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Getting prepared for GCSE geography
Getting prepared for GCSE geography
What will we be studying in Year 10?
· Paper 1: The living world – Small scale-ecosystems, tropical rainforests and cold environments.
· Paper 1: The physical landscapes of the UK – rivers and coasts.
· Paper 3: Familiar fieldwork
· Paper 2: The challenge of resource management.
What will we be studying in Year 11?
· Paper 2: Urban issues and challenges
· Paper 2: The changing economic world.
· Paper 3: Issue evaluation based on the pre-release material (release in March).
· Paper 2: The challenge of resource management.
What can you do to get prepared to excel as a Mountbatten Geographer?
1. Make sure that all of your work from Year 9 and Year 10 is up-to-date – we have been building the foundation for your further geographical studies and we need to ensure that this foundation is strong! Completing the revision booklet is one way to ensure that you are confident in your knowledge and understanding and can then identify where any of your gaps are.
2. Have a look at the course outline and specification. Remember, this is your geography course and your own personal learning journey. Excellent geographers will start to look at how their learning now fits into the bigger picture.
3. Read, read, read. Reading is by far one of the best ways to develop your thinking and build on that foundation. Look for topics in the specification that you interested in – everything in geography is linked together in some way (we call these synoptic links). We’ve included some links to reading to get you started below.
4. Need a break from reading? Try out some virtual fieldwork from home or on holiday! One of the wonderful things about geography is that it happens every day outside the classroom and it’s out there for you to explore! We’ve included some links to some virtual fieldwork ideas that you can get involved with. Think about how the theory that you have learned links to the fieldwork. Don’ forget to critique your fieldwork methods – how reliable was your methodology? To what extent were your results reliable?
5. What if it’s raining outside? Well, you could set up an at-home weather station and record the data over a week! This could be a great link to micro-climate studies. But once you’ve done that you’ll need to wait while nature collects the data for you. Whilst you’re waiting you can watch some geographical documentaries and YouTube videos linked to the course. We’ve included some links to get you started. (We’ll let you on a little secret… on the rare occasions that the geography department are sat in front of the TV, we are most likely watching travel and adventure documentaries so we’ve included a few of our favourites as suggestions).
What resources do you have access to from home to support you in getting prepared for GCSE Geography?
· The world! As we’ve said before, geography happens far beyond the classroom. Wherever you can, look at the world through eyes of a geographer and ask those curious questions. If you can’t get the answer, the internet is a great place to start.
· The online AQA GCSE Geography textbook on Kerboodle. (This is the one we use in class).
· The AQA GCSE Geography (Examined 2022) Google classroom.
· Your geography exercise books.
· The news, podcasts, documentaries and a huge range of reading material to explore.
A little word from our subject associations and the AQA exam board...
A little word from our subject associations and the AQA exam board...
The Geographical Association (GA) have set up a dedicated page for you to use as part of your preparation - have a look at this page as a starting point. This is a good website to refer back to during your GCSE Geography course.
Geography-at-GCSE RGS.pdfGCSE Geography course summary (AQA)
GCSE Geography course summary (AQA)
The AQA GCSE Geography specification is the one which we follow. Have a look through the spec, you may wish to print this, but you don't need to as you can identify the topics that you will study at GCSE level and any that may be new to you so you know what to expect when you start with us in Year 10.
AQA 8035 Specification.pdf
GCSE Geography course summary (AQA course)
Paper 1: Living with the physical environment
Section A - The challenge of natural hazards
Section B - The living world
Section C - Physical landscapes in the UK
Paper 2: Challenges in the Human environment
Section A - Urban issues and challenges
Section B - The changing economic world
Section C - The challenge of resource management
Paper 3: Geographical applications
Section A - Issue evaluation
Section B - Unfamiliar and familiar fieldwork
Revision guides
Revision guides
In normal circumstances, if you would like to purchase a revision guide we would suggest that you do this via your geography teacher as we have these in stock. As this is not possible at the moment, we have scouted out the best deals on the revision guides that we would recommend. These suggestions are below:
Virtual geography fieldwork
Virtual geography fieldwork
Details of the virtual fieldwork events
Details of the virtual fieldwork events
The Fieldwork Studies Council (FSC) have been developing virtual and at-home fieldwork opportunities. Use the resources and accompanying video to complete the fieldwork.
Developing as a geographer
Developing as a geographer
The next section has been designed for you to be able to dip in and out of as you please, allowing you to look at general geographical issues and developing your ability to think like a geographer, through to starting to explore some of the topics you will be looking at over the next couple of years so you can do some valuable background reading.
i. ONLINE NEWS ARTICLES
i. ONLINE NEWS ARTICLES
THE CONVERSATION.COM- http://theconversation.com/uk - we can highly recommend you use this! This you will find is really useful to support many of your A-levels. It provides up-to-date articles from academics and specialists in the field written in a way that is accessible to all, summarising key points in short but insightful articles.
BBC NEWS - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news - an excellent source of up-to-date articles – explore the key headings such as Science, as well as the UK, World and other stories.
THE GUARDIAN https://www.theguardian.com/uk- again many useful articles and logically ordered – keep an eye on the Environment, Science, Society, Global Development stories in particular!
ii. PODCASTS
ii. PODCASTS
Now is the time to broaden your geographical understanding! Stick your headphones in and listen to some of the following…
Costing the Earth – There are some great podcasts here to pick from on a wide variety of geographical issues https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006r4wn/episodes/player (many topics, including climate change, carbon, urban greening, deforestation, alternative power, plastics etc.)
Royal Geographical Society – “Ask the Geographer podcasts” - https://www.rgs.org/schools/teaching-resources/ask-the-expert-podcasts/ - a fantastic set of podcasts to keep A-level studies up-to-date with the latest geographical research – pick out some that interest you and give them a go!
BBC's "The inquiry" - This is a podcast the gets beyond the news headlines and explores current trends and ideas that are shaping our world. Podcasts are released weekly and you'll hear from 4 experts per podcast on their ideas on the central topic (a great opportunity to explore further career opportunities!) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p029399x
The Guardian's "Today in Focus" - This podcast aims to explore the stories behind the headlines for a deeper understanding of the news, with plenty of links to the GCSE course. https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/todayinfocus
iii. GEOGRAPHICAL READING
iii. GEOGRAPHICAL READING
Remember you can make use of the local libraries digital library service for books – you don’t have to access hard copy.
If any of you would like to write a review of one of these films for our Geoclub, we would love to read it.
iv. Geographical documentaries
iv. Geographical documentaries
There are some great geographical documentaries which will help develop your general geographical knowledge and understanding and help you see what an amazing world we live in.
The following are all available on iPlayer:
David Attenborough Box Sets – there are 9 amazing boxsets available on iPlayer from David Attenborough exploring our amazing world. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p06m42d9
Race across the world - we highly recommend this series to develop your sense of place and get some travel inspiration! https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0002tvs/race-across-the-world
The Americas with Simon Reeve https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00095p0/the-americas-with-simon-reeve
Simon Reeve around the world https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p06rrnkm
Mediterranean with Simon Reeve https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0bnb6tt/mediterranean-with-simon-reeve
The following are all available on ITV Hub:
Britain Underwater: Fighting the Floods https://www.itv.com/hub/britain-underwater-fighting-the-floods/7a0157
Joanna Lumley’s Hidden Caribbean: Havana to Haiti https://www.itv.com/hub/joanna-lumleys-hidden-caribbean-havana-to-haiti/2a7578
The following are all available on Channel 4 – On Demand:
When the Immigrants Leave (Dispatches) https://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand/69555-001 China’s Lonely Hearts (Unreported World) https://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/on-demand/56011-011
The world’s dirtiest river (Unreported world) https://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/on-demand/58399-001
Forests of Fear (Unreported World) https://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/on-demand/69224-006
Hurricane Hell (Unreported World) https://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/on-demand/69224-007
The World’s Dirtiest Air (Unreported World) https://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/on-demand/67193-002
The week Britain Froze (Dispatches) https://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand/66548-007
v. GEOGRAPHICAL FILMS
v. GEOGRAPHICAL FILMS
Some are available online free, others may be available on providers such as Amazon Prime / Netflix etc.)
Touching the Void (15) (great for visualising glacial landscapes) – a powerful true story docudrama (strong language in parts)
Before the Flood (2016) (PG) – National Geographic https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/before-the-flood-2016/ (presented by Leonardo DiCaprio – exploring climate change and looking at what needs to be done today to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet).
The Impossible (2012) (12) – Movie based on real life events of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami which killed 200,000 people.
Slumdog Millionaire (15) – based on life in the slums of Mumbai
Our Planet (Netflix series) – explores how climate change impacts all living creatures.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (12) – an epic which celebrates the journey of Nelson Mandela from childhood in a rural village through to his election as President of South Africa. This explores what happened in South Africa with regards to apartheid and Black opposition through the eyes of Nelson Mandela.
Hotel Rwanda (12) - the true story of hotel manager who houses and protects Tutsi refugees – this is a hard-hitting film based on the Rwandan Conflict of the 1990s.
The Last King of Scotland (15) – another hard-hitting story, based on struggles faced by Uganda under the dictatorship of Idi Amin.
Into the Wild (2007) (15) – based on the story of a university graduate who gives up all of his material possessions and journeys alone into the Alaskan Wilderness.
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