Geography
At Slip End Village School, we value Geography. We are Geographers!
At our school we want children to be curious about the world around them and to develop a desire to learn more about it. We aim for them to have ambitions to become responsible adults who want to protect our planet for the good of the future.
We are committed to having a balanced and diverse curriculum where pupils are able to build on and deepen their learning year by year. Our Geography curriculum aims to equip pupils with life long skills and knowledge that will remain with them as they grow up.
Our curriculum specific plans cover essential milestones enabling our pupils to become secure in their knowledge of physical and human processes and map reading skills that will transfer as a key skill in later life. Throughout their time at Slip End, pupils will deepen their understanding of places, environmental changes and broaden their geographical vocabulary.
At our schools we want our children to be fascinated about the world and the people in it. We aim for them to have ambitions to grow up to become cartographers, conservationists or town planers and hope that thier curiosity will last for the rest of their lives. We are committed to having a balanced, diverse and inclusive curriculum. Our children will know about the diversity of places, people and natural and human environments. They should understand the physical and human processes of planet Earth.
Using concepts as the basis for a schema:
To build a geography schema ‘threshold concepts’ are used. These are the big ideas that underpin the subject.
The three threshold concepts in geography are:
• Investigate places – This concept involves understanding the geographical location of places and their physical and human features.
• Investigate patterns – This concept involves understanding the relationships between the physical features of places and the human activity within them, and the appreciation of how the world’s natural resources are used and transported.
• Communicate geographically – This concept involves understanding geographical representations, vocabulary and techniques.
At our schools, Geography follows the Chris Quigley curriculum framework. Pupils learning focuses on the three threshold concepts as outlined above. Each threshold concept has its own facet of knowledge which helps strengthen the schema. The knowledge categories are as follows:
• Location
• Physical Features
• Human Features
• Diversity
• Physical Processes
• Human Processes
• Techniques
In Early Years, Geography is delivered within the Understanding the World area of the curriculum. Pupils are exposed to a variety of activities to allow them to understand places in their locality and the wider world. They will explore some simple features of these places both physical and human and will begin to make links and comparisons to different places and their features.
In Key Stage 1, Geography is taught alternate half terms with weekly lessons. Children build upon their knowledge and understanding of their locality, that of the wider world and the physical and human features of them. These are taught through the above categories which allow them to develop a sense of the world and begin to make comparisons between similar and different places and the human activity within them. They will begin to develop their geographical vocabulary.
In Key Stage 2, Geography is taught alternate half terms with weekly lessons. Children deepen their knowledge and understanding by expanding the breadth of places, features and human activity through the above categories. They develop an appreciation of the World’s natural resources, how they are used and transported and can make comparisons between a wider range of worldwide locations. They will use a wider range of geographical vocabulary.
In Geography, assessment takes place by:
Assessment is ongoing through classroom observations, tasks and retrieval practice against the threshold concepts. Assessment is recorded on the Depth of Learning system and pupils are measured as having either ‘basic’, ‘advancing’ or ‘deep’ levels of understanding at their appropriate milestone.
As a result of our geography curriculum, our children will have a curiosity about the world and the people in it.
Children can talk about places, their location, human and physical features as well as have an appreciation for the World’s natural resources and how they are used.
Children will be able to understand geographical representations, use geographical vocabulary and skills such as map reading and creating graphs.
• Retrieval practice – This could include spot quizzes outside of dedicated lessons as well as practice within lessons
• VIPERS – Reading comprehension and questioning may be part of lessons
