GeographY
Miss Goldspink
Geography Co-ordinator
Our Geography curriculum is sequenced so that children develop knowledge and skills across four main concepts: Location and Place, Human Geography, Physical Geography, and Geographical Skills.
Units of learning have been chosen to build sequentially increasing knowledge of location and sense of place. For example, learning in KS1 begins with securing a strong understanding of their local area, and then beyond this study its place within the UK and then the wider world.
In KS2 learning builds prior knowledge through the study of more complex geographical concepts such as ‘volcanoes and earthquakes’ and ‘erosion.’ Learning within KS2 also increases children’s knowledge of their geographical locality with units covering the ‘River Humber,’ ‘farming’ and ‘renewable energy.’ The importance of our location is paramount right from the Early Years and continues to underpin the sequencing across Key Stage 1 and 2. Children’s understanding of their own location is used to compare and contrast locations around the British Isles, Europe, and the rest of the World both from a physical and human geographical perspective.
Geographical skills are applied and developed through all units of learning, often underpinned by the use of maps, atlases and globes. Fieldwork is also a feature in many of the geographical units taught ensuring children leave Horizon schools with the knowledge and skills required to succeed in the next stages of their education.
Geography Intent
We believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it.
Our Geography curriculum enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas, and which can and are used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills.
We are fortunate to have a unique geographical location (River Humber, Holderness Coast, Green Port) and much of our curriculum is designed to help children gain a deep understanding of the city in which they live through geographical inquiry.
The curriculum is designed to ensure that teaching equips 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. As pupils progress through the school, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.
Geographical knowledge and skills are progressive and are sequenced to provide the framework and approaches that provide explanation of how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives, equipping them well for further education and beyond.
Geography Implementation
Geography is taught in termly units throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and theses are mapped across the school, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that children develop skills systematically. Existing knowledge is checked and reviewed at the beginning of each unit. This ensures that teaching is informed by the children’s starting points and that it takes account of pupil voice, incorporating children’s interests.
Tasks are selected and designed to provide appropriate challenge to all learners, in line with each school’s commitment to inclusion. At the end of each topic, key knowledge is reviewed by the children and rigorously checked by the teacher and consolidated as necessary.
Cross curricular outcomes in Geography are specifically planned for and these are indicated on the knowledge organiser for each unit of work. Our local area is fully utilised so that children gain a detailed knowledge of their place within the world with extensive opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practice. A big emphasis is also placed on environmental issues and teaching educates children on how they can help to look after their planet.
Impact
The curriculum subject leader is responsible for monitoring and evaluating. The information gathered from this process informs the impact that the teaching has for that curriculum area. Judgements are based upon a triangulation of book scrutiny, pupil voice discussions, outcomes of assessments and the quality of teaching and learning. Governors undertake regular learning walks for their subject responsibility and receive a termly report from the subject leader identifying strengths and areas for development. Each unit of work is assessed using our 1-3-5 Recap process. This means that the knowledge is revisited as part of the assessment process a week, 3 weeks and 5 weeks after the unit has been taught. The results of the recap are reported within Theme books.
Our aim is that at the end of each school year, pupils will have gained a deepening understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes and how this affects landscapes and environments. Children will have developed the geographical knowledge and skills to help them explore, navigate and understand the world around them and their place in it. They are increasingly curious which allows them to debate upon and reflect on their own lines of enquiry and interest areas; become resilient and develop their confidence so that they believe they can succeed in anything.
Through discussion and feedback, children talk enthusiastically about their Geography lessons and show a genuine curiosity and interest in the areas they have explored. Pupils use vocabulary they have a clear understanding of to explain and appreciate Earth’s many forms and processes. They can analyse and interpret information in order to question and investigate the relationships between people and their environments.
By the time our children leave Gillshill Primary School, we will have equipped them with a breadth of knowledge, skills and geographical experiences to give them a secure foundation for their secondary school learning. Our Geography curriculum will have instilled in them a love and enjoyment of learning about the world, and an empathy and understanding of how important it is that they care and respect the environment for the generations to come.
Geography_Curriculum_Journey.pdf
Geography_Essential_Knowledge.pdf
Geography_knowledge_and_skills_progression.docx
Geography_Vocabulary_Progression.pdf
