Geography
The ACE curriculum through Geography
Geography explains the past, illuminates the present and prepares us for the future. What could be more important than that?
It is our intention that we encourage and inspire our children to understand our world both by investigating our local area and places further away. To be keen, curious geographers who can confidently discuss where one place is in relation to another. We help them to question and research why weather and climate varies greatly from one place and begin to understand the effects of climate change. By the end of year six, pupils will have developed a broad knowledge on the range of biomes and how people and animals have adapted to living there. We encourage our pupils to question how human impact is having an effect on our environment and what we can do to prevent further challenges.
Children can confidently use geographical skills such as map reading, which will enable them to locate a specific continent, ocean, country and city; reading all 8 compass points which they will then use to locate objects/places on a map and locating lines of latitude and longitude which helps give them a sense of where places are in relation to one another. Children are introduced to a range of vocabulary linked to their topic in each session where they will gain an understanding of it, use it effectively in their work and revisit it on a regular basis. Furthermore, they are encouraged to independently discuss and question the best ways to use the tools they have access to such as atlases and online resources including Digimap, a fantastic resources for reading and labelling maps. These are constantly revisited, and built on, to ensure children remain confident and can explain the importance of having them as useful life-long skills.
The pupils have a range of fantastic opportunities to explore geography through both resources and local trips. Year 5 and 6 actually get to ‘visit’ the Polar regions and the Amazon rainforests by using a the Virtual Reality resource which is almost as good as being there! Local trips around Chaddesden gives the year 3s the opportunity to really understand their local area and how it has changed and developed. Visitors come in and talk different year groups about the environment and give the children a real opportunity to ask questions. We have themed days and weeks where children can really get involved, such as our Sustainability week where we linked up with the author, Katherine Wheatley and the children were able to question her about her fantastic books. We tailor the curriculum to meet all children’s needs whilst ensuring it is both interesting and relevant to their lives.
Through all of these, our children are able become ACE geographers.
Mrs R Beresford
Geography Lead
