"The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together."
Barack Obama
AIMS
Our Geography curriculum is based around the Rising Stars Geography Scheme. It provides a geography curriculum that is ambitious and designed for all pupils. It is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively providing the necessary knowledge and skills for the pupils’ future to empower them to take their role as informed and active citizens in the 21st century. Its emphasis is not just on geographical knowledge but also skills and concepts. It has the same challenging academic ambitions for all pupils. They all work from a shared starting point to answer the same key questions.
IMPLEMENTATION
Our geography curriculum is taught through a series of units. From Year 1 to Year 6 the scope of each unit increases, expanding from the pupils’ own environment to the wider world. Place studies start local and increase in scale to regional, national and global, allowing for revisiting, developing and challenging ideas and concepts. Similarly, consideration of the weather and seasons progresses to more in-depth study of the importance of climate and finally addresses protecting environments from global warming and combating climate change.
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Some units are essentially human geography, other physical geography, but most are holistic geography, considering human and physical geography together – the real, undifferentiated world of the pupil.
Through the carefully planned units, skills and knowledge are introduced and then revisited in different units in different contexts. The progression sequence below helps facilitate this as it extends geographical knowledge, understanding and thinking.
Observe (through fieldwork and use of photos, artefacts, maps, etc.)
Acquire appropriate geographical vocabulary
Use the vocabulary through geographical talk
Use the vocabulary to describe (e.g. geographical features, photos and events)
Ask geographical questions
Give reasons for observations and answer questions
Give explanations
IMPACT
The impact of our geography curriculum is evidenced through the pupils’ use and understanding of the identified geographical vocabulary and their association of it with relevant images or features. It is evidenced by the use and outcomes of the varied activities, assessments and quizzes provided. It is also demonstrated by the pupils’ ability to show progress along the ‘observe, use geographical vocabulary to describe, compare, give reasons and explain what they are learning about’ sequence, and in their acquisition, application and transferability of geographical skills. In particular, it is evidenced by the pupils’ ability, willingness and confidence in addressing and discussing each unit’s key question, giving an ability-indicative response focusing on geographical vocabulary, skills and concepts.
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