Geography

What is Geography? It's an all encompassing and fascinating area of our curriculum where we study the Earth and its components, but in reality it is so much more than that.

In Geography lessons the children explore the natural world and its processes, along with environmental matters, especially considering the impact humans have on a place.

Through Geography children have the opportunity to learn about our whole world, learning about the wonders out there which they may one day wish to visit. They are encouraged and given opportunities to delve into bigger questions as they make sense of our world as future global citizens.

Geography Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent

In geography, our intent is to inspire in children a lasting curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. Children will gain knowledge about a diversity of places, people, natural resources and environments. They will develop an awareness of and respect for people of other cultures and countries and the way that they live. The children are given many wider opportunities to explore our world, enhancing their learning & improving outcomes. The curriculum is carefully planned to prepare children to be successful in the next stage of their Geography learning journey.

Implementation

At Slyne with Hest we have a carefully planned, creative and personalised curriculum which is tailored to our school.

The children undertake a broad and balanced programme that takes account of abilities, aptitudes and physical, emotional and intellectual development. Through geography the children learn a range of skills, concepts, attitudes and methods of working.

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in geography lessons.

We use whole-class teaching methods and combine these with enquiry-based research activities. We encourage children to handle equipment and to ask as well as answer geographical questions. We offer them the opportunity to use a variety of data, such as maps, statistics, graphs, pictures, aerial photographs, geographical footage and we enable them to use IT in geography lessons where this serves to enhance their learning. Children take part in roleplay and discussions, and they present reports to the rest of the class. They engage in a wide variety of problem-solving activities. Wherever possible, we involve the children in ‘real’ geographical activities, e.g. research of a local environmental problem, visiting relevant sites and carrying out fieldwork.

Impact

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. Children will understand how geography ‘happens’ in their local area and will begin to understand their wider world and the implications that we as citizens have on it. Children will work collaboratively to solve problems and explain the processes that they have taken/observed within a real-life context. Children will act as good citizens within their local community.

The impact is demonstrated through the children’s learning outcomes by the end of KS2. They:

• 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 gave 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
• communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.