Geography

Intent

At Lakeside Primary Academy, we aim for a high quality Geography curriculum which should inspire in pupils a curiosity, fascination and appreciation for the world we inhabit and its people.

We aim to provide children with an understanding of their relationship with the world around them and a love and responsibility for the natural world and a desire to protect and care for it.

Our teaching equips pupils with knowledge about places and people; resources in different environments; physical and human processes; formation and use of landscapes. We also enable children to develop geographical skills: collecting and analysing data; using maps, globes, aerial photographs and digital mapping to name and identify countries, continents and oceans; and communicating information in a variety of ways.

We use a cross-curricular approach to the teaching of Geography and we want children to enjoy and love learning by gaining knowledge and skills not just through experiences in the classroom, but also by venturing out and experiencing the world around them and completing fieldwork activities. We are committed to providing children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area so that they can develop a real sense of who they are and their heritage.

Implementation

Our Geography curriculum is designed so that children start with themselves and their school and local area before working out to areas or regions of the United Kingdom and then the rest of the world. We have developed a progression of skills for each year group, this enables pupils to build on and develop their knowledge and skills as they progress through the school. Cross-curricular links are planned for, with other subjects such as Maths, Writing and Computing being incorporated within Geography lessons.

At the start of each Geography topic children complete a Know, Want-to-know, Learned (KWL) grid to assess previous learning and what they want to get out of the topic. Teachers then use this to guide teaching and learning and then assess what the children have learnt at the end of the topic. Knowledge organisers are also used throughout topics to detail key information, questions and vocabulary. These are referred to regularly to support children with their acquisition and retention of knowledge.

The five strands of Location knowledge, Place Knowledge, Human and Physical Geography, Geographical Skills and Fieldwork and map work are evident throughout the Geography topics with specific Key Skills identified for every Geography lesson.

Impact

This Geography curriculum design and approach will lead to outstanding progress over time across key stages relative to a child’s individual starting point and their progression of skills. It will also lead pupils to be enthusiastic Geography learners, evidenced in a range of ways, including pupil voice and their work in Creative Curriculum books. Upon leaving Lakeside children will be equipped with the skills, knowledge and understanding to be confident Geographers as they enter Key Stage 3.

Our teaching of Geography will give children the self-assurance that they understand the world around them, the need to care for it and the impact our activities have on it.

Key Documents

Humanities Curriculum

Geography Knowledge Organisers

Subject Specific Knowledge Organisers are used as a reference point for children, staff and parents enabling all to be clear with the key vocabulary for each area of the curriculum.

Coming soon …