Increasingly students are being expected to ‘think like a geographer’ by applying skills, knowledge and understanding to unfamiliar contexts.
Students have to learn how to ask questions to be able to apply themselves to unfamiliar contexts.
Asking critical questions is one way to help your child "big deeper" when thinking about geography. When in a new location or looking at geographical images, use the following questions to help guide their thinking to gain a new perspective on "where they are":
"What's interesting or unique about the area around me?"- This helps identify the geographical concepts evident around them
"Think about two details that might present geographical issues in this area and are important to this area?"- This gets students thinking about more than just the "where", but gets them thinking about the "why there?", "why might this be an issue?"
"How might changes in this area have a positive/negative impact?"- This question really gets students thinking about one of the most important questions in geography "why care?"
"Describe and explain the issues of sustainability in this region or area."
"Explain the potential impact of climate change on this area."
"What are the human and physical processes in this area and how do they interact?"- This question really gets students thinking even further beyond impact and to focus on how, we as humans, interact with our environment/region and how it interacts with us