GEOGRAPHY
Intent:
At Barnack our Christian values, such as hope and courage, are essential in our teaching of Geography in order to show children they have great power and influence in the future of our world enabling them to feel they can be real change makers for a better planet. Through our teaching, we aim to inspire children’s genuine curiosity in the world around them, leading to a continued interest throughout their education and beyond. We give opportunities for children to develop their ability to ask questions and empower them to research for themselves and at times, following their own lines of enquiry.
As well as inspiring a genuine interest in the world around them, we will equip children with the necessary geographical skills they will need in the future by studying places, people, natural and human environments. This in turn will give them an understanding and awareness of human and physical forms and processes. Through both the development of their enquiry and investigative skills as well as their geographical knowledge, they will have a better understanding of their world and their place in it.
Implementation:
In order to foster children’s curiosity about the world, interest and creativity, we are enthusiastic about Geography and encourage children to explore and ask questions throughout their learning. Each year will cover two to three Geography topics, which link to our termly question. Geography will be linked into some History topics, where appropriate, to develop children’s knowledge and understanding. It will also ensure all areas of the curriculum are covered in depth.
To ensure that pupils develop a secure knowledge that they can build on, our Geography curriculum is designed to cover the four main strands: Locational Knowledge; Place knowledge; Human and Physical Geography; Geographical Skills and Fieldwork. When covering each of these strands, the content will be carefully sequenced by each year group; staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary and skills relevant to the unit. However, the overall topic may be taught in a cross-curricular way when appropriate to enable pupils to make rich, meaningful links within their learning and to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts.
Teachers are encouraged to consider opportunities available to use the school grounds and the local area for fieldwork to enable children to base learning on first hand experiences to enhance teaching and learning in Geography.
Impact:
Our clear progression of topics and skills enables children to work at an age appropriate standard across each year group, and at a deeper level for those who are able. By the time children leave St John’s they will have an excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like; have an excellent understanding of how much
human and physical environments are interrelated and have an extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary. They will have the ability to reach clear conclusions and develop a reasoned argument to explain findings. Children will have the ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about issues in society and the environment. This will be evident when using their learning to answer the termly question. We will have children who are passionate about their world with a real sense of curiosity to find out about it.
Assessment
We will...
● Find out what children already know so that they can build on this
● Unpick children’s misconceptions
● Check learning within (as well as at the end of) lessons
● Provide effective feedback to move learning forwards
● By talking to pupils
There is plenty of evidence that formative assessment, or ‘assessment for learning’ (AfL) if you prefer, can have a powerful impact on learning, when its core principles are at the heart of teachers’ practice.