Geography

Intent – what do we teach?

When planning for the Geography curriculum we intend to provide our children with a high-quality Geography curriculum as outlined in the National Curriculum this will:

"inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Geography teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time."

We use the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) scheme to support our teaching of Geography. The Primary Knowledge Curriculum aspires to create curious and knowledgeable young people, who hold a deep understanding and appreciation of the discipline of Geography, and are able to talk about their local environment, the community they live in and global issues.

Our geography curriculum helps pupils build powerful knowledge of the world. Conceptual understanding is at the heart of our geography curriculum and children will learn about key geographical concepts including place, space, the environment, and how the world around them is interconnected.

Throughout the curriculum, children will consider how we know about the world, what geographers do, what they look for, and how they may interpret their observations. By answering questions such as ‘what would a geographer say about this place?’ we encourage children to think about the discipline of geography and how knowledge is formed.

Pupils following the PKC will have many opportunities to make interesting and complex connections between what they study in geography and other subjects such as history and science. The knowledge-rich approach to a primary geography curriculum supports children to understand the world around them, to think deeply about global issues and to develop their own sense of identity; knowing who they are and equipping them with the power to determine their futures.

​The curriculum aims to ignite children’s love for geography, preparing them with essential knowledge for Key Stage 3 and beyond. We also engage our youngest children in EYFS with understanding the world around them and the community that they live in. Through the careful use of PKC and Development Matters the children learn all about their local environment, different countries around the world and start to consider how the U. K is similar and different to other countries. Our children regularly visit the wooland area in order to explore nature and ask questions about the natural world. Please see below for how the Geography curriculum builds on the EYFS curriculum and EYFS is always featured on our half-termly medium term plans when it is appropriate. 

Implementation - how do we teach it?

The geography curriculum at Mossley Primary School has been designed to be both knowledge-rich and coherently sequenced. We teach geography as a discrete subject weekly in Key Stage 2 and then in Key Stage 1 we teach geography weekly for alternate half terms. The organisation of the curriculum can be seen in the documents that you will find at the bottom of this webpage. Each unit that is studied has a knowledge organiser that is used by the children to support their retrieval of knowledge and the key vocabulary. It may also feature a map or diagram if it is relevant to the unit that the children are studying. 

Each year our geography curriculum begins with a ‘Spatial Sense’ unit that explicitly teaches geographical skills such as locating places on a map, positioning items on a map, using symbols in a key, interpreting scale, reading climate graphs, identifying locations using co-ordinates, interpreting population data, identifying elevation on relief maps and more. The spatial sense units for each year group are positioned at the beginning of theyear to explicitly teach skills which will then be used in context throughout the rest of the year as children apply those skills to learn more about people, places and the environment. The spatial sense units build on prior knowledge before moving children on as the level of challenges increases from year to year. 

Our curriculum is translated over time in the classroom following a structured approach. Teachers are provided with detailed documents for each unit, prepared by subject specialists, to support with subject knowledge and planning. This ensures every teacher has secure subject knowledge and reduces workload, enabling teachers to spend more time thinking about how each lesson can be effectively enacted in their classroom to support their class.  

Each lesson starts with a prior learning review, where children are supported to retrieve prior knowledge and make connections. We have an emphasis on explicitly teaching vocabulary, and each lesson starts with introducing, orally rehearsing, and engaging with key vocabulary (e.g., looking at the etymology of new words). Key vocabulary is contextualised throughout the lesson and children are given opportunities to apply new words. Our teachers enact our intended curriculum using research-based pedagogy, such as Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, to ensure information is presented in small steps, clearly explained, and modelled, and children have many opportunities to talk, answer questions, explain their learning and work independently. Throughout lessons, teachers assess and monitor pupil responses (e.g., through questioning, written and oral responses, multiple choice quizzing, using Knowledge Organisers) and provide effective feedback.  

The children also have the opportunity to improve their Geography knowledge outside the classroom for example fieldwork in the local area, visits to Chester Zoo and Year 6 visiting France to embrace life in a different European country. 

Impact- how do we measure the impact of what we teach?

Our progressive geography curriculum has been carefully designed in such a way that ensures that children know more and remember more across a lesson, series of lessons, from each term to the next and then building on from the previous years learning.

Assessment of geography is on-going throughout a pupil’s school journey. The teaching of geography is assessed by the class teacher during and after lessons with both verbal and written feedback given when appropriate. Evidence of the learning is dependent on the lesson outcome, year group and the skills and knowledge being developed. Throughout the course of the lesson the class teacher will move around the class, offering support where needed so that each child receives direct feedback and the appropriate level of challenge.

Geography is assessed using low stakes multiple choice quizzes and in class assessments at the end of a topic to assess their knowledge.  This is used to inform future planning and starters in lessons where pupils recap and review previous learning e.g. through a labelled diagram to show their understanding. In Key Stage 2 children are also given the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding through a written task.

The children's Geography books show evidence of a balanced and wide-ranging geography curriculum. They demonstrate that the children have acquired key knowledge in the topic taught and whether a child is able to apply some of the vocabulary that they have learnt for a specific unit. Pupil voice is used to ensure that the children know more and remember more and we regularly speak to the children who tell us that:

"I love learning about new countries and places that are far away from here ." (Yr 2 pupil)

"I have really enjoyed learning about how Cartographers have made maps and how maps have become distorted." (Yr 6 pupil)

"Geography is one of my favourite subjects because we can get outside and learn all about where we live." (Yr 5 pupil)

Our curriculum allows pupils to feel like they have explored the world that they live in. Our geography curriculum equips pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people and environments. We have seen that arming children with powerful knowledge about the world around them helps them to develop a love for the subject of geography, and also recognise their own role in becoming a responsible global citizen. 

How can I support my child with this subject?

At the bottom of the webpage we have provided some 'Top Tips to help your child to become a brilliant geographer'. Please take a look and complete some of the suggested activities. If you do then please email some pictures to office@mossleyce.cheshire.sch.uk and it may be worth some house points! In addition please look at the webpage below where you will find lots of recommended high quality geography texts that your child may want to read.

https://www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/topics/geography/

Geography explains the past, illuminates the present and prepares us for the future. What could be more important than that?

                                                                                                                                                                                  (Michael Palin 2007)