Geography

I enjoyed finding out that the Alps exist!  I created a double paged spread of research and facts about them. 

Our Vision 

“Geography explains the past, illuminates the present and prepares us for the future. What could be more important than that?” Michael Palin

Through the Geography curriculum at Wilson Primary, we aim to encourage in the children a deep curiosity about the world and a sense of ‘awe and wonder’ about the diversity of people, cultures, places and environments within it.  To be considerate and engaged global citizens, we believe children need to recognise connections and seek explanations about how the world works. We aim to empower them with the knowledge and skills to better understand our complex and rapidly changing world and face the ever-growing challenges for our societies, both locally and globally.  

I am going to watch more programs like National Geographic so I can find out more.

Geography Curriculum 

Curriculum Intent

We seek to fulfil our vision by ensuring the progressive development of geographical concepts, knowledge and skills as well as the subject specific language our children need to describe, question and discuss the world and their place in it.  We want children to enjoy and love learning about geography by gaining key geographical knowledge and skills, not just through experiences in the classroom, but through the use of fieldwork and educational visits, taking advantage of the local surroundings as well as those further afield.  Through topics such as: ‘Where does our food come from?’ and ‘Why do oceans matter?’, children will learn their role as global citizens and their place within the world.

Curriculum Implementation 

Teachers plan from the National Curriculum objectives meeting the aims of the National curriculum for Geography in the following key strands:

• Locational knowledge
• Place knowledge
• Human and physical geography
• Geographical skills and fieldwork

Geography is taught throughout the year as half-termly topics.  This is a progressive cyclical learning approach where learning is revisited over the course of each Key Stage, deepening children’s understanding each time. Pupils return to the key knowledge and skills again and again during their time at the school. Each time a skill is revisited, it is covered with greater complexity.  Prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build upon previous foundations, rather than starting again.

Children are given access to a range of resources to develop learning through atlases, digital technology, books, photographs and a range of maps.  Through our geography curriculum, children have opportunities to investigate and interpret a range of geographical locations in Britain and across the wider world. We encourage children to become geographers through collecting, analysing and communicating through discussion of their findings. Where possible, we ensure cross curricular links with maths and literacy.

Fieldwork underpins all learning and is built into every unit of work.  Geography provides excellent opportunities to support all learning abilities through investigations, outdoor learning and analysing data and every advantage is taken of the local surroundings as well as those further afield.

The classroom environment is prioritised to enrich learning and assist children’s retention of knowledge through the use of maps, key vocabulary and visuals where possible. Explicit teaching of language and vocabulary is prioritised.

The Kapow scheme supports planning and teaching of the subject throughout the school.

 Curriculum Impact 

The impact of our Geography curriculum is measured in a variety of ways:  questioning during lesson time, listening to child-led discussion, pupil voice conversations, book looks, sharing good practise during staff meetings and staff feedback.

Through quality first teaching of the geography curriculum, we expect that pupils will have:

• Developed the geographical knowledge and skills they need to help them explore, navigate and understand the world around them and their place in it.
• Gained from meaningful, memorable fieldwork opportunities.
• Learnt to think critically and ask perceptive questions.
• Recognized the importance of the valuable contributions that they could make as informed global citizens, which will impact and shape their future.
• Experienced much enjoyment of their learning experiences along the way!

Map work is difficult but worth it!  You find out about lots of places!