GEOGRAPHY
Intent
We want our children to explore, appreciate and understand the world in which we live and how it has evolved. We aim for children to understand diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments as well as an understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. Our curriculum is designed to provide our children with the subject specific language they need to describe, question and discuss the world. Children can practice their geographical skills, including fieldwork skills such as map reading through local area studies and visits. The geography curriculum is based on the national curriculum and is carefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills are built on what was taught before working towards designed end points.
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We are proud at Crawford that we are a truly global community with children from a vast range of countries. We want children to bring their own knowledge and be able to learn from each other. We make sure that children’s cultural backgrounds are reflected in our Geography curriculum. Places and events have been carefully chosen in consultation with pupils, staff and parents to reflect our diverse community and so that by the end of KS2 children have a clear understanding of how places are linked and their own place within the world.
Implementation
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Geography is taught in a cross-curricular way at Crawford to enable children to make links and connections with their learning from nursery to year six. Children are taught a topic each half-term which is either predominantly driven by History or Geography. However, we know that the geography of a place affects its history and that historical factors affect the geography of a place, so within our geography topics will be complementary history lessons to enrich children’s understanding of a topic.
The geography curriculum is based on the national curriculum and is carefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills are built on what was taught before working towards designed end points.
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We focus on four key areas, which are revisited and built on through different topics. These areas are:
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Locational knowledge
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Place knowledge
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Human and Physical Geography
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Geographical skills and Fieldwork
In EYFS, Geography progression within the EYFS Framework is linked to Understanding the World . Here children learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions. They also learn about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They can talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another.
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In Year 1 children start with the familiar by learning about their local geography and drawing maps of their local area. Children also learn about different continents as well as share knowledge about links to their own countries. In Year 2 children deepen their knowledge of climate and weather by learning about Antarctica and coastlines comparing two different places in the British Isles.
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In Key Stage 2, learn about different aspects of physical geography including rivers in the Amazon, the water cycle in Malawi, volcanoes and earthquakes in the Philippines and different biomes and Climate Zones when learning about Amazon, the Galapagos and deserts.
Children also learn about trade links between countries when learning about the Commonwealth and the importance of natural resources in the Year 5 Silk Roads to Farm Routes topic.
Children’s knowledge of their local area and London builds throughout their time at Crawford School. In key stage 1 children learn about their local environment in London, study how the physical and human environment has changed over time in the Topic ‘ London Calling’ and visit key London landmarks and are introduced to basic map skills. In Key stage 2, children further embed the four key geographical areas. In Year 3 they discover more about their local area and are able to practice Geographical skills and Fieldwork focussing on our local area Camberwell.
Year 1
London Calling
Caribbean Celebrations
Where’s My Atlas
Year 2&3
Europe
Ring of Fire - Volcanoes and Earthquakes
Camberwell
Year 4
Amazonia
Malawi – the water cycle and natural resources
Magnificent Monuments
Year 5
Desert Survival
Silk Routes to Farm routes
Third Culture Kids
Year 6
Windrush
Commonwealth
Impact
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Through ongoing formative assessment and questioning, teachers assess children’s understanding of key concepts, ensuring that previous learning is secure A high-quality outcome for each unit of study is planned for which enables children to demonstrate their learning. By the end of Year 6, children will have a firm understanding of the key geographical concepts outlined in the national curriculum and will be able to demonstrate this by making cross-curricular links and applying their skills in a variety of contexts. The curriculum ensures that children at Crawford Primary are equipped with the necessary geographical skills and knowledge to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3.
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Children will have been taught to:
Locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities. Name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time. They will be able to identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night)
Children will understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America.
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Pupils will be able to describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle and human geography, including types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water
Children will have experience of using maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied. They will have used the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world.
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Children will have used fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.
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Our geography curriculum aims to prepare students to be responsible citizens and to respect the diversity and interconnectedness of our world, as well as recognise the impact they can have on the world around them. By studying inspiring places and people, as well as conducting practical geographical investigations, pupils will be equipped with the knowledge and skills both to ask questions about their environment, as well as be able to research and analyse information which may help them answer these questions. We want all children to leave year 6 with an appreciation for the natural world and considering themselves as global citizens.