Geography

Units Studied

  1. Hot Deserts

    • Pupils will look the location of hot deserts around the world, the climate in deserts, a developed world case study on Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert and a developing world case study on Dubai.

    • The case studies will focus on the problems of water supply, function of these cities, challenges they face and future sustainability of cities in deserts.

    • There will be opportunities to learn and practise National 5 level skills when describing the location of deserts and describing climate graphs.

  2. Health Around the World

    • This course will explore the causes, impacts and solutions/treatments of three key diseases around the world

    • Pupils will focus on heart disease and how it mainly affects the developed world, malaria and how developing countries struggle to cope with the disease and HIV/AIDS as a global pandemic.

    • During this unit we will develop National 5 level skills by describing information from world maps, graphs and tables and introduce ‘explain’ questions.

  3. Rivers and their Valleys

    • Pupils will look at the water cycle, river processes, different features of rivers and their valleys and how we use the land around rivers.

    • This unit will also introduce more advanced map skills, looking at how to identify river features in Ordnance Survey maps and identifying the location of different land uses using four- and six-figure grid references.

    • There will be the opportunity to complete a rivers case study on a local river bringing together all the knowledge and skills from the unit.

  4. Urban Geography

    • In this course, pupils will explore how our towns and cities have developed and apply a simple model to urban development through different urban land use zones.

    • Pupils will also learn about the problems of urban expansion in developing world cities and how these problems are being overcome.

    • There will be the opportunity to develop National 4 level coursework skills through field work in the local community to see land use zones in Peterhead and/or being able to use digital technology to explore the local environment.

Skills Developed

  • Research

  • Describing

  • Explaining

  • Comparing and contrasting

  • Fieldwork techniques

  • Working with others

  • ICT/Digital skills

Learning, Teaching & Assessment

This course will mainly be a classroom learning experience. A wide range of learning and teaching strategies are used with classes, such as developing critical thinking skills, research, paired and /or group work. Work in class is supported through the use of notes, ICT and other digital media. There will be some opportunities to use the school and local community to support our learning experience through outdoor learning.

Knowledge and skills will be assessed in each unit and will be ongoing throughout the year. This will include project work, classroom activities and assessed work.

Progression Routes

National 5 Geography, with further progression into Higher/Advanced Higher Geography in S5/6.