Geography
“I wish the world was twice as big – and half of it was still unexplored.” Sir David Attenborough
Geography is about understanding the world by: comparing locations; investigating; researching different sources; writing and talking about places; asking and answering questions. The subject also involves many transferable skills, such as: research, observation, measurement, recording and presentation. At Audley, we feel that Geography has developed from factual learning and is now a brilliant gateway to inspiring children’s natural fascination for the world around them; breathing life into geography is paramount to ensuring that geographical learning will remain with children for the rest of their lives.
Intent | Why is Geography taught the way we teach it? |
Our Geography provision aims to inspire in pupils a curiosity about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We want to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. Children will use the geographical knowledge they have gained to make connections and apply it across disciplines. Our Coherent Curriculum is the perfect vehicle to do this as its design has a cross curricular vision at its heart. We aspire to providing a Geography education that ensures that pupils leave Audley wanting to play their part in protecting Planet Earth and its future, into their adolescent and adult lives.
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Implementation | What makes Audley’s coverage/approach to Geography effective? |
The Geography curriculum shows clear progression against carefully considered milestones that link directly to the outcomes of the National Curriculum for each Key Stage. In each progressive year group, visits to milestones are repeated, but with careful consideration for pupils’ previous learning which will be outlined in the Subject Leader’s assignment of Oddizzi resources to particular year groups. This will ensure that repetition of secure knowledge is avoided, progress made, and existing knowledge built upon. Audley’s Coherent Curriculum ensures that teachers are enabled to make important links to other subjects so that teaching is creative, active and immersive. Pupils will have a holistic understanding of topics and their inter-related nature. This approach encourages motivation, curiosity and a sense of being part of a wider world.
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Impact | What do we want an Audley Geographer to know/have experienced/be able to do before they leave Year 6? |
The curriculum will promote pupils’ sense of being a global citizen and encourage an appreciation of the Earth’s diversity, both physical and human. It will also teach the skills needed to be a successful geographer eg. map and compass skills, investigative and analytical skills. Children will start with close investigation of our locality which is revisited and deepened through specific year groups. Through this, children will develop a sense of place and belonging. With this firm identity established, children will be equipped to explore the world both in a virtual and a real sense with a growing awareness and appreciation of its contrasts. Ultimately, the aim is for pupils to be knowledgeable about our world and its human and physical processes, and to be passionate about its future survival. Children will realise their responsibility towards it and will do all that they can to minimise the human impact on Planet Earth.
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The National Curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
- Understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time.
Are competent in the geographical skills needed to:
– Collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
– Interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
– Communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.
Key stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)
Pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They should understand basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness.
Pupils should be taught to:
Locational knowledge
- Name and locate the world’s 7 continents and 5 oceans
- Name, locate and identify characteristics of the 4 countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas.
Place knowledge
- Understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country.
Human and physical geography
- Identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles.
- Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to:
– key physical features, including: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather
– key human features, including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop.
Geographical skills and fieldwork
- Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage
- Use simple compass directions (north, south, east and west) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far, left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map
- Use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features; devise a simple map; and use and construct basic symbols in a key
- Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment.
Key stage 2 (Years 3 – 6)
Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.
Pupils should be taught to:
Locational knowledge
- Locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities.
- Name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time.
- 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 (including day and night).
Place knowledge
- Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region in North or South America.
Human and physical geography
- Describe and understand key aspects of:
– Physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
– Human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water.
Geographical skills and fieldwork
- Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied.
- Use the 8 points of a compass, 4- and 6-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world.
- Use fieldwork to observe, measure record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.