Geography is a subject that stimulates a sense of curiosity about the world and society in which we live in. It is an area of learning that gives children the opportunity to develop an inquisitiveness and fascination about the world around them, whilst deepening their understanding of the relationship between physical and human processes.
We feel it is important to nurture this curiosity and fascination by equipping the children with knowledge of their own environment and the world beyond. It provides them with the opportunity to develop their contextual knowledge, as well as their understanding of the processes that give rise to human and physical features of the world.
Each year group will have a physical unit (about a physical feature of the world e.g. rivers), a human unit (how humans have an effect on our world) and a cultural unit (focussing in on a particular culture) which will incorporate the other two strands. The knowledge organisers all the units can be found in a tab on the right.
Aims and Objectives
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Engage and inspire the children
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Address the national curriculum objectives.
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Build skills, such as analysis, comparing and reasoning
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Show clear progression and high expectations of subject knowledge
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Broaden the cultural horizons of our children.
Geography Curriculum Planning
Each Year group 3 units for geography
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Physical geography
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Human geography
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Cultural geography
Within the human units, children explore how human activity impacts the world. We address cities and settlement, discussing migration and trade. We learn about tourism and how this impacts countries trade, along with resources and the discord created by fossil fuels.
Within the physical units, children learn about the processes which govern and create the world we see around us. We discuss the layers of the globe and how this influences the landscapes we see. We explore weather systems and climate, natural disasters and coastal processes, all of which are meaningful to the children, and are becoming increasingly topical.
Within cultural units, we aim to broaden the cultural horizons of our children. We give children a glimpse into how others live their lives, and appreciate the multicultural nature of our planet, exploring food, music, fashion and language. Children compare their lives to others and we talk about how a lack of understanding can lead to persecution.
Furthermore, the units are designed so that the knowledge gained from the human and physical units will enable the children to better understand the cultural unit. For example, Year 5 study mountains and resources which then feeds into the cultural unit of Switzerland (Europe).
Geography in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
We teach geography in the EYFS as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year, relating the geographical aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals. Geography makes a significant contribution to the ELG objectives of developing a child’s knowledge and understanding of the world.
Teaching and Learning
In order to ensure children develop a good level of knowledge that in embedded in their long term memories, we use a range of techniques including low stakes quizzing at the beginning and end of each lesson, cross unit and curricular links are made, knowledge organisers are used regularly, learning is made personal where possible, discussions and racy play a vital role in lessons and stories are often used.
