Geography Curriculum
Long Term Plan
Nursery have explored the season of Autumn. We have identified similarities and differences between the natural world and areas around us.
Reception class children have enjoyed making journey sticks. We collected objects on our journey and created a map to show where we found each one. We have been enjoying observing the weather and we have learnt about rain, wind, ice and snow.
Year 1 have enjoyed looking at maps, especially aerial photographs of their school and village. They know the name of the village and country they live in. We have made messy maps of the classroom using everyday resources and conducted fieldwork of the school grounds where we chalked aerial view maps. It was really good fun and the children have begun using positional language accurately in these tasks.
Intent
What is taught?
We recognise the importance of Geography in every aspect of daily life. As one of the foundation subjects taught in primary schools, we give the learning of Geography the prominence it requires.
We follow the National Curriculum for Geography, which aims to ensure that all children:
- develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
- understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time
- are competent in the geographical skills needed for the following:
– collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
– interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
– communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.
We teach geography progressively.
We focus on the key geographical skills and knowledge whilst also gaining skills and knowledge in map and fieldwork.
We teach the importance of our locality, starting at our school in St Helen Auckland and spreading out to look at its place in our Town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, our country of England within the United Kingdom, our continent of Europe and finally the world in which we live. We investigate a wide range of maps to help children understand this.
We aim to develop children’s positive attitudes and curiosity whilst they engage in exploring the world around them. We also aim to give children the knowledge and skills needed to enable them to ask, answer and investigate key geographical questions.
Our Geography Curriculum lends itself to developing the following key skills for life (Learning Powers):
- noticing
- questioning
- making links
- reasoning
- capitalising
- distilling information
St Helen Auckland 
County Durham 
United Kingdom
Europe 
The World – earth from space
Implementation
How is geography taught in Our School?
When teaching geography, we see it as essential that there is a clear progression of skills and knowledge e.g. mapping skills and fieldwork skills.
Throughout the different year groups, we have a focus on development of vocabulary, specific to the topics being taught. Planning focuses on the key knowledge that the children should know and remember that is progressive and sequential. Teaching and learning in the classroom encourages children to retain key facts and information.
Geography is taught in a range of ways depending on the links to the topics covered and is planned to be delivered every other half term in:
- blocks and taught for whole sessions (usually the afternoon) across a few weeks of the half term.
- Or it is taught once a week across each week of the half term.
Geography is taught for 3 half terms within the year in each class.
Impact
Why is geography taught in this way?
The geography curriculum is taught this way so that children understand their place in the world and how the Community of St Helen Auckland links to other localities. It is important that links are made to their own locality (local rivers and landmarks, the weather conditions in the UK etc) before children can understand and compare physical and human geography in the wider world. Teaching geography this will enable children by the end of KS2 pupils to be confident when:
• Reading and understanding a range of different maps
• Asked to use compass points to identify positions of different places
• Using the local surroundings to use their fieldwork skills e.g. 6 figure grid references and 8 points of the compass.
• Using a variety of vocabulary specific to geography appropriate to their year groups
• Having a clear and deep understand of both human and physical geography
• Comparing a range of different countries from contrasting locations
This all prepares the children well for a smooth learning transition into Geography at KS3.
We assess the children’s recall and use of key skills by:
- use of planned key questions at the end of topics
- use of KWL grids at the end of topics
- evaluation grids at the end of each term and year that are passed to the next teacher each year
Pictures of map skills and field study work.
Medium Term Planning
Year 1 MTP
Year 2 MTP
Year 3 – MTP
Year 4 MTP
Year 5 MTP
Year 6 MTP
Long Term Planning
