Geography

Due to the fact, our Earth is changing rapidly, faster than at any other time in recorded history, we are educating our children at a time when there is a great uncertainty about what the future holds. Consequently, at Corporation Road, our geography curriculum provides children with an education that helps them understand how they can contribute to building a better, sustainable world for future generations, an inspiring education that fills them with curiosity about the world around them and an opportunity for them to build upon their ‘personal geography’ by learning about their local area and comparing it to other areas of the world.

At Corporation Road Community Primary School, the purpose of geography is to teach pupils about the world around them, from what is one their doorstep to other continents of the world. Consequently, In our geography curriculum, there is a focus on locational and place knowledge as well as geographical skills such as using maps, atlases and globes, Throughout their learning of human and physical geography,  children will show their knowledge and understanding in a variety of ways including maps, graphs and cross-curricular writing.

Intent

From our geography curriculum, the children of Corporation Road will have a deeper understanding of what places are like, why and how they are connected, and the importance of location. Furthermore, our children will understand how and why places are changing and the impact humans have on the world.

Furthermore, as our overarching aim of the foundation curriculum is to provide pupils with the knowledge and understanding they need for Key Stage 3 and beyond, we want our pupils to develop a love of learning and have an active and independent role in their education. In terms of geography, this mean we aim for pupils to have independence, think for themselves and take the initiative to ask questions, carry out their own investigations, alongside working constructively with others. In addition, we want pupils to express well-balanced opinions rooted in good subject knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment. Furthermore, we aim for pupils to show high levels of originality, imagination or creativity in their understanding and skills within geography.

When teaching geography we aim to use a range of innovative resources, especially liked to topical issues, from a range of scales and perspectives and across a variety of places. Furthermore, we aim to stimulate pupils’ interest through a sense of awe and wonderment, provide opportunities for pupils to immerse themselves within a topic, and encourage their curiosity through tasks which help to make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world.

Progression Consequently in geography, our intention is to show progression in the sheer quality of information which children acquire, the breadth of their knowledge and the extent of their understanding. In addition, as children begin to think geographically their understanding of key concepts such as place (focuses on both the physical and human environment) and space (introduces changes in perspective from the local to the global) will mature and develop. In addition, at the same time, children will become increasingly proficient in using and applying geographical skills.

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National Curriculum

In foundation stage, teachers will include geographical skills through their curriculum planning. As the foundation stage curriculum is cross curricular this will appear in many areas of learning but primarily through the teaching of knowledge and understanding of the world.

Key Stage 1​

Pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They should understand basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness. Pupils should be taught to:

Locational knowledge

• name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans
• name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas

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

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
• 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
• key human features, including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop

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
• use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map Geography – key stages 1 and 2 3
• 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
• 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 environment.

Key Stage 2

Pupils should 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. Pupils should be taught to:

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
• 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
• 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)

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

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
• 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

Geographical skills and fieldwork

• use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
• 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
• 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

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