Geography

Intent

‘The study of geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It’s about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exist across continents. And in the end, it’s about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.’
President Barack Obama

At Bader Primary, we are passionate about children understanding not just their immediate surroundings but also the broader world. With an inclusive, ambitious and progressive geography curriculum, we aim to allow children to discover how the environment can affect their lives and determine their futures. We envision that the study of geography will enable our children to be respectful, develop a sense of identity and become responsible, global citizens. We aspire to provide children with engaging, memorable experiences that help them to apply and demonstrate their learning. We hope to foster our children’s sense of resilience, whilst also providing time for them to be curious about the world around them.

Implementation

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Geography, we follow the National Curriculum guidelines to ensure all aspects, knowledge and skills are being taught across all year groups. We implement a curriculum that is progressive and ensures there is clear skills, knowledge and vocabulary progression throughout school.

In EYFS, children are introduced to the concept of Geography through the world around them. They learn about the changes in the weather and seasons. They discuss where they live and what their house looks like. They discover the geography of our school and its grounds, making simple observations and maps.

In KS1, children build on their understanding of our school and their home and they are introduced to the wider community of Thornaby. They explore local areas through outdoor learning and use simple research skills and discussion to answer big questions. As they progress we aim to provide children with the geographical knowledge of a place that is very different from where they live.

In KS2, we aim to broaden pupils’ horizons by introducing them to different continents and countries around the world. They begin by learning about physical features of the Earth’s crust and discovering the wide range of biomes on our planet. We aim to enable pupils to use map and fieldwork skills to delve deeper into the field of geography.

In Key Stage 1 and 2, each topic starts with a ‘hook’ to engage and excite the children about the topic they will be learning through a variety of practical and experimental activities.Throughout the topic we provide a variety of opportunities inside and outside the classroom and, where appropriate, we use geographical tools such as compasses, atlas and GIS mapping. We aim to provide children with access to visitors, workshops and educational visits in order to excite and intrigue our children to find out more about the world they live in. Topics will end with a ‘final flourish’ where children get to celebrate and showcase their learning and involve parents and carers.

Impact

Geography at Bader has been planned carefully to teach the main areas of the geography curriculum, which provides our pupils with an overview of the world around them. As they get older, they will be given the opportunities to explore the world with a critical mind. Children will have the opportunity to make links to previously studied topics and make comparisons. Children will be enthused by their Geography topics, through our cross-curricular approach and enrichment activities which help them to be respectful, develop a sense of identity and become responsible, global citizens. Our assessments and monitoring allow us to see the impact of our teaching, guide future planning and ensure that our standards of teaching are high.

The impact of the curriculum is seen in:

• Summative assessment using a case study task to guide teacher judgement
• A range of recording in pupils individual geography books
• Discussion with pupils about their learning
• Questioning and enquiry based learning

Autumn

Spring

Home & Away
(Local Study – Thornaby & Redcar)

Summer

Autumn

Spring

Down Under
(Australia & New Zealand)

Summer

Autumn

Spring

Active Planet
(Volcanoes and Earthquakes)

Summer

Autumn

Spring

Amazing Amazon
(Rainforests)

Summer

Autumn

Spring

Frozen Planet
(Arctic & Antarctica)

Summer

Autumn

Spring

Blue Planet
(Rivers, natural disasters, current affairs and issues affecting our planet)

Summer