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Whinless Down Academy

Whinless Down Academy

Geography

Intent –

In Geography, learners study the interaction of people and their environments, including the economic, social and political factors and how they impact on people and the environment.

Through our Topic learning, we plan a structure and sequence of lessons to ensure the knowledge and skills required to meet the aims of the National Curriculum are covered. The content allows for a broader, deeper understanding of the four areas of geography identified in the curriculum. We aim to develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places and understanding of the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, along with how they bring about variation and change over time. We intend to develop children’s curiosity and a fascination of the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Through our topic learning learners experience a range of opportunities for investigating places around the world as well as physical and human processes. The lessons are intended to improve children’s geographical vocabulary, map skills and recall of geographical facts and provide opportunities for consolidation, challenge and variety to ensure interest and progress in the subject.

Implement

In KS1, children begin to use maps and recognise physical and human features to do with the local area, building to using maps to explore the continents and oceans of the world in year 2. Further, in year 2, children begin to compare where they live to places outside of Europe and ask and answer geographical questions. In KS2, map skills are developed further using digital maps, more keys and symbols and children begin to use more fieldwork skills. Through revisiting and consolidating skills, our lessons aim for children build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills and challenge. Across both key stages, children have a range of opportunities to experience geography through practical engaging tasks beyond the classroom, for example carrying out fieldwork in local rivers, exploring the changes over time to the Dover coastline or using simple maps to navigate local woodlands.  The use of Knowledge Organisers further supports assessment in Geography, supporting teachers and learners in assessing their knowledge at the end of a topic.

Impact –

Through well-planned lessons in Geography, Teachers have high expectations and more quality evidence can be presented in books. All children will use geographical vocabulary accurately and understand the different strands of geography, with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. Children will begin to make relevant links from geography to other curriculum subjects, such as History and Science. They will improve their enquiry skills and asking questions about the world around them, and their impact on the world.

All children will realise that they have choices to make in the world, developing a positive commitment to the environment and the future of the planet. Children will become competent in collecting, analysing and communicating a range of data gathered. They will be able to interpret a range of sources of geographical information and they will communicate geographical information in a variety of ways.