Geography – "Love One Another As I Have Loved You"

Curriculum Overview – Geography – 2023-24

Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School

Intent

The aims of the Geography curriculum at Our Lady of the Assumption are:

To give our children an understanding of the place that they live, what it is like and where it is in relation to the country we live in.
To develop children’s knowledge of the world around them, different places that exist and where these places are in relation to where they live.
To give children the knowledge of different physical and human geographical features that exist around the world.
To develop children’s awareness of positive and negative human impact on the world and their role in this.
To give our children the skills to be geographers, to be able to find out about the world in different ways, including map work and fieldwork, using a variety of different sources – they will be able to explain why certain sources and methods of research are more reliable than others.

Implementation

In Early Years, Geography is taught within half-termly units as part of the children’s development of their Understanding of the World. A focus is placed on the children learning about themselves and their immediate environment, as well as learning about countries around the world.

In Key Stage 1, Geography is taught through a mixture of half-termly and termly units that build the children’s knowledge of places around the world, along with knowledge of physical and human geography. In Key Stage 2, Geography is taught through six termly in depth studies, covering significant aspects of physical and human geography. Sustainability is also included as a theme throughout Geography learning.

Year Group	Units
	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Nursery (Half termly units)	The Wheels on the Bus	Lunar New Year	Down on the Farm Places Faraway
Reception (Half termly units)	Diwali Far, Far Away	Lunar New Year	Me on the Map We’re going on Holiday!
Year 1	Our School and Local Area	Castles	Beside the Seaside
Year 2	Jambo A study of Kenya	London: Hop On! Hop Off! A study of London, the Capital City
Year 3	Shake, Rattle and Roll A study of Volcanoes and Earthquakes		From Farm to Fork Where does our food come from?
Year 4			Splash! A study of rivers
Year 5		Discover Canada! A study of Canada
Year 6		Climb every Mountain A study of mountains (trip to Dol-y-Moch)	The Amazon Rainforest
Whole school theme weeks			Journey around Europe (KS2)

Knowledge and Skills

Through the Geography curriculum, children build knowledge linked to core threads of learning, along with development of focus geographical skills.

Geography Threads of Learning	Geographical Skills
Locational knowledge Place knowledge Physical Geography Human Geography Sustainability	Map work Field work Geographical Enquiry

Overview of Threads of Learning:

Threads of Learning	N	R	1	2	3	4	5	6
Locational knowledge	Where they live (Tile Hill, Coventry)	Where they live (Tile Hill, Coventry, England)	Location of school – Tile Hill, Coventry Location of Weston-Super-Mare 4 countries of UK – England focus Surrounding seas (English Channel, Irish Sea, North Sea)	Location of capital cities UK	4 countries of UK Location of counties – West Midlands, Warwickshire, Kent, Somerset	4 countries of UK Location of counties linked to River Avon (Warwickshire) Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire) Location of Stratford-upon-Avon	Location of prime and Greenwich meridian time zones	Location of Dol-y-Moch / Snowdonia/Eryri Location of major UK mountains – Ben Nevis, Snowdon, Scafell Pike
Locational knowledge	Where Kenya/India/China are on a globe in comparison to where they live	Where focus countries are on a globe in comparison to England	Where focus countries are on a globe England, UK	Location of equator, poles (North Pole/South Pole) 7 continents (Asia, Africa, North and South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia) 5 oceans (Pacific,, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern) Location of countries studied Kenya	Location of northern & southern hemisphere, tropics of Cancer & Capricorn Locations linked to volcanoes (Iceland, New Zealand, Italy, Sicily, Hawaii) Location of Spain & Valencia (region & city)	Location of northern & southern hemisphere, tropics of Cancer & Capricorn Location of major world rivers, Nile, Amazon, Yangtze (China)	Location of Canada, North America Location of Antarctic and Arctic circles Location of climate zones – temperate, polar Location of Edmonton and Nunavut	Location of major world mountain ranges – Himalayas, Alps, Rockies Location of climate zones – tropical Location of Brazil, South America, Amazon Rainforest, Manaus
Place knowledge	What they can see in their school grounds What they can see in sources from other countries	What they can see in their immediate environment (school, church, wood, houses, flats) What they can see in sources from other countries	Geographical features of Tile Hill – physical & human Geographical features of Weston-Super-Mare – physical & human	Geographical features of Coventry (physical & human) Geographical features (human and physical) of Kenya – city & country (Nairobi & Maasai Mara) Geographical features (human and physical) of London – river, buildings, landmarks	Geographical features of Iceland -Fagradalsfjall Volcanic region (physical and human) Geographical features of Valencia (human & physical)	Geographical features (human and physical) of Stratford – physical/ human features	Geographical features (human and physical) of Canada, Edmonton and Nunavut – physical & human, climate and land use	Geographical features of Snowdonia – physical and human, tourism, farming Geographical features of Brazil, Manaus, Amazon Rainforest
Physical geography			Physical features of school grounds and local area including Pig Wood Physical features of coastal areas and how they compare to local area e.g. cliffs, beaches, sea	Hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the North and South Poles and the Equator Physical features of Kenya including climate Physical features of London	What volcanoes are and how they erupt What Earthquakes are and how they happen	Water – where it comes from and the water cycle Journey of a river from source to sea, including River Avon	Climate zones in Canada – polar and temperate	What types of mountains there are and how they are formed Climate zones – tropical What a biome is – focusing on rainforests
Human geography			Human features of school grounds and local area including shops, businesses, library, doctors surgery Human features of coastal areas and how they compare to local area e.g. harbours, amusements, pier, lighthouse	Human features of Kenya including settlements and houses Human features of London including landmarks Where tourists visit in London	Impact of volcanoes and earthquakes on humans Settlements in areas with volcanoes and earthquakes Growth and trade of food around the world How land is used for farming in different world locations	How water gets from source to consumer Impact of water on humans –e.g. flooding, leisure, tourism	Settlements in contrasting climate zones Impact of climate on trade and farming in polar climate zones	Tourism and human activity in mountain ranges Land use and farming in rainforest areas Settlements in rainforest areas Impact of trade in rainforest areas
Global Citezenship					Encouraging Fairtrade and locally grown produce where possible	Reducing plastic pollution Keeping rivers clean Responsible disposal of waste	Encouraging strategies for reducing global warming	Encouraging using responsibly sourced products Encourage recycling Fairtrade Single-use plastics

Overview of Geographical Skills:

Geographical Skill:	N	R	1	2	3	4	5	6
Map work	Look at a simple map Draw information from a simple map Draw a simple map	Draw maps of the school and grounds including a simple key. Draw information from a map – local area	Draw maps containing a key with symbols or colours to help identify features Use a map of the world to identify specific locations and geographical features Use a globe/map to locate the Equator and the North and South Poles.	Use maps of the world and the UK to identify specific locations and geographical features Use a globe/map to locate the Equator, Northern and Southern hemisphere and Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage;	Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify specific locations and geographical features Use globes, maps and atlases to locate the Equator, Northern and Southern hemisphere and Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn use symbols and keys (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps), to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world	Use a range of maps and atlases to identify specific locations and geographical features including key topographical features Use globes, maps and atlases to locate the Equator, Northern and Southern hemisphere, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic circles and the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones	Choose and use appropriate maps and atlases to identify specific locations and geographical features including key topographical features Use globes, maps and atlases to locate the Equator, Northern and Southern hemisphere, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic circles and the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones Identify specific locations using longitude and latitude	Choose and use appropriate maps and atlases to identify specific locations and geographical features including key topographical features communicating locations through grid references and coordinates Use globes, maps and atlases to locate the Equator, Northern and Southern hemisphere, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic circles and the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones Identify specific locations using longitude and latitude use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world;
Geographical skills and fieldwork	Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things Children know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.	Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. Children know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.	Ask questions like: what is this place like? What is in this place? Where is…? Is there a…? Use sources of information to find out about a location e.g. Google Earth, aerial images and photographs Use books, stories and other information to find out about places Look at images of localities and discuss features they like and dislike	I use the internet to find out about a location Locate another area in the world and say what it is like Compare and contrast an area with where I live Ask questions like what is this place like? What and who will I see in this place? Why are these people/features here? Identify the key human and physical features of a location Know that roads, rail, sea and air link places together use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map	Give reasons why some physical features are where they are Use various sources of information to investigate a place, including atlases, books and globes Look at and use maps and images of places studied to investigate land use	use fieldwork to observe and present the human and physical features in the local area using sketch maps with a key, plans and digital technologies Explain the impact of flooding and drought	Use maps, atlases, and globes and digital/computer to locate countries and describe features studied observing and recording the changes of human features over time	observe, measure, record and present the physical features in the area Use maps, atlases, and globes and digital/computer to locate countries and describe features studied observing and recording the changes of human features over time use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present human features using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies