Geography

Head of Department: Miss Alford

Outline of course:

There are three topics, one planned for each of our school terms.

Content:

• Autumn term – The Home Region – This unit looks at geographical skills and work is centred on the local area.
• Spring Term – Settlement – This unit deals with the effect people have upon the natural environment and considers the issues through examples taken from the UK and the developing world.
• Summer Term – Weather and Climate – This unit looks at the processes and resultant geographical patterns and aspects of the natural environment. In doing so it also explores how these patterns can affect the lives of people.

Activities:

• Extension of KS2 Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills.
• Investigative tasks through ICT, discussion and group work to ensure appreciation of real places.
• O.S. map work and making 3D landscape models to show relief and rainfall.
• Hold a mock public enquiry into whether 150 new houses should be built in a village near Bristol.
• Redeveloping a local disused or misused site (in theory).
• Weather forecasting.
• Gathering evidence of micro-climate from different parts of our school site.
• Analysing data obtained from the school weather station.

Skills:

• To develop a range of geographical skills.
• To be able to interpret maps at various scales.
• To develop an enquiring mind.
• To foster citizenship with an understanding and awareness of other people across the world.
• To communicate with other students.

Homework activities:

• The pupil will undertake activities at home that will complement and extend the work done in class.
• Learn key geographical vocabulary.
• Creative writing
• Model making
• Investigation

Assessment:

• Questioning students during class activities to check knowledge, understanding and skills.
• A variety of 'Assessment for Learning' tasks.
• Homework tasks.
• Some testing
• Plenary activities

Parental contribution:

• Parental support is encouraged at all times and would typically include:
• Checking their child's exercise book.
• Watching geographical programmes with their child.
• Encourage their child to read newspaper articles relevant to the area of study.
• Helping their child prepare for tests and complete tasks on time.

Useful resources and equipment:

• Key text books include Key Geography and the Geog.series.
• Maps, atlas and photographs.
• ICT and audio-visual equipment.
• Digital Camera.
• Your child is expected to provide a pencil case containing coloured pencils (not felt tips), a ruler, pencils, eraser, blue or black biros or an ink pen and a basic calculator.

Other relevant information:

Good Geographers do not necessarily have encyclopaedic knowledge and recall but know how to find out the answers to queries. They are well organised and keen to make sense of and to recognise patterns, sequences and consequences of natural processes and human activities.