Geography at St’ Thomas’
Intent – Our vision for Geography
At St Thomas’, we aim to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings.
Through our scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of how geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them.
Kapow Primary’s Geography scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National Curriculum. The aims also align with those in the National Curriculum. For EYFS, the activities allow pupils to work towards the ‘Understanding the world’ Development Matters statements and Early Learning Goals, while also covering foundational knowledge that will support them in their further geography learning in Key Stage 1.
Implementation – How we plan for, and teach Geography
At St Thomas’, we use the Kapow Primary scheme to teach Geography throughout our school. The National Curriculum organises the Geography attainment targets under four subheadings or strands:
• Locational knowledge
• Place knowledge
• Human and physical geography
• Geographical skills and fieldwork
Kapow Primary’s Geography scheme has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these four strands across each year group.
In EYFS, two units provide a solid foundation of geographical skills, knowledge and enquiry for children to transition successfully onto Key stage 1 Geography learning, whilst also working towards the Development Matters statements and Early Learning Goals. These units consist of a mixture of adult-led and child-initiated activities which can be selected by the teacher to fit in with Reception class themes or topics.
Cross-curricular links are included throughout each unit, allowing children to make connections and apply their Geography skills to other areas of learning. Our enquiry questions form the basis for our Key Stage 1 and 2 units, meaning that pupils gain a solid understanding of geographical knowledge and skills by applying them to answer enquiry questions. In attempting to answer them, children learn how to collect, interpret and represent data using geographical methodologies and make informed decisions by applying their geographical knowledge. Each unit contains elements of geographical skills and fieldwork to ensure that fieldwork skills are practised as often as possible. Fieldwork includes smaller opportunities on the school grounds to larger-scale visits to investigate physical and human features. Developing fieldwork skills within the school environment and revisiting them in multiple units enables pupils to consolidate their understanding of various methods.
Lessons incorporate various teaching strategies from independent tasks to paired and group work, including practical hands-on, computer-based and collaborative tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles. We will also use school trips to enhance our teaching of geography units where appropriate.
Impact - How we evaluate learning in Geography
Teachers continually evaluate children’s learning through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. In each lesson, teachers ensure children are assessed against the learning objectives and planning is responsive to gaps and misconceptions.
The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary Geography scheme of work is that children will:
● Compare and contrast human and physical features to describe and understand similarities and differences between various places in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
● Name, locate and understand where and why the physical elements of our world are located and how they interact, including processes over time relating to climate, biomes, natural disasters and the water cycle.
● Understand how humans use the land for economic and trading purposes, including how the distribution of natural resources has shaped this.
● Develop an appreciation for how humans are impacted by and have evolved around the physical geography surrounding them and how humans have had an impact on the environment, both positive and negative.
● Develop a sense of location and place around the UK and some areas of the wider world using the eight-points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and keys on maps, globes, atlases, aerial photographs and digital mapping.
● Identify and understand how various elements of our globe create positioning, including latitude, longitude, the hemispheres, the tropics and how time zones work, including night and day.
● Present and answer their own geographical enquiries using planned and specifically chosen methodologies, collected data and digital technologies.
● Meet the ‘Understanding the World’ Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS, and the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National Curriculum for Geography by the end of Year 2 and Year 6