Geography

Mrs Joanne Green

Geography Subject Leader

Why do we teach Geography?
At TIS our geography curriculum inspires in our children a curiosity and sense of wonder about the world and the people in it. Our teaching equips pupils with knowledge about their place in the world, their local environment and community and the impact their lives have on their surroundings. Our children gain an understanding of places that are significant to them before becoming exposed to the wider world through learning about contrasting places and the different cultures and people that make up the world they live in. As pupils progress, their knowledge about what places are like and how they have changed grows and they are able to locate countries, continents, the seas and oceans of the world. Children develop their observational, questioning and investigative skills through meaningful hands-on experiences and fieldwork. They learn to use age appropriate geographical equipment and data. A focus on oracy allows children to use geographical vocabulary accurately and with confidence. Our geography curriculum is delivered through the direct teaching of facts and topic based learning to enable pupils to build on their knowledge and skills as they progress throughout the school. 
 
How do we teach Geography?
Our Geography curriculum begins with the children gaining an understanding of places that are significant to them such as their classroom, the school building and grounds, their own street and their local town.  We then gradually expand our focus and expose our pupils to the wider world by learning about contrasting places. As pupils progress, their knowledge about what places are like grows and they are able to locate countries, continents, the seas and oceans of the world. Children develop their observational, questioning and investigative skills through meaningful, firsthand experiences and fieldwork. They learn to use appropriate equipment and data including OS maps, birds-eye view photographs, thermometers and compasses. 
 
How your child will make progress in Geography during their time at Telford Infant School?
We have a clear Geography progression map in place which enables the children to build on the Geography knowledge and skills they have as they move through the year groups. In Reception, Geography is not a specific curriculum subject but is embedded in the provision. The children use the indoor and outdoor environment to learn about the world around them. They take part in activities such as making their own maps for Little Red Riding Hood to guide her through the words, learning about the countries where particular animals come from and listening to and appreciating music from different cultures when celebrating Diwali and Chinese New Year. In Year 1 and 2, the children are taught progressively more challenging knowledge and skills through sequences of lessons. Year 1 focus on the geography of their locality before learning how our local area fits inside the country of England and how this in turn is part of The United Kingdom. Year 2 further develop their geographical skills and knowledge by learning about the wider world; looking at hot and cold regions, the different continents, oceans and seas and finally an in-depth study of an area of a non-European country looking at climate, buildings, people and the vegetation.
National Curriculum
 
Purpose of Study
 
A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time. 
 
Aims
 

The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils: 

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 to: 

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.

 

 Subject Content

 

Pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They should 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 should 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 

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.