Geography

Our vision: ‘Embracing diversity, building a brighter future together’.

‘Learning at Boothferry inspires us to discover, explore and use our knowledge, skills and understanding to develop ourselves as citizens of tomorrow’.

Curriculum Intent

We offer a structure and sequence of lessons to help teachers ensure they have covered the skills required to meet the aims of the national curriculum. The content allows for a broader, deeper understanding of the four areas of geography identified in the curriculum. It will 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. The IPC units offer a range of opportunities for investigating places around the world as well as physical and human processes.
The coverage of geography in KS1 through topics such as ‘Treasure Island’, ‘A Day in the Life’, and ‘A to B’ provides opportunities to develop and consolidate knowledge and skills in the core geographical areas of locational and place knowledge, human and physical geography as well as key geographical skills and fieldwork. In KS2, units of work such as ‘Island Life’, ‘Gateways to the World’, ‘Different places Similar lives’, ‘Earth as an Island’ and ‘Going Global’ offer further opportunities to develop and consolidate knowledge and skills in the core geographical areas of locational and place knowledge, human and physical geography as well as key geographical skills and fieldwork.

The lessons are intended to improve children’s geographical vocabulary, map skills and geographical facts and provide opportunities for consolidation, challenge and variety to ensure interest and progress in the subject.

Curriculum Implementation

In order for children to know more and remember more in each area of geography studied, there is a structure to the lesson sequence whereby prior learning is always considered and opportunities for revision of facts and historical understanding are built into lessons. Revision should become part of good practice and ultimately help to build a depth to their historical understanding. Through revisiting and consolidating skills, our lessons and resources and display material help children build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills and challenge. The IPC have suggested a specific series of lessons for each unit, which will offer structure and narrative but are by no means to be used exclusively, rather to support planning and to ensure National Curriculum content coverage. The diagram below demonstrates our approach to teaching each unit: The revision and introduction of key vocabulary should also be built into each lesson. This vocabulary should then be included in display materials and additional resources to ensure that children are allowed opportunities to repeat and revise to deepen their geographical knowledge

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 will 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. All children expand on their skills in local knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography, geographical skills and fieldwork. Across both key stages, children have a range of opportunities to experience geography through practical engaging tasks beyond the classroom.

Curriculum Impact

We believe that the impact of our curriculum is that geography learning is loved by teachers and pupils across school, teachers have higher 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 inquisitiveness 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. All children in the school will be able to speak confidently about their geography learning, skills and knowledge. Impact can also be measured through key questioning skills built into lessons and formative assessment rubrics (aimed at targeting next steps in learning) which will lead to end of year summative assessments and end of year subject reviews that will inform the following year’s action plan.

Progression of Skills

If you would like to read the Progression of Skills document, please click below.

Progression of Vocabulary

If you would like to read the Progression of Vocabulary document, please click below.