The study of Geography is about more than just memorising places on a map.  It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating diversity of cultures that exists across continents.  And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bride divides and bring people together.  - Barak Obama

Intent

Children in Aston Clinton School will meet the expectations of the new EYFS framework and the National Curriculum through a progressively designed curriculum which builds on prior knowledge and skills as children move through the school. This spiral curriculum teamed with high quality planning, teaching and resources ensures that children’s      knowledge and understanding is developed with our end points in mind. Our curriculum is well planned, well-resourced and progressively sequenced in order for teachers to ensure children meet  the knowledge and skills required to meet the aims of the national curriculum. The content allows for a broader, deeper understanding of the four areas of geography identified in the curriculum with a range of opportunities for investigating places around the world as well as physical and human processes. The curriculum includes a wealth of geographical vocabulary, map skills and geographical facts and provides opportunities for consolidation, challenge and variety to ensure interest and progress in the subject. Retrieval practice activities are embedded within our curriculum to support children in knowing more and remembering more and that geographical knowledge and skills are committed to long term memory.

Implementation

Each year group studies three units of geography-one unit per term. Although each unit has a main focus on either investigating places or patterns the concept of communicating geographically is embedded in all units.

A series of objectives or learning sequences for each topic for each year group has been devised which carefully plan for progression and depth of knowledge and geographical skills over the course of a particular topic. These learning sequences have been designed for progression and depth of knowledge and skills across the whole school. Key facts are explained to the pupils during high quality lesson inputs using a range of high quality resources and this learning is then reinforced through children undertaking independent tasks.

All teachers are given advice and guidance and feedback by the Geography lead and then the opportunity to research and develop topics through their own planning.

Knowledge organisers (KO) have been developed which outline the key concepts, the knowledge, geographical skills and the vocabulary that all children should aim to master during each unit of work. These knowledge organisers are shared with children and glued into their books at the beginning of each unit of work so children have an understanding and an overview of their upcoming learning and its end points. These KO are also shared with parents.

Overviews and Sample Knowledge Organisers

For more details about your child's learning, please use the following link to the year group learning pages.