Southville Primary School

Subject Definition

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.

Intent

At Southville, our vision is for children to develop a working knowledge of the world around them to include: Local knowledge, place knowledge, the differences between human and physical geography and to be able to communicate and extract information using a variety of geographical resources.

By the time children leave us, we hope that they will have a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We also hope that as adults, they will be the guardians who will ensure that the environment will continue to be protected for future generations to come.

The primary role of geography at Southville Primary School is to help children to develop their knowledge and appreciation of their place in our dynamic and ever-changing world. The curriculum will help the children to develop their understanding of the Earth, its interconnected human and physical landscapes, and the processes that develop and drive these interactions. It will help to prepare children for their role as citizens of a 21st century world and provide them with the essential cultural capital to become global citizens with an awareness of current world events and the passion and confidence to do something about them.

We aim to inspire the children to appreciate the beauty of their rural locality whilst also broadening their horizons and providing them with knowledge and experiences of landmarks, lifestyles and cultures that are not always encountered in our immediate setting. Our Geography curriculum equips pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people and environments. We have seen that arming children with powerful knowledge about the world around them helps them to develop a love for the subject of geography, and also recognise their own role in becoming a responsible global citizen.

Implementation

Our geography curriculum balances human and physical geography, with units exploring topics identified within the national curriculum. We gradually build up complexity in each of these areas. So pupils will, for example, learn first about natural and human features within their local community before evaluating other places using the same lenses. There is also a balance between theoretical knowledge and practical fieldwork skills within our geography curriculum, with the tools and methods used by geographers explicitly taught and practised by pupils.

Our geography units contain a series of knowledge lessons, key terms and vocabulary are introduced and defined when appropriate, ensuring pupils develop the language necessary to understand and explain geographical features, places, activities and processes. Each unit balances breadth and depth by using a series of case studies to exemplify the human or physical aspects of the topic. Pupils will gain a sense of place and location in each unit through different examples from around the world of the phenomenon under study.

Our lessons in geography center on highly interactive whole class teaching, with lots of explicit instruction and chance for discussion. Pupils will also have the opportunity to engage more deeply in quantitative and qualitative data, including geographical information systems. They will also have the opportunity to engage in fieldwork, and gradually develop their skills in map reading. Different activities (such as partner talk or whole class debates) help pupils to think about the lesson content in different ways.