Geography

Why is Geography important?

Geography helps us to make sense of the world around us and better understand the places we live in, learn about and visit. It helps to understand why they matter and how they are connected to a globalised world. Through Geography, we encounter different societies and cultures and learn to appreciate the incredible diversity of landscapes and people. In Geography, we face questions of what it means to live sustainably in an interdependent world and learn to value and care for the planet and all its inhabitants.

Whole School Overview

	Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Year 1		The Four Seasons		Around the World		Life in the City
Year 2		Where do I live?		Let's go to the Artic		Map Makers
Year 3		The Rainforest		Our European Neighbours		Investigating India
Year 4		Volcanoes		Countries of the World		Earning a Living
Year 5		The Grand Canyon		Water World		Extreme Earth
Year 6		Our Local Area		South America		Exploring Scandinavia

 

How do we ensure National Curriculum Coverage?

Our Key Stage 1 curriculum ensures our pupils develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They understand basic subject specific vocabulary relating to Human and Physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their local awareness.

Locational Knowledge

• Name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans (Around the World, Where do I live?)
• Name, locate and identify characteristics if the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas (The Four Seasons, Let’s go to the Arctic)

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 (Life in the City)

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 (The Four Seasons, Let’s go to the Arctic)

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 (The Four Seasons, Around the World, Life in the City, Where do I live? Let’s go to the Arctic)
• Key human features, including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop (Around the World, Life in the City, Where do I live? Map Makers)

• 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 (Around the World, Where do I live? Let’s go to the Arctic)
  • Use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language (Eg near, far; left and right), to describe the location of features and routes on a map (Life in the City, Let’s go to the Arctic, Map Makers)
  • 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 (Life in the City, Map Makers)
  • 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 environments (Life in the City, Where do I live? Map Makers)

Our Key Stage 2 curriculum ensures our pupils 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,  the four geographical strands- locational knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography and geographical skills and fieldwork- become more discrete as children develop their ability to think geographically.

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 (The Rainforest, Our European Neighbours, Countries of the World, The Grand Canyon, South America)
• 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 (Earning a Living, Our Local Area)
• 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) (The Rainforest, Volcanoes, Earning a living, The Grand Canyon, Extreme Earth, Our Local Area, South America, Exploring Scandinavia)

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 within North or South America (Our European Neighbours, Investigating India, Volcanoes, Countries of the World, The Grand Canyon, Water World, Our Local Area, Exploring Scandinavia)

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 (The Rainforest, Investigating India, Volcanoes, Countries of the World, The Grand Canyon, Water World, Our Local Area, Exploring Scandinavia)
• Describe and understand key aspects of 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 (The Rainforest, Our European Neighbours, Investigating India, Volcanoes, Earning a living,  The Grand Canyon, South America, Exploring Scandinavia)

Geographical skills and fieldwork

• Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied (The Rainforest, Our European Neighbours, Investigating India, Volcanoes, Countries of the World, The Grand Canyon, Water World, Extreme Earth, Exploring Scandinavia)
• Use the eight points of a compass, four and six-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 (The Grand Canyon,Our Local Area)
• 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. (Water World, Our Local Area)