At Thringstone Primary School, we aim to provide a high-quality Geography education which inspires pupils to have a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. The ultimate goal is for this to stick with our pupils throughout their lives. Our teaching aims to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources, natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. Like other subjects in school, the teaching and learning in Geography will aim to develop children’s cultural, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual awareness.
How is it Taught?
At Thringstone, Geography is primarily delivered through four strands, Location and Local Geography, Physical and Human Features, Physical and Human Processes and Comparing and Contrasting. We start by focussing on our immediate environment, move out to look at our town and region, then we study Europe and finally we look at the wider world.
EYFS
Geography is delivered through, ‘Understanding the World.’ Children look at the features of their own environment. They look at how seasons change over time and how environments differ. Children in EYFS talk about things that spoil the World, including pollution; they investigate recycling and its importance.
KS1
In KS1, Geography will be taught weekly each half term. Sometimes this will form part of a topic theme and sometimes it will be taught as a standalone series of lessons. Pupils will develop knowledge about the local area, the United Kingdom and compare Thringstone with Whitby and a village in Africa. They will 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.
Pupils will be taught to:
Locational knowledge
- name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans
- name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas
Place knowledge
- understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country
Human and physical geography
- identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles
- use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to:
- key physical features, including: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather
- key human features, including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop          Â
Geographical skills and fieldwork
- use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage
- use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map
- use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features; devise a simple map; and use and construct basic symbols in a key
- use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment.
KS2
In KS2 children will have weekly Geography lessons that follow the long term plan. Pupils will extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They will develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge
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Pupils will be taught to:
Locational knowledge
- 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
- 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)
Place knowledge
- 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
Human and physical geography
- describe and understand key aspects of:
- physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
- 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
Geographical skills and fieldwork
- use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
- use 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