St Michael's CofE Primary School

At St Michael’s, we aim to provide a high-quality geography curriculum which develops pupils’ interest in the variety of human and physical features, both in the local surroundings and wider world.

We have developed our curriculum to ensure that learning is progressive and provides interesting and exciting ways for pupils to engage and develop their natural curiosity. This is carried out through investigations and fieldwork.

Implementation

A range of resources:

Children have access to a range of resources to support their learning. Atlases and globes are available for all children to support their understanding of locations. The library service provides a range of books covering different topics and localities. These are shared among classes and in shared areas. The online subscription to Digimaps allows teachers to use a range of maps for any location within the UK.
Class world maps are kept up to date. Classes keep a log of all the places they have learnt about throughout the course of the year. This can include those taught explicitly during geography lessons but also places which may have been touched upon in other subjects or mentioned in books read to the class, for example.

Cultural, contemporary and environmental geography and diversity:

Children are given opportunities to explore current cultural and environmental challenges and concerns.

They learn about the lives of other cultures around the world including tribes, religious groups and communities across the globe.

Vocabulary exposure:

Displays around school support children in their geographical knowledge and understanding whilst also showcasing work. Key vocabulary is displayed in all classrooms. This is relevant in terms of age-related expectations. This vocabulary is added to and developed throughout the year. This ensures that children can access this terminology in lessons to apply to their written and oral work.
In KS2, vocabulary specific to each lesson is visible to children on the learning objectives stuck into books.
Children in KS2 carry out a ‘Never Heard The Word’ grid for terminology linked to their topic. At the beginning of a new topic, children assess themselves as to whether they have heard a word before or know the meaning of this word. As they progress to towards the end of this topic, they reassess themselves in green pen to show which new vocabulary they understand and can use.

Opportunities to write at length:

Children are frequently given opportunities to write at length, especially in KS2, such as through double page spreads, diaries and enquiry findings.

Mind maps, knowledge organisers:

At the beginning of each topic, children are invited to ask questions or discuss what they hope to find out by the end of the topic. This is then recorded on a display board or in books.
Whilst there are set objectives which need to be covered in each topic, teachers can use these pre-topic discussions to inform or adjust their planning so that pupils are engaged and their curiosity is stimulated.

Brain builders:

As part of our homework policy, children are expected to create Brain Builders at home. These are project-based activities which link to the children’s learning within school. Brain Builders generally involve the children researching a topic and then presenting their findings. They can present their learning any way that they like, drawing on their own strengths and interests. Some examples include: artwork, creative writing, information posters, leaflets, models etc.
These projects regularly link to the geography curriculum.

Whole school initiatives:

Whole school initiatives allow children to partake in cross curricular learning on local, national and international scales.

Displays:

Displays around school support children in their geographical knowledge and understanding whilst also showcasing work. Key vocabulary is displayed in all classrooms. This is relevant in terms of age-related expectations. This vocabulary is added to and developed throughout the year. This ensures that children can access this terminology in lessons to apply to their written and oral work.

Fieldwork, school trips, independent enquiry and critical thinking:

Fieldwork Is carried out both on and around the school grounds. This can involve observation, measuring, data collection and field sketches.
In some cases, classes work together to complete field work.

School trips often involve activities such as orienteering and map reading.
Children are challenged to carry out geographical enquiries. These often lead to opportunities to write at length.

Impact

Geography knowledge and understanding is assessed in the following ways:

Mind maps and ‘what I know’ sheets.

Formative assessment informs future planning and teaching.
Double page spreads (KS2)
Never heard the word grids (KS2)
Learning objectives where both children and the teacher assess understanding following the marking policy.