Geography
‘The study of geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.’ Barack Obama
INTENT
What do we teach? Why do we teach it?
The intention at Sir Thomas Abney is to deliver high quality geography teaching, exploring the breadth and depth of the national curriculum. It offers our children the foundations for a greater knowledge of places and people and how their development has been shaped by physical and human processes.
We will:
- Ensure children develop knowledge and progressive skills that inspire them to be curious about their immediate locality and the wider world.
- Help them to develop a caring attitude towards the environment and living things.
- Inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the visual, cultural, social, and environmental aspects of places around the world which will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
- Teach them about different places and cultures, children will be taught to challenge stereotypes and to develop a respect for cultures that are different to their own.
The curriculum is designed to provide a coherent and progressive framework within which to build an understanding of the geographical concepts of:
- Location
- Places
- Human and physical features
- Geographical skills and fieldwork
IMPLEMENTATION
How do we teach and assess and how does this look in practice?
Units of work are taught termly and are carefully planned in order to deliver the curriculum, including all the relevant learning objectives. Appropriately balanced and structured planning allows Geography teaching and learning to complement other subject areas, build on previous knowledge and develop a secure and broad appreciation of geographical concepts. In each year group, geographical skills and fieldwork are taught discretely in a dedicated sequence of lessons in the Autumn term, laying the foundations for deep and meaningful exploration of broader geographical knowledge and skills in the Spring term. Children are introduced to a range of key vocabulary in each lesson and through the provision of and regular referral to knowledge organisers.
Development of subject-specific vocabulary is used in children’s work; revisited throughout teaching and supported through displays and texts in the classroom. Sequences of work are structured so that clear links are made to prior knowledge and as children progress; they deepen their knowledge of physical and human processes, and the formation and use of different environments. Units of work will provide clear links between different aspects of their learning and explore how Geography can inform their understanding of social issues. Key geographical knowledge and language (such as the name and location of continents, countries, capital cities and oceans) is revisited frequently, to make learning memorable, relevant and easy to retrieve. At the end of lessons, children regularly evaluate and reflect on their work and teachers assess each child’s learning at the end of lessons and units in a way that is informed, inclusive and shows awareness of different areas of progress made by each pupil.
Educational trips and enrichment activities
Fieldwork allows the children to learn directly about the real world. It connects children to their local environment,it helps them to develop their identity and to feed their curiosity about the world. Much of this is done locally, even within Sir Thomas Abney’s extensive school grounds, as well as during day trips or on our residential trips to unfamiliar locations.
For more details, please also see our Geography Curriculum Overview; Geography National Curriculum.
IMPACT
How do we know what children have learned?
During Geography lessons, children’s learning is measured using observations, key questions, marking and annotations of their work. Teachers use this information to support the planning and development of teaching and learning in the short term. At the end of units of work, summative assessments are made through a combination of teacher judgement and opportunities for children to demonstrate what they have learned and can recall from a topic. This may take the form of an assessed activity and/or conversations with children, either individually or in small groups. This supports teacher assessment during the year as well as the subject leader’s and senior leaders’ monitoring of data to plan for development of the subject and whole school targets
Overall Intended Impact
- Geography is a subject that is engaging, challenging and enjoyable for pupils which fosters a love of Geography as a subject and an appreciation of the world around them.
- Children gain a secure sense of how the world around them has been shaped by understanding why significant places, events and processes matter.
- Children learn to appreciate and respect different cultures.
- Children develop new skills and knowledge through a variety of interesting contexts.
- Children make good progress in their acquisition of geographical skills, knowledge and an understanding of how their actions may shape the world around them.
- Children access a range of different learning opportunities, both in and out of the classroom, that support topics and extend children’s opportunities for learning.
- Teachers are confident and knowledgeable about the curriculum so that they can deliver a well-planned and interesting curriculum to pupils using a range of resources and approaches.
- Assessment (formative and summative) is regular, wide-ranging and enables gaps in learning to be identified and acted upon.
- The subject leader can identify strengths and areas for development of the subject and refine the school’s approaches to teaching and learning in Geography.
- The School’s commitment to the teaching and learning of Geography is reflected in the quality and purpose of children’s work in books, classroom environments and discussion of learning with the pupils themselves.
Useful Links
Below are some resources to inspire the children to continue to learn about their own locality and the world beyond.