Geography
What Do We Want Our Pupils to Achieve?
Geography is an important part of the curriculum. It is the study of our lives, the natural world and the way in which we have developed, and ultimately impacted, the planet on which we live. We want our pupils to aspire to be lifelong geography learners who want to learn more and to do more. Our aim is for all of our pupils, irrespective of their learning and physical abilities, to challenge themselves and to achieve a greater understanding of physical processes in geography and the human geography issues that affect their locality, their country and their world.
How is Geography taught?
At The Rosary Catholic Primary School, we have created a bespoke geography curriculum aimed at developing our pupils’ interest in their world and igniting their curiosity about the places, people and natural and human environments of our planet.
In order to stimulate our pupils’ interest and to support their development, we teach geography using a thematic approach. This approach ensures links between other subjects and within geography itself. Opportunities for pupils to learn about their locality (through local fieldwork), their country and the wider world are firmly embedded within our curriculum. We ensure that geographical skills, knowledge and terminology sit firmly at the heart of our curriculum so that as our pupils grow and move through the school, they build upon their knowledge and deepen their understanding.
We ensure that our geography curriculum motivates our pupils to find out about the human and physical world whilst preparing them to understand their role and responsibility in it. We encourage all our pupils to foster a curiosity for geography that prepares them to be 21st-century learners and leaders in a rapidly developing world.
• Our geography themes commence with a hook activity and close with a creative outcome that is developed throughout the theme.
• Following the hook activity, pupils consider questions they would like answered during the theme. These questions are displayed on the Theme Question Wall and inform teachers’ planning.
• We endeavour to ensure that geography knowledge is consolidated through frequent quick fire questioning and informal quizzes. We aim for pupils to know more and remember more.
• We believe that off-site learning is a valuable component of education, further enriching pupils’ experience and exposing them to an enhanced understanding of their world. We therefore ensure that where appropriate, pupils experience geography focused off-site educational trips.
Useful Geography Websites
Year 1: Where Do I Live?
Eden Project - How to build an insect home
BBC Bitesize - The parts of a plant
BBC Bitesize - The life cycle of a plant
Woodland Trust - British Trees
Year 1: Amazing Animals
BBC Bitesize - Animals including humans
Year 2: Contrasting Localities
BBC Bitesize - Life of the Maasai
Year 2: Transport
British Science Week
History of Cars
London Transport Museum
Year 2: Under the Sea
Newsround - Plastic polluting our oceans
Year 3: Natural Disaster!
Newsround - Children of the drought
Year 3: Perfect Planet?
National Geographic Kids - 10 Facts about Polar Bears
The Kids Guide to Global Warming
Newsround - Global Warming
Cool Kid Facts - Global Warming
The School Run - Caring for the environment
GOV.UK - Government delivers new £10 million fund to plant 130000 new trees
GOV.UK - England's marine life protected with new blue belt expansion
Twinkl - Air Pollution: Is it really a big deal?
Friends of the Earth
GOV.UK - Gove takes action to ban plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds
Year 4: Water, Water Everywhere!
Newsround - The problem with plastic
YouTube - Measuring the Amazon river
WaterAid - KS2 Resources
WaterAid - Book a Speaker
Water Use It Wisely
Year 4: Heston Detectives
Year 5: Contrasting Regions
YouTube - Caribbean drone footage
YouTube - Isle of White drone footage
YouTube - Catalunya drone footage
