Intent
Our aim in Geography at Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School is to encourage pupils to develop a thorough understanding of the world that we live in. They will have excellent knowledge of their local area, the country in which they live and the rest of the world around them. As geographers, pupils will be taught to make links between areas of prior learning, with the aim of developing engaged, motivated and curious learners that can make comparisons and links between the world’s many regions and their characteristics. From this point, over time, they will be able to develop a fluency in complex geographical enquiry skills and will be able to express well-balanced opinions on issues in society and the environment.
In line with our whole-school Curriculum Intent, teachers will enthuse and inspire pupils in History bringing the learning alive through practical, hands-on learning experiences. We will do this by providing experiences that will expose children to real-life geography. This will be successfully imbedded by getting children to explore their local community aswell as wider afield; getting their hands on raw geographical items such as different types of rocks, compasses and globes; accumulating fieldwork skills through collecting and analysing data as well as using other physical sources such as maps, ariel photos and digital mapping.
Through guided reading sessions, pupils will be immersed in non-fiction texts to further enhance their understanding of geographical knowledge and skills. Key vocabulary will be sourced at the outset and defined clearly so as to allow all pupils to be able to fully comprehend and access their learning journey.
As always, our core school values will be seen through the subject. Pupils will be encouraged to have the confidence to be able to talk about what they have learnt in Geography using subject specific vocabulary. The will find enjoyment in the learning of Geography and have ambitions to be as successful as they can be within all of their work in this subject. Pupils will pull on their ability to show perseverance talking challenging geographical concepts and to have empathy when considering how our very differing world can impact in different ways on many.
Implementation
Our Geography curriculum has been designed to cover all of the skills, knowledge and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum states that ‘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.’ To ensure that pupils develop a secure knowledge that they can build on, our Geography curriculum is organised into a progression model that outlines the skills, knowledge and vocabulary to be taught in a sequentially coherent way.
Locational Knowledge | Place Knowledge | Human & Physical Geography | Geography Skills and Fieldwork
The above are all mapped out to ensure that pupils build on secure prior knowledge. When covering each of these strands, the content will be carefully organised by each cohort through a long term plan which is closely monitored by the subject leader. Content knowledge, key questions and progressive vocabulary will then be planned for at a greater level of detail in medium term plans. Geography is delivered through subject specific teaching through whole-school cross curriculum themes. The aim of this is to allow for clear progression from EYFS through to Year Six. It also allows us to pull on a common thread throughout the school in a given term and further add to this through whole-school assemblies and other initiatives.
Review | Teach | Practice | Apply
All learning will start by reviewing prior knowledge and establishing prior links. This will be scaffolded to support children to recall previous learning and make connections. Within whole class teaching, staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the learning to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts. Children will continue to be engaged and inspired through the delivery of Geography which allows them to be exposed to a range of real-life experiences, educational visits, opportunities for Geography fieldwork are a few examples. Through practice elements of each session, children will look to secure their understanding through high quality teaching from staff as well as lots of in-class discussions. Pupils will then look to apply their geographical understanding and apply skills through well thought out, effective and engaging outcome opportunities.
Learning will be supported through the use of knowledge organisers that provide children with scaffolding that supports them to retain new facts and vocabulary in their long term memory. Knowledge organisers are used for pre-teaching, to support home learning and also as a part of daily review. Learning walls in every classroom provide constant historical key vocabulary for children to refer to as well as prior learning reminders. Continuous provision areas in every classroom allow opportunities for pupils to practice and apply their geographical understanding and skills. Whole school, fortnightly quizzes will be used to assess understanding and highlight any gaps to be addressed. Learning is reviewed also on a termly basis, after a period of forgetting, so that teachers can check whether information has been retained. Geography assessment is ongoing throughout the relevant cross-curricular themes to inform teachers with their planning lesson activities and differentiation.
Impact
Our Geography curriculum is planned so that pupils have a good understanding of historical concepts, knowledge, skills and vocabulary that ensures they achieve age related attainment at the end of each Key Stage. Clear links to prior knowledge and whole-school themes for clear progression will help towards ensuring there is a consistent and systematic approach to the teaching and learning of Geography at Eythorne Elvington. End of topic “showcase” projects will demonstrate pupils understanding over the course of the term and will be used as a means of celebrating their progress and cementing the skills and knowledge that they have acquired. Termly assessments will take place to track children’s progress against age related expectations for Geography.