Geography at Alanbrooke
Intent
Our curriculum intent for Geography reflects the purpose and aims of the National Curriculum by helping our pupils to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it.
Our Geography curriculum enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas and which can, and are used, to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. We aim to develop an awareness of the diverse nature of the UK and global populations and the contributions different societies, communities and individuals have made to human understanding.
Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops and understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes
At Alanbrooke Academy it is our aim that through our Geography curriculum, our pupils will:
- Have secure contextual knowledge of local, national and globally significant places and be able to identify and locate a range of continents, countries and important cities.
- Have a secure understanding of a range of human and physical geographical characteristics and how these change over time.
- Be competent in the geographical skills needed to: collect, analyse and communicate a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork.
- Have secure knowledge of reading, understanding and creating/drawing maps. They will gain experience of using atlases, globes and aerial photographs.
- Have competent skills to communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.
Implementation
EYFS Geography -Understanding The world
ELG - Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.
Curriculum
- Due to the unique class structures, common to small schools, our Geography curriculum is organised in a 2 year rolling programme in Key Stage 1 and 4 year rolling programme in Key Stage 2. It has been carefully sequenced to allow for progression of knowledge and skills between year groups. Our Geography learning follows the Elevate Curriculum for Years 1-6, which fully covers the content of the National Curriculum. Key content is revisited in greater detail in later years to allow for retrieval of knowledge.
- Wherever possible, the knowledge has been linked to other areas of the curriculum, with history being at the core of this, in order to deepen and connect children’s learning opportunities. The knowledge and skills build incrementally so that by the end of Key Stage 2 children know, understand and apply the subject content specified in the Programme of Study for geography and are fully prepared for the next stage of their learning.
- Key vocabulary for each unit is planned for and mapped out in our curriculum. This vocabulary is shared with the children through knowledge organisers and classroom displays.
- Geography is taught in blocked units throughout the school that are normally 5-6 weeks long (flexibility at teachers’ discretion based on specific skills/ knowledge being taught). This is to ensure children are fully immersed in a topic, displays around school reflect this and trips/experiences are planned in line with the unit when taught.
- To bring geography to life, we provide a range of enriching experiences aligned with our curriculum. These include field trips to local and regional sites of geographical interest, visits from guest speakers with expertise in specific geographic areas, and participation in collaborative projects with other schools or through partnerships with local organisations. These experiences enhance pupils' understanding and allow them to make meaningful connections between the classroom and the wider world.
Teaching
- All teachers have a clear idea of the knowledge which will be acquired and remembered by the children at the end of each unit. Unit Knowledge Organisers are used to share this with children and parents.
- Teachers use retrieval activities every lesson, to assess the children’s understanding of key geographical knowledge.
- The school grounds and local area are fully utilised for fieldwork opportunities. School trips provide further relevant and contextual learning and enrich children’s experiences.
- Teachers assess and adapt their teaching so that every child is able to access the geography curriculum. Teachers use a range of teaching methods to support children in their class including focus groups, scaffolds, ICT support and pre-teaching.
- Children who show a passion and skill for geography are identified, encouraged and challenged. Skilled questioning is used by staff to encourage higher-order thinking.
- ICT is used to support learning where appropriate. Children are given opportunities to research online, and to present their learning through word processing, videos and presentations. Pupils are also introduced to computer mapping programmes such as Google Earth.
- Pupils are given regular opportunities to learn about countries and cultures very different from Britain. Teachers are encouraged to adapt teaching plans to include the diverse cultures found in their class.
