We aim for children to know how to ‘think like a geographer’. Giving children this skill will allow them to use their knowledge in a range of different contexts; think about alternative futures; and to consider their influence on decisions that have been and will be made.
In our geography lessons, we hope to create a deep interest in geography and how it shapes our lives and the world around us. We aim that this allows our children to be familiar with different cultures across the world and be tolerant of the different customs that are seen worldwide.
We intend for our pupils to be increasingly knowledgeable, confident and assured in using and understanding the different vocabulary and equipment, that is associated with the four different strands in which geography can be split into: locational, place, skills and fieldwork and human and physical.
At the end of key stage 1, we expect children to be aware of the countries within the United Kingdom and the seven continents of our world. This knowledge of the United Kingdom is something we will hope inspire them to be aware of Britain and its role in the world.
We then begin looking at another non-European country and seeing the similarities and differences between there and their local area.
At the end of key stage 2, children will extend this knowledge to different countries in Europe, North and South America and some of the major cities that make up the countries within these continents.
Familiarity with what these countries are actually like and the people who live in them will provide children with the skills and knowledge to be a worldwide citizen who does not live their life by stereotypes.
This knowledge will support the children to see the links between all people and countries across the world and provide an understanding of the different diverse backgrounds of the population.
Each year we aim to develop the fieldwork skills of every child. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings.
Using the school’s Growth Mindset, we expect the children to tackle any challenges, which they may face in the area of geography. We look for the children to use any mistakes as an opportunity to learn something new in this area.
We look for our pupils to develop their fieldwork skills by allowing them the opportunities to think for themselves and independently explore different concepts in the real world. We hope that these experiences will allow each child to appreciate the importance of geography as a subject which has relevance and importance in their everyday lives.
Using the school’s Growth Mindset, we expect the children to tackle any challenges which they may face in the area of geography. We look for the children to use any mistakes as an opportunity to learn something new in this area and to help them to have strategies to tackle any future challenges as students or as responsible citizens later in life.
At St John’s Primary Academy, we study Geography every other term as we alternate it with History. We do this to ensure that we teach these lessons in enough detail so that the children are engaged in each topic.
We use the Kapow’s Primary Geography, which gives us a clear progression of knowledge and skills.
The Kapow scheme allows each learner to have a scaffold to ensure everyone can access the learning
Each topic we study begins with a question, which is studied in detail over a sequence of lessons. These questions are designed to be open ended so that there is no one right answer. It is about the method of thinking like a geographer and using evidence and knowledge that is important.
Due to the open-ended nature of learning, the allows the children to challenge themselves and take the learning further.
Each lesson begins with a recap to retrieve the taught knowledge in order for it to become part of their long-term memory and something that is remembered in primary school and beyond.
Formative assessment informs teaching and learning
At the end of each topic, an exit quiz supports summative assessment judgements of the knowledge that the children have gained over the unit of lessons.
Learning will be monitored by the subject leader through book scrutiny and from observing the learning happening in the classroom environment.
As well as this, we talk to the children to gain their opinion on how the learning is taught and to gauge the level of learning embedded into long-term memory.