Geography

 

Intent

 

Our Geography curriculum is designed to develop the children of Clanfield Junior School’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

Our children investigate a range of places – both in Britain and abroad – to help develop their knowledge and understanding of the Earth’s physical and human processes. We are committed to providing children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area of Clanfield and Portsmouth so that they can develop of real sense of who they are, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special. We also develop our children’s ability to apply geographical skills to enable them to confidently communicate their findings and geographical understanding to a range of audiences.

 

 

Implementation:

 

Through high quality teaching, we develop the following essential characteristics of geographers:

• A knowledge of where places are and what they are like, both in Britain and the wider world;
• An understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected;
• A base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary;
• Fluency in geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills, as well as effective
• presentation techniques;       
• The ability to reach clear conclusions and explain their findings;
• Excellent fieldwork skills as well as other geographical aptitudes and techniques;
• The ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about
• current issues in society and the environment;
• A genuine interest in the subject and a real sense of curiosity about the world and the people who live here.

            

As part of this planning process, teachers use:

• A knowledge organiser which outlines knowledge (including vocabulary) that our children apply in lessons;
• A cycle of lessons for each subject, starting from an enquiry question, which carefully plans for progression and depth concentrating on the geographical skills suited to the age group;
• Challenge questions for pupils to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner;
• Trips and visiting experts who will enhance the learning experience;
• Appropriate curriculum themed home learning tasks which children complete with adults at home;

Impact:

Our Geography Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
• A celebration of learning for each term which demonstrates progression across the school;

 

The impact of our geography curriculum is reflected in students’ enthusiasm for the subject and their ability to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world contexts. They will leave KS2 with a strong foundation in geography, ready to tackle more complex geographical concepts at the next stage of their education, and with a heightened sense of global citizenship.