Intent
- To install a sense of awe and wonder in the world.
- To encourage a lifelong curiosity and fascination about people and the world in which they live.
- To provide a curriculum that widens our children’s knowledge, skills and understanding of the wider world.
- To enable children to understand the value of our planet, appreciate all that it does and to know how to protect it for the benefit of themselves and future generations.
MANTRA
What we do today matters for tomorrow
Without Geography you are nowhere.
Implementation
A Geographer is somebody who studies the earth.
In Greek,
“geo” means “earth”
“graphy” means “description”
Our curriculum is structured so that the children have the opportunity to work as geographers every term. We focus on subjects in blocks over a number of weeks which enables us to go deeper into a subject.
The children are taught specific knowledge through the following concepts of Geography:
- Locational Knowledge – where places are
- Place Knowledge – what places are like / similarities & differences
- Physical Geography – the study of natural features on the planet’s surface and our interactions with them.
- Human Geography – how human activity affects or is influenced by the earth’s surface.
- Geographical Skills – using maps, atlases and globes to identify countries and continents.
- Fieldwork – hands on geographical experiences often outside of the classroom.
- Environmental Impact – any change made to the environment – good or bad.
In the Foundation Stage children develop crucial knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world and form the foundation for geographical work in Key Stage 1.
They will:
- Learn that there are similarities and differences in life in this country and life in other countries
- Gain information about the area in which they live
- Form the skills needed to make comparisons between different environments
- Develop the ability to gain knowledge form stories, texts and maps
In both Key Stage 1 and 2, Geography topics cover the programmes of study for Geography.
In Key Stage 1, as geographers, children will:
- Explore aspects of the world, the United Kingdom and their local area.
- Develop an understanding of subject specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geographical features.
- Gain locational knowledge through learning about the continents, oceans and the countries, capital cities and surrounding seas of the United Kingdom.
- Develop their knowledge of place through the study of a small area of the United Kingdom and that of a contrasting non-European country.
- Understand human and physical geography through looking at the daily and seasonal weather patterns and hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the equator and the North and South Poles.
- Develop their geographical and fieldwork skills through their use of maps, atlases and globes to study the world. They will also use compass directions and locational and directional language.
- Make use of aerial photographs and plan perspectives to look at features of a place and gain an understanding through creating their own maps.
- Through fieldwork, explore their immediate environment.
Children will be taught about:
- The Seasons
- The countries & capital cities of the UK.
- Nottingham & the local area
- The Continents & Oceans of the World
- Simple Fieldwork skills
- How to compare the similarities & differences of a location
In Key Stage 2 children will:
- Expand their knowledge of the World.
- Further develop their understanding and use of subject specific vocabulary
- Develop locational knowledge through learning about the countries of the world and geographical features such as lines of longitude and latitude.
- Learn about the counties & cities of the United Kingdom
- Develop their knowledge of place through the study of a region of the United Kingdom, a region of a Europe and regions within North or South America.
- Develop an understanding of physical geography and human geography with increasing depth.
- Develop their geographical fieldwork skills through their use of maps, atlases, globes and digital mapping.
- Understand and use the eight and sixteen points of a compass and four and six figure grid references.
- Collect and interpret geographical data
In Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4), children will be taught about:
Geographical content:
- Countries of Europe, their capital cities and human and physical features
- Cities, Counties & Regions of the UK & their human & physical characteristics
- How to compare the similarities & differences of a location
- The Rainforest (Incl climate zones, biomes & vegetation belts & relevant locational knowledge)
- Further Fieldwork skills (incl the 8 points of a compass)
- The local area of St Ann’s
In Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 & 6), children will be taught about:
Geographical content:
- Key physical & human features of a variety of countries (incl. volcanoes, earthquakes and rivers)
- Locational Knowledge (Incl. the position & significance of latitude, longitude, the equator and the Hemispheres)
- Settlements, trade and food links
- Natural resources & Sustainability
- Fieldwork skills (incl the 16 points of a compass)
Impact
Through the explicit teaching of the Geography skills and identified knowledge, both the teachers and the pupils can assess their learning throughout the unit of work. Our assessment systems enable teachers to make informed judgements about the depth of the children’s learning and the progress they have made over time.
Aspirations For the Future
Pupils develop an understanding of how subjects and specific skills are linked to future jobs.
Here are some of the jobs you could aspire to do in the future as a Geographer:
- Cartographer
- Surveyor
- Environmental consultant
- Travel writer or photographer
- Town & Country planner
- Geologist
- Waste disposal or recycling officer
- Tourism