for your child's reasoning, not only the words they write.
- Come back another day. Repeating a familiar activity builds confidence, and ideas often grow the second time.
Help, stretch and game ideas
If it feels too hard
Go through the checklist one item at a time. For each one, ask your child to say why it matters to a person. Use a simple question such as, "What would a day be like without this?" Let them talk first, then write.
To stretch confident children
Choose one country and find out about daily life there, using books or a trusted source with an adult. Write down a few things about food, school and home. Then compare them with your own day, saying what is different and what is the same.
Make it a game
Take turns. One player picks an item from the checklist. They say one way people can help each other so that others have it. Then the next player picks. Everyone listens kindly and no idea is wrong.
Mistakes to watch for
Watch forA child says one place is better or worse than another.
Try thisSwap the words for different and the same. Ask, "What is different here? What is the same for everyone?"
Watch forA child thinks everyone in a country lives in just one way.
Try thisAsk whether everyone in your own town lives the same way. Then talk about how people in any country can differ.
Watch forA child thinks different means strange.
Try thisAsk how a visitor might find your day different. This helps children see that every way of life can look unusual to someone new.
Talk about it
- What is one thing in your day that someone in another country might do differently?
- Why might two places have different kinds of homes?
- What do you think people everywhere would want to keep safe?
- How could we find out about a place we have never visited?
- How can people help each other when they live far apart?
- What is one question you would like to ask a child your age in another country?
Take it off the page
Day in the life drawing
Draw a picture of your own day in four parts, such as morning, school, afternoon and evening. Then imagine and draw one part of a day somewhere else.
World map hunt
Use an atlas or a wall map. Find where you live, then find three other places. Talk about what you might see there.
Question jar
Write questions about other places on slips of paper. Put them in a jar. Pick one each evening and talk about how you could find the answer.
Who it is for
Parents
Sit beside your child for the first go and let them lead. Keep it relaxed. There are no wrong answers when children share their thinking. Ask why, and listen. Praise effort and ideas, then come back another day.
Teachers
Use it as a starter, plenary, early finisher task, homework or table activity. It needs no preparation beyond printing. It supports the human and physical geography strand in Year 6 and works well to start a class discussion.
Home educators
Pair it with an atlas, a library book or a family conversation about places you know. Siblings can join in and compare ideas. Print it again for revision a few weeks later.
Where this fits in geography
Before this guide, children usually practise naming places and using maps, and they start to compare their own area with other places. A sheet such as Capital Cities Memory is a good step before this one, because it builds knowledge of places.
After this guide, children can look further at people and places, such as how populations change. World Population Growth is one year up in the same subject. Talking about how lives differ gives children useful background for those ideas.
Check it worked
Ask these when the sheet is finished. Listen for the reasoning, not just the answer.
- How might a day be different in another country?
- What do all people around the world need?
- What would you like to find out about another place?
Questions parents and teachers ask
- What age is Global Differences Guide for?
It is written for Year 6 (ages 10 to 11), in Key Stage 2. Children who are a little younger or older can still join in, because the activity is based on conversation and can be talked through at any level.
- What will children practise?
Children practise empathy, comparing and discussion. They begin to think about how people's lives differ around the world, and what is the same for everyone. They also practise explaining their thinking in words.
- How do I use it?
Print both pages. Read the checklist together and talk about each item in a gentle, curious way. Work through it together the first time, then check against the notes on page 2. Come back another day to build confidence.
- What if it feels too hard?
Slow down and take one item at a time. Ask your child to say why each item matters to a person. Talking before writing helps. Page 2 has more help ideas for children who find it hard.
- How long does it take?
There is no set time. Children can go at their own pace and stop and return another day. Talking through each item together is as important as the writing, so it can be as short or as long as suits you.
- Is it suitable for teachers to use in class?
Yes. Teachers can use it as a starter, plenary, early finisher task, homework or table activity. It needs no preparation beyond printing, and it links to the human and physical geography strand for Year 6.
- Is it free, and do I need colour printing?
Yes, it is free to print for home and classroom use. You do not need colour. It prints well in black and white on plain A4 paper, and it is screen free, needing only paper and a pencil.
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Made by Jaques of London, making games for families since 1795. A printable supports classroom learning and does not replace a teacher.