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Geography

Unlocking potential, inspiring success, celebrating diversity

Curriculum Intent

At Elmridge Primary School, our geography curriculum aims to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings.

Through our curriculum, we aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them.

Our curriculum encourages:

  • A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge.
  • Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.
  • The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.
  • A deep interest and knowledge of pupils’ locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.
  • A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms and vocabulary.

Our curriculum is support by Kapow and fulfils the statutory requirements for Geography outlined in The National Curriculum (2014).

Implementation

The National curriculum organises the Geography attainment targets under four subheadings or
strands:

  • Locational knowledge
  • Place knowledge
  • Human and physical geography
  • Geographical skills and fieldwork

Our curriculum has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these four strands across each year group. Our progression of skills and knowledge shows the skills taught within each year group and how these develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage. Geographical key concepts are woven across all units rather than being taught discretely as seen in the progression of key geographical concepts.

Our progression of skills document evidences how we meet the National curriculum attainment targets as well as each of the four strands in Key stage 1 and 2. The document also reflects which Development matters statements and Early learning goals are met in each activity within the EYFS units.


Our curriculum is a spiral curriculum, with essential knowledge and skills revisited with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Locational knowledge, in particular, will be reviewed in each unit to coincide with our belief that this will consolidate children’s understanding of key concepts, such as scale and place, in Geography.

Cross-curricular links are included throughout each unit, allowing children to make connections and apply their Geography skills to other areas of learning. Our enquiry questions form the basis for our Key stage 1 and 2 units, meaning that pupils gain a solid understanding of geographical knowledge and skills by applying them to answer enquiry questions. Kapow have designed these questions to be open-ended with no preconceived answers and therefore they are genuinely purposeful and engage pupils in generating a real change. In attempting to answer them, children learn how to collect, interpret and represent data using geographical methodologies and make informed decisions by applying their geographical knowledge.


Each unit contains elements of geographical skills and fieldwork to ensure that fieldwork skills are practised as often as possible. Our units follow an enquiry cycle that maps out the fieldwork process of question, observe, measure, record, and present, to reflect the elements mentioned in the National curriculum. This ensures children will learn how to decide on an area of enquiry, plan to measure data using a range of methods, capture the data and present it to a range of appropriate stakeholders in various formats.

Fieldwork includes smaller opportunities on the school grounds to larger-scale visits to investigate physical and human features. Developing fieldwork skills within the school environment and revisiting them in multiple units enables pupils to consolidate their understanding of various methods. It also gives children the confidence to evaluate methodologies without always having to leave the school grounds and do so within the confines of a familiar place. This makes fieldwork regular and accessible while giving children a thorough understanding of their locality, providing a solid foundation when comparing it with other places.

Lessons incorporate various teaching strategies from independent tasks to paired and group work, including practical hands-on, computer-based and collaborative tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles. Each lesson provides guidance for teachers on how to adapt their teaching to ensure that all pupils can access learning, and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are also available if required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.

Impact

An enquiry-based approach to learning will allow teachers to assess children against the National curriculum expectations for Geography. The impact of our curriculum can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities.

Each unit has a unit quiz and knowledge catcher, which can be used at the start or end of
the unit to assess children’s understanding. Opportunities for children to present their findings using their geographical skills will also form part of the assessment process in each unit.
After implementing our geography curriculum, pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skills and knowledge to enable them to study Geography with confidence at Key stage 3.

We hope to shape children into curious and inspired geographers with respect and appreciation for the world around them alongside an understanding of the interconnection between the human and the physical.


The expected impact of following our curriculum is that children will:
● Compare and contrast human and physical features to describe and understand similarities and
differences between various places in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
● Name, locate and understand where and why the physical elements of our world are located and
how they interact, including processes over time relating to climate, biomes, natural disasters and
the water cycle.
● Understand how humans use the land for economic and trading purposes, including how the
distribution of natural resources has shaped this.
● Develop an appreciation for how humans are impacted by and have evolved around the physical
geography surrounding them and how humans have had an impact on the environment, both
positive and negative.
● Develop a sense of location and place around the UK and some areas of the wider world using the
eight-points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and keys on maps, globes,
atlases, aerial photographs and digital mapping.
● Include a paragraph that explains your assessment models (AfL), tracking and evidencing progress
processes in Geography.
● Identify and understand how various elements of our globe create positioning, including latitude,
longitude, the hemispheres, the tropics and how time zones work, including night and day.
● Present and answer their own geographical enquiries using planned and specifically chosen
methodologies, collected data and digital technologies.
● Meet the ‘Understanding the World’ Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS, and the end of key
stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Geography by the end of Year 2 and
Year 6.

Proud to part of the Bright Futures Education Trust
Elmridge Primary School
Wilton Drive, Hale Barns
Altrincham, Cheshire WA15 0JF
CEOP