City of the Future

Learn about how Dubai went from a desert to a city of the future!

Lesson steps

Show children the map of the world.

Ask the children to find their location on the map. Show the children Dubai. Explain that Dubai is on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai World Map

A map of the world with Dubai located!

Talk about Dubai, ask the children if they have visited Dubai, if so discuss experiences. Would it be similar or different to where you live?

Show children the Visit Dubai website.

Watch some videos about Dubai. As a class, talk about the things you would see there. Visit the website here.

Show the children the City of the Future presentation.

City of the Future

Learn about how Dubai has transformed into a city of the future!

Design a new building to be located in Dubai’s City Center using a blank worksheet.

What materials will you use? How will you ensure its energy and water efficiency? What will the outside area look like? Will you make sure the building has natural light?

Blank Worksheet

A blank worksheet, perfect for drawing!

Learning outcomes

Use talk to help work out problems and organise thinking and activities, and to explain how things work and why they might happen.

Communication and Language

Questions

What does Dubai look like?

Where is Dubai?

What is Dubai known for?

What does a city of the future look like?

Vocabulary

Building

Sand

Dubai

Desert

Infrastructure

Innovation

Industry

Talking points

Is sand a good material to build upon?

Activity ideas

Building on Sand

Can you build the city of Dubai on sand? What materials will you need? How will you get your buildings to stand?In your sand play table, set up all the materials needed to create a building site, including toy diggers, dumper trucks, figures and building blocks. Use wet sand for scooping out roads and foundations.

Keep exploring

Ready for school, home, and everywhere in between!

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City of the Future

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