Geography
Proverbs 22:6
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they shall not turn from this.”
Intent
At St Michael’s C of E Primary, we want all of our children to develop a love of Geography and have a deep understanding of the geographical concepts that they learn. We want our pupils to have a thorough knowledge of their local environment and show curiosity about the wider world; enabling them to become global citizens who show a keen interest in the geography around them. We want them to have ambitions of travelling to unknown destinations and inspire them to take an active role in preserving the future of our planet. Through our teaching, the children will acquire knowledge of a range of different cultures and traditions and learn tolerance and understanding of other people and environments which link with love of one another, love of mankind, love of life itself and let peace dwell here.
By the end of Early years the children will be able to:
- describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, non fiction texts and maps.
- discuss differences between life in this country and in other countries.
- talk about some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments.
By the end of Year 6 the children will:
- have developed accurate knowledge of the location, physical and human characteristics of a range of globally significant places
- be able to use geographical vocabulary
- be able to use and interpret a wide range of sources of geographical information, including maps, atlases, diagrams, globes and aerial photographs
- be able to communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, diagrams, charts, drawings and writing
- have a greater understanding of their place in the world, and their rights and responsibilities to other people and the environment
Implementation
The teaching of geography begins in Foundation Stage where they explore geographical themes and content through the ‘Understanding of the World’ strand of the EYFS curriculum. This involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. Staff also take into consideration pupils interests and provide opportunities for them to extend their knowledge about the wider world. Geographical references are also made when learning about different religious and cultural celebrations that are taught as part of the Early Years curriculum. The children in Early years are assessed according to the Development Matters Attainment targets.
In Key Stage 1 and 2 each class enjoy regular geography lessons (approximately 6-8 hours per term). Pupils continue to learn about their own locality and begin to make comparisons with other locations. There are opportunities for pupils to develop their geography skills through map work and fieldwork. This provides pupils the chance to develop their observation and measuring skills as well as recording data and communicating their findings. These skills are taught progressively throughout the school and build upon pupil’s prior knowledge. Each Geography unit will begin with assessing prior knowledge, and finish with assessing what has been learned by using KWL grids. Lessons will be planned and developed using a range of sources allowing children the opportunities to explore maps and use fieldwork as part of their lessons. Knowledge Organisers will be used to show key language, knowledge and meaning for each area of Geography. Children’s geographical understanding will be assessed by teachers and the subject leader, and gaps in knowledge/misconceptions addressed.
Within the Geography lessons, pupils explore the 4 areas of the geography curriculum, applying and building on previous learning each year.
● Location knowledge
Pupils learn about the local area and beyond, including the United Kingdom, Europe and North and South America. Pupils find out about continents, oceans, countries and major cities, as well as human and physical characteristics; and how some of these aspects have changed over time. Pupils identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones.
● Place knowledge
Pupils explore the similarities and differences of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America.
● Human and physical geography
Pupils learn about key physical characteristics, including: climate zones, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and the water cycle, as well as human characteristics, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water.
● Geographical skills and fieldwork
Pupils use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features. They use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and wider world. We are developing the fieldwork skills within the school. Our aim is that pupils will be able to use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local areas using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.
Impact
The Curriculum at St Michael’s will mean that pupils have a real sense of their environment and the wider world.
The impact of our Geography curriculum is currently being evaluated.
This is being done through conversations with our pupils (Pupil voice), formal and informal assessments which includes scrutiny of teaching and learning, and observations in the classrooms, book scrutinies and videos/photos of children’s practical learning (uploaded onto Tapestry).