•  Why is Geography important?

It seems to me that there has never been a more important time to teach geography. We need to nourish young peoples’ curiosity and fascination about the world’s countries, cultures and environments. We need to help them understand the world they are growing up in. We also need to prepare them to live in a future world, as knowledgeable and responsible adults. Geography really matters because it can achieve all these things, by changing our understanding of ourselves, our communities and our relationship with the world in which we live.

GA Chief Executive, Alan Kinder

 The INTENT of our Geography Curriculum:

• Aims of the Geography Curriculum

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.

• Aims of the Geography Curriculum at Lancaster Christ Church School

Through the teaching of Geography at Lancaster Christ Church, we aim to:

• facilitate opportunities for children to be active participants and investigators in their own learning;
• create a sense of awe and curiosity in the world around us;
• develop children’s awareness of the wonders of the world in which we live;
• encourage children to recognise the variety of creation, both in a physical and human sense;
• teach children how to be stewards of God’s creation, taking responsibility for the world and recognising how our actions can sustain or destroy it;
• equip children to be ambassadors for the future.

The IMPLEMENTATION of our Geography Curriculum:

• Statutory Requirements

The statutory requirements for the teaching of Geography, as outlined in the National Curriculum Programme of Study are as follows:

Key stage 1

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.

 Key stage 2

Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.

Pupils should be taught to:

Locational knowledge

• locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities
• name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time
• identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night)

Place knowledge

• understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America

Human and physical geography

• describe and understand key aspects of:
  • physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
  • human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water

Geographical skills and fieldwork

• use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
• use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world
• use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.

• How is the Geography Curriculum planned at Lancaster Christ Church?

At Lancaster Christ Church, we are committed to providing a broad and balanced curriculum which provides rich opportunities for children to explore a range of subjects, thus developing a variety of knowledge, skills and interests which they can apply to opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in later life.

We value the individuality of our children and their various curriculum strengths and interests. As a school, we aim to provide opportunities for children to build upon these to become the best that they can be:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

1 Peter 4: 10

We have developed a Geography curriculum which:

• is reflective of our local context, making use of the environment around us in order to enable children to participate in real-world fieldwork outside the classroom;
• starts from what the children already know i.e. their own locality, to provide a foundation for the development of knowledge and skills;
• is logically sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before;
• uses a spiral approach so that children have an opportunity to connect new knowledge with existing knowledge;
• clearly identifies the key geographical intentions within a theme and ensures that there is a clear link between these and the activities planned for the children.