Subject leader: Mr Clarke
Our Curriculum Drivers
Intent
At St Mary’s we provide a high-quality Geography education inspiring our pupils to be curious and fascinated about the world around them. Children study their local area and contrasting localities, both within the United Kingdom and also in other parts of the world. The children learn to use maps to locate cities, countries, mountain ranges, rivers, seas and oceans.
Geography helps our pupils gain a greater understanding of the ways of life and cultures of other people in other places, as well as the impact that they as individuals have on the environment. They use atlases, photos and the internet to explore the environment and economics of those countries which they study. The skills they have developed in other curriculum areas are then used to report and record their findings.
Our curriculum is built around the three concepts of Geography, which we call our ‘Big Ideas’:
- Location: I am a geographer because I can locate different places in relation to one another, using globes and maps.
- Impact: I am a geographer because I investigate how humans and physical geography change and impact on one another.
- Diversity: I am a geographer because I explore and know about different places, people, resources and environments.
Implementation
Each year group builds on previous knowledge of location and place. Chronology is linked to the key concepts and building up from local to global locational and place knowledge.
Locational knowledge features at the start of each unit to encompass map skills and place knowledge through fieldwork.
Our ‘Eco Club Committee’ provides an additional pathway through our Geography curriculum whereby our members promote the message of sustainability so that our pupils are armed with the necessary knowledge to preserve the world for future generations.
Impact
Our geography curriculum should ensure that children leave St Mary’s:
- Remembering key locational knowledge of places as outlined in the National Curriculum
- Know how to source geographical information as required (including GPS/digital)
- Able to use a variety of vital vocabulary with which to discuss their geographical knowledge and understanding.
- Understanding global differences and diversity
- Knowing how their actions affect and impact the local environment and the sustainability of the Earth’s resources.
Our Geography curriculum CPD ensures that staff are knowledgeable and skilful teachers able to assess pupils’ learning against our assessment objectives.
How to support your child at home?
At St Mary’s, we believe that a strong home-school partnership is key to successful learning across the curriculum.
To support your child’s learning at home:
- Get out and explore! We live in a unique UNESCO World Biosphere Region. It embraces a wonderfully biodiverse stretch of the chalky South Downs and Sussex coast between the River Adur at Shoreham-by-Sea and the River Ouse at Newhaven.
- Use an atlas to choose a country and go on a make-believe trip!
- Watch the news and discuss features.
- Create a collage of flags!
- Create a quiz on capital cities.
- Encourage your child to be a critical thinker by asking questions about what they have seen or heard.
- Read a book set in a different country.
- Research a country your child is curious about.
