Geography at Dussindale

Intent

The aim of our geography curriculum is that all children will develop the traits necessary to become ‘Geographers’. These are outlined below:

An excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like.

An excellent understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated.

An extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary.

Fluency in complex, geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills and use effective analytical and presentational techniques.

The ability to reach clear conclusions and develop a reasoned argument to explain findings

Significant levels of originality, imagination or creativity as shown in interpretations and representations of subject matter.

Highly developed and frequently utilised fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques.

A passion for and commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there.
The ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in good knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment.

Our Geography curriculum uses substantive concepts (our ‘Big Ideas’) as the basis for supporting pupils to form a geography schema (a conceptual system for understanding knowledge). Children’s schema is strengthened through knowledge and connections deepen through tasks. Knowledge is sequenced and mapped in a coherent format so that pupils make meaningful connections.

In Early Years, the Big Ideas are: natural phenomena; human and physical features; location - different environments; orienteering.

KS1 and KS2 are illustrated below.

The expectation is that, by the end of primary school, children will know and understand these key elements of ‘Working as a Geographer’ to give them a solid foundation to enter the Geography curriculum at KS3.

Implementation

Teachers plan from our school’s medium term plans. These plans include key milestones that ensure content is appropriately pitched to enable progression through the curriculum subjects. Our Essential Learning Objectives for Geography are:

To investigate places
To investigate patterns
To communicate geographically

Our Geography curriculum uses concepts as the basis for supporting pupils to form a geography schema (a conceptual system for understanding knowledge). Children’s schema is strengthened through knowledge and, connections deepen through tasks. Knowledge is sequenced and mapped in a coherent format so that pupils make meaningful connections. This is supported using resources from Oak National Academy.