Our Geography Vision Statement.
"Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future" - Michael Palin.
At Woodnewton - a learning community, children are encouraged to be aware of and explore the world in which they live and how it has changed over time. The teaching of Geography follows the National Curriculum and is integrated within our topics as part of our ‘Cornerstones Curriculum’ with emphasis on acquiring geographical knowledge and vocabulary.
The Geography element of our school curriculum aims to inspire pupils with a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Our Geography curriculum enables children to develop a sense of place, whilst exploring, investigating and understanding the world around us, near and far. We aim to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
Our Aims and Principles
Woodnewton- A learning community aspires to provide excellent opportunities in Geography so that all children:
- explore and investigate the world around them and can identify similarities and differences.
- gain and develop knowledge about the world to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human
- explore and understand the formation and use of landscapes and environments.
- have practical experiences to develop their geographical knowledge.
- Forest School will broaden and enhance children’s geographical understanding beyond the context of their immediate environment.
In order for the above aims and principles to be achieved, we will:
- Provide experiences for children to stop and notice what is happening in the world around them.
- Provide teachers with opportunities to further develop their subject knowledge.
- Provideopportunities for children to explore, investigate, and develop their vocabulary and key skills.
- Provide opportunities outside of the Academy to further these skills, such as trips and local walks.
- Provide children with Forest School experiences within the Academy.
The End Points in our Geography Curriculum
Early Years, Year 1 and 2
From the moment we are born, it is our instinct to begin to explore our world around us with all of our senses.
At Woodnewton we feel it is important to nurture and encourage this natural curiosity, to shape and direct it to create inquisitive, questioning learners who look closely at the world around them and begin to be able to interpret what they see.
Children in our Early Years phase develop their 'Understanding of the world' as children take notice of everything around them including places and all the things within them such as trees in the natural environment. Finding out about places begins initially when a child learns about their own home and the things nearby. Children can be heard having in depth conversations with their peers and grown-ups around them about what their own experiences. Children then explore similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries through stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
Key Stage 2: Years 3, 4, 5 and 6
The principal focus of Key stage 2 learning extends 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. Children should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.
In Key Stage 1 children begin to look in more detail at our local area, looking at different buildings and environments and comparing them with those in other areas and countries. We will learn to draw and interpret maps and to develop a variety of other skills through our topic work, including those of enquiry, problem-solving, investigating and presenting our work, calling on skills learned in Maths and English and applying them in new ways.
Children use locational knowledge to locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics. They will be able to name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom and know geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics and understand how these have changed over time. They can then 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.
Children understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom and globally and draw conclusions from these.
Children will understand Human and physical geography describing and understanding key aspects of: physical geography, including climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle. They will understand 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.
Children use Geographical skills and fieldwork to investigate topics. They can use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied. They will acquire skills that allow them to use compasses, grid references, symbols and keys. They will experience 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, graphs, and digital technologies.
