Because of our Geography Curriculum, our children Grow and Flourish as geographers through-
Wisdom- an excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like. An extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary.
Love- A passion for and a commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and people in it.
Perseverance- the ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in good knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment. Highly developed and frequently utilised fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques.
Wisdom-Love-Perseverance
Intent:
At Mary Howard, our Geography curriculum aims to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings.
Through our curriculum, we aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them.
The curriculum encourages:
- A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge.
- Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.
- The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.
- A deep interest and knowledge of pupils’ locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.
- A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms and vocabulary.
Our long-term plan enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National curriculum. The aims also align with those in the National curriculum. For EYFS, the activities allow pupils to work towards the ‘Understanding the world’ Development matters statements and Early learning goals, while also covering foundational knowledge that will support them in their further geography learning in Key stage 1.
Implementation:
The National curriculum organises the Geography attainment targets under four subheadings or strands:
- Locational knowledge
- Place knowledge
- Human and physical geography
- Geographical skills and fieldwork
Geographical key concepts are woven across all units rather than being taught discretely. We revisit prior learning throughout our spiral curriculum, with essential knowledge and skills revisited with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Locational knowledge, in particular, will be reviewed in each unit to coincide with our belief that this will consolidate children’s understanding of key concepts, such as scale and place, in Geography.
Cross-curricular links are included throughout each unit, allowing children to make connections and apply their Geography skills to other areas of learning. Our enquiry questions form the basis for our Key stage 1 and 2 units, meaning that pupils gain a solid understanding of geographical knowledge and skills by applying them to answer enquiry questions. We have designed these questions to be open-ended with no preconceived answers and therefore they are genuinely purposeful and engage pupils in generating a real change. In attempting to answer them, children learn how to collect, interpret and represent data using geographical methodologies and make informed decisions by applying their geographical knowledge.
Lessons incorporate various teaching strategies from independent tasks to paired and group work, including practical hands-on, computer-based and collaborative tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles. Each lesson provides opportunities for teachers to adapt their teaching to ensure that all pupils can access learning, and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are also available if required.
Impact:
An enquiry-based approach to learning will allow teachers to assess children against the National curriculum expectations for Geography. The impact of our curriculum can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each unit has a unit quiz and cover sheet, which can be used at the start or end of the unit to assess children’s understanding. Opportunities for children to present their findings using their geographical skills will also form part of the assessment process in each unit. Pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skills and knowledge to enable them to study Geography with confidence at Key stage 3.
The expected impact of following our Geography curriculum is that children will:
- Compare and contrast human and physical features to describe and understand similarities and differences between various places in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
- Name, locate and understand where and why the physical elements of our world are located and how they interact, including processes over time relating to climate, biomes, natural disasters and the water cycle.
- Understand how humans use the land for economic and trading purposes, including how the distribution of natural resources has shaped this.
- Develop an appreciation for how humans are impacted by and have evolved around the physical geography surrounding them and how humans have had an impact on the environment, both positive and negative.
- Develop a sense of location and place around the UK and some areas of the wider world using the eight-points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and keys on maps, globes, atlases, aerial photographs and digital mapping.
- Identify and understand how various elements of our globe create positioning, including latitude, longitude, the hemispheres, the tropics and how time zones work, including night and day.
