Geography

Intent

Geography is essentially about understanding the world we live in. It helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world.

At Wheatfield Primary School we want our children to love Geography. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, how it has developed as well as their place in it. Geography is an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills.

Our vision is to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and people within it; to promote the children's interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth's key physical and human processes.

We also intend for children to become passionate and knowledgeable about our local community and beyond, by learning through experiences in practical and fieldwork activities.

Implementation

Our Geography curriculum is knowledge rich. This means the knowledge children will gain has been carefully specified, ordered coherently and builds over time. As children work through our geography curriculum they will know more, understand more about the world around them. A good geographical understanding relies on firm foundations of knowledge and skills. The skills our curriculum develops, like the knowledge, are specified, ordered coherently and progress over time. This curriculum structure helps pupils to deepen their understanding of physical and human geographical processes, fostering curiosity and fascination for the world we live in. As children work through the curriculum they will know more and understand more about their local area, the UK, Europe and the World. Children will gain an understanding of what geographers do, what they look for and what they may say about a place.

Location knowledge, fieldwork and map work are woven throughout the Geography topics. Effective use of educational visits and fieldwork are planned, to enrich and enhance the pupil’s learning experiences within the Geography curriculum. Fieldwork opportunities are greatly amplified through our local area units where children go out into the community to conduct observations, surveys, investigations and field sketches. The use of maps and compasses enhances this experience.

At the start of each unit children are given a knowledge organiser which details some key information, questions and vocabulary.

Each year our geography curriculum begins with a ‘Spatial Sense’ unit that explicitly teaches geographical skills such as locating places on a map, positioning items on a map, using symbols in a key, interpreting scale, reading climate graphs, identifying locations using coordinates, interpreting population data, identifying elevation on relief maps and more. The spatial sense units for each year group are positioned at the beginning of the year to explicitly teach skills which will then be used in context throughout the rest of the year as children apply those skills to learn more about people, places and the environment. The spatial sense units build on prior knowledge before moving children on as the level of challenges increases from year to year.

Impact

At Wheatfield Primary School we believe that by delivering a high-quality geography curriculum we will inspire and equip the next generation of Geographers to have no limits to what their ambitions are. We want them to grow up wanting to be cartographers, town planners, conservationists or weather forecasters.

Wheatfield Primary School believes that by the time pupils leave school they will:

have an excellent understanding of how to use maps and atlases to strengthen their understanding of the world.
describe where some places are using geographical knowledge and vocabulary.
have an excellent understanding of the ways in which places are similar or different.
give reasons for different climates in relation to their position in the world.
have developed their fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques.
have a passion for and commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there.

Pupil voice, subject monitoring and lesson observations will ensure a positive impact of geography as a subject.

EYFS

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supports children’s understanding of geography, people and communities through the planning and teaching of ‘Understanding the World’. Geography is effectively taught through their wider curriculum lessons and through their enhanced learning provision and environment. Children learn about features of their own environment such as school, home, community and their town through first-hand experiences and learn how environments may differ through the sharing of books, stories, poems, small world play, role play and visits. Children enjoy the valuable experiences gained from our regular trips to places within their local community such as the country park and local shops. Children are given time to discuss, comment and ask questions about what they observe about the world around them and are encouraged to be active learners and explore their interests further.

Whole School Geography Curriculum Overview

Whole School Geography Subject Rationale

Whole School Geography Subject Vocabulary

Whole School Geography Progression of Skills

Whole School Geography Key Figures