Intent

 

Across the Fair Acre Federation, it is our intent to provide a high quality geography education so that our children have a wide range of opportunities to develop their geographical knowledge and skills enabling them to think as geographers.

 

As a result of geography being taught throughout Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, we want:

• to equip pupils with clear 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.
• our lessons to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people
• pupils to use their growing knowledge about the world to help 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 to provide the framework and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

 Implementation

 

 Our children will be taught Geography in a way that ensures progression of the knowledge and skills set out in the National Curriculum (2014), and follows a sequence to build on previous learning. Teachers use our progression of knowledge and skills documents to plan their geography lessons. This ensures that the knowledge and skills taught are progressive from year group to year group.

Teachers may block teaching and learning of geography but will ensure there is an appropriate balance and distribution of work across the year. It is important that geography knowledge, from previous topics, is revisited to review that knowledge has ‘stuck’ and provide another opportunity to revisit the knowledge again to help it ‘stick’. Teachers teaching mixed age classes will select knowledge and skills within a theme/topic for each term looking at all of the year group objectives. Suggested themes are given for each year group. The theme/topic might work well alongside other curriculum areas such as Science; be the main topic for the term eg ‘Rainforests’ with Literacy links made; or work best as a discrete unit of learning.  

Our main aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in geography and we use a variety of teaching and learning styles in our lessons to achieve this.

We believe children will become geographers when the teaching, learning and sequencing of the curriculum includes the following :

• Memorable experiences which help knowledge, skills and vocabulary to ‘stick’ such as practical experiences, visitors who talk about personal experience of different places, photographs and videos
• We go on visits to places of interest and undertake field work in the local area and beyond
• Enhancing the learning through the environment –images, non-fiction books, vocabulary, maps and globes
• Finding out what the children already know (eg KWL grid) and Knowledge organisers
• Locational knowledge facts taught and revisited often through ‘mental starter’ type beginning to lessons
• Children have a record of learning in topic/journal books and activities are differentiated to ensure that all children can access the tasks and have an appropriate level of challenge
• Understanding where the place is compared to where we are, using maps, globes, compass directions and other markers
• Regular study of different and contrasting places using a range of resources including books, images, film clips and artefacts
• Access and exposure to a range of maps, atlases and globes
• Use of aerial photographs, plan perspectives and digital/computer mapping (KS2)
• Cross curricular opportunities are considered as a means of enhancing children’s learning
• Children are provided with opportunities to work independently or collaboratively, to ask as well as answer geographical questions
• In Early Years there are continuous provision opportunities to develop geographical skills and knowledge
• Review and revisit key ideas
• KS1 pupils should understand basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness. KS2 study will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.

 

Impact

 

Our geography curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. We focus on progression of knowledge, skills and vocabulary in each unit of work. Assessment is an integral part of the teaching and learning process. Teachers monitor progress in a formative way and adjust their teaching accordingly. The assessment of children’s work is on-going to ensure that understanding is being achieved and that progress is being made. Feedback is given to the children as soon as possible, and marking work will follow the school’s marking policy.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

 

• Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary before and after the unit is taught.
• Images and videos of the children’s practical learning/learning walks and observations.
• POP tasks (proof of progression)/comparative judgement
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s work is scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.
• Action planning for progress