Geography at Pucklechurch

Geography intent

We intend to provide our children with a rich and varied curriculum which enthuses children to develop a genuine love and hunger for learning. This will in turn encourage the development of skills and knowledge associated with the subject. We believe that the implementation of wide cross-curricular learning opportunities and experiences support children’s development of conversational skills with a rich vocabulary, levels of engagement, debating and reasoning skills, throughout the learning process. Reading skills will also be utilised to build understanding of geography and aid our learners to explore and experience the world’s diversity. Throughout the learning journey of geography learning from Early Years to the end of Key Stage 2, learners will be able to make connections and spot patterns, and develop their confidence to do so within the world.

Geography implementation

The geography curriculum includes four sections; locational knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography and geographical skills and fieldwork. Rich resources and enticing themes support the children to learn key skills in a meaningful and interesting way. Learning will begin in reception as they discover their immediate home environment, their street as well as compare landscapes and environments of dinosaurs and animals in the world. Learning will progress to naming and locating the world’s 7 continents and 5 oceans as well as the countries, capital cities and seas of the United Kingdom. Children will move on to use maps to locate countries around the world as well as discover the significance of latitude, longitude and the equator. There will be opportunities to study the human and physical geography of the UK using the correct geographical vocabulary and compare this to the human and physical geography of other parts of the world. A sense of human geography is woven into many aspects of our curriculum and is encouraged in collective worship each week. Children will study the seasonal and daily weather patterns as well as the location of hot and cold areas around the world. Children will use maps, compass directions and fieldwork skills to study our surrounding environment through indoor and outdoor learning.

Impact

This impacts on our learners being able to develop detailed knowledge, vocabulary and skills transferable across the whole curriculum. Our pupils will be able to leave Pucklechurch with knowledge of our location within the world and understanding of other places around the world. Learners will be curious about these places and develop an understanding of the similarities we share and the differences we may explore in other countries and cultures. Capable pupils equipped with geographical field work skills and an understanding of how complex our world is, will leave Pucklechurch, ready to study further Geography topics in their next educational setting.