Geography
At Barlby Bridge Community School, geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it.
The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at Barlby Bridge Primary and also to their further education and beyond. We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
Intent
Our intent is to deliver the content outlined in the Geography programmes of study within the national curriculum, augmented with powerful knowledge carefully selected to build upon our pupils’ starting points of cultural capital.
To this end, we use the CUSP model curriculum. This is a knowledge-engaged progress model which clearly outlines the key knowledge and vocabulary for each stage of learning in sequence. It has been deliberately adapted in order for pupils to see themselves in the curriculum and prepare them for life in modern Britain.
Our Geography curriculum aims to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments; together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at St. George’s and also to their further education and beyond.
Implementation
All areas of our curriculum are implemented using ten principles of effective instruction outlined in our Teaching Touchstones, which work in symbiosis with the Gradual Release Towards Independence model for teaching.
Coverage
The implementation of our curriculum ensures balanced coverage of the four main themes outlined in the National Curriculum: Geographic and skills fieldwork; locational knowledge; human and physical; and place knowledge. The children will have experiences of all four strands, but the subject knowledge imparted becomes increasingly specific and in-depth, with more complex skills being taught, thus ensuring that learning is built upon.
Alongside each Geography module, we also offer pupils the time to think about humans’ impact on the world and introduce them to inspiring environmentalists and geographers, so pupils have the opportunity to be better citizens and courageous advocates of the future.
Fieldwork
Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. We are therefore passionate about implementing our curriculum through an explorative, outdoor learning approach. We want our children to learn through hands-on experiences and investigations of physical and human geography in the local environment as far as possible, while embedding key substantive knowledge. We deliberately plan for fieldwork to occur in and around our local environment.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary forms a key part of our curriculum. Therefore, subject specific Tier 2 and Tier 3 words are identified in each module. Supporting pupils in the acquisition of knowledge, through the use of key concepts, terms, and vocabulary, provides opportunities to build a shared and consistent understanding. Knowledge organisers, glossaries and displays, along with regular recall and revision, will be used to support this approach.
Knowledge Organisers
Accompanying each module is a Knowledge Organiser which contains key vocabulary, information and concepts which all pupils are expected to understand and retain. Knowledge notes are the elaboration and detail to help pupils acquire the content of each module. They support vocabulary and concept acquisition through a well-structured sequence that is cumulative. Each Knowledge Note begins with a learning question which focuses on the key content to be learnt and understood. Knowledge Organisers and Knowledge Notes are dual coded to provide pupils with visual calls to aid understanding and recall.
Resources
Our Geography modules are underpinned by high quality texts which support wider curriculum reading. We encourage pupils to access these high quality texts to support their learning and develop their skills in accessing information from a range of sources.
Impact
At Barlby Bridge, the geography curriculum is shaped to ensure it is fully inclusive for every child; providing a board and balanced curriculum that encompasses British values throughout and sequential development of geographical knowledge and skills.
The curriculum is designed to develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Pupils have a strong knowledge of where places are and what they are like, both in Britain and the wider world.
Pupils are able to review their learning and with encouragement can identify personal targets. Comparatives are made with what pupils know at the start and end of every unit.
Pupils have the ability to ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current issues in society and the environment.
Pupils’ work books evidence a board and balanced geography curriculum and demonstrate the children’s acquisition of knowledge and skills that are progressive across phases and throughout school.
They learn how to draw and interpret maps and use subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography, with accuracy and confidence.
As pupils progress, they deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.
As stated in our vision, we aspire to provide our children with a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their places within it. Because of this, we implement the Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership Geography Sequences of learning.
Of their Geography curriculum, CUSP say:
- ‘Connected’
- ‘Cumulative’
- ‘Coherent’
CUSP is underpinned by evidence, research and cognitive science. Modules are deliberately sequenced for robust progression and allows teachers to focus on the lesson.
There is an emphasis on oracy and vocabulary acquisition, retention and use to break down learning barriers and accelerate progress. A rich diet of language and vocabulary is deliberately planned for.
Specific skills are discreetly taught and practised so that they become transferrable. The sequenced modules activate prior learning, build on skills and deepen knowledge AND understanding. Learning, vocabulary and content is cumulative; content is learned, retrieved and built upon.
Each Geography module has:
- Long term teaching sequences that are interleaved and planned around the retrieval of prior knowledge.
- Subject concepts clearly articulated.
- BIG idea maps for each study to support curriculum navigation, priming and retrieval practice.
- A vast non-fiction literature spine through a comprehensive choice of wonderful online books.
- Dual-coded knowledge organisers.
- Coherent lesson sequences.
- Cumulative questions connected to each lesson.
- Unique and innovative knowledge notes for each lesson that is dual coded and rich in vocabulary.
- Vocabulary Modules which are explicitly designed to support the study.
- High quality images and diagrams to teach from.
Click here to see CUSP’s suggested Geography Whole-school Coverage, which we follow as guidance.
Please visit the website here to find out more information.
“At Barlby Bridge Community School, geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it.”
The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at Barlby Bridge Primary and also to their further education and beyond. We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
The main aspects of geography to be taught are determined by the programmes of study in the National Curriculum 2014.
Continuity and Progression
Early Years explore geographical themes and content through the Understanding of the World strand of the EYFS curriculum. This involves guiding the children to develop sense of their physical world, as well as their community, through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
During Key Stage 1, pupils will investigate their local area and a contrasting area in the United Kingdom or abroad, finding out about the environment in both areas and the people who live there. They also begin to learn about the wider world. They carry out geographical enquiry inside and outside the classroom. In doing this, they ask geographical questions about people, places and environments, and use geographical skills and resources such as maps and photographs.
During Key Stage 2, Pupils extend and develop their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America; studying the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They continue to develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.
Intent
At Barlby Bridge Community Primary School our geography teaching offers opportunities to:
- To develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
- Children investigate a range of places, both in Britain and abroad, to help develop their knowledge and understanding of the Earth’s physical and human processes.
- To provide children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area of Selby so that they can develop of real sense of who they are, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special.
- To foster an understanding of where places are, what they are like, and how they are interdependent and interconnected both in Britain and the wider world.
- Foster excellent fieldwork skills as well as other geographical aptitudes and techniques.
- Introduce pupils to the language and vocabulary of geography.
- Support or provide a means of enriching other areas of the curriculum.
Implementation
At Barlby Bridge we implement a variety of teaching and learning styles which reinforce an expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards in geography. We aim to deliver lessons that foster a sense of enjoyment and a greater understanding of the world. Teaching and learning of geography at Barlby Bridge includes:
- Planned content taken from the school’s long term curriculum is taught in half termly blocks throughout the year, so that children achieve depth in their learning.
- Class teachers identify the key knowledge and skills of each topic and consider how to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group and across the school.
- A hierarchy of subject specific vocabulary is delivered during lessons and drawn upon to help sequential learning during phases and across phases.
- Teachers present subject matter clearly; providing opportunities for discussion; identifying any misconceptions; and adapting teaching as necessary to best meet the needs of the pupils.
- Formative assessment is used to inform teaching, check understanding and to help learners embed knowledge into the long term memory.
- Teaching makes full use of resources within the immediate and wider local area enabling children to develop a deep understanding of the geography of their locality through the application of field work.
- Cross curricular links are made, with strong links between geography and English to foster further contextual learning.
- Monitoring of pupils’ work is used to evaluate the range and balance of the curriculum; to ensure that tasks meet the needs of the different learners; and that the acquisition of key knowledge is progressive and being evidence through outcomes.
Impact
- At Barlby Bridge the geography curriculum is shaped to ensure it is fully inclusive for every child; providing a board and balanced curriculum that encompasses British values throughout and sequential development of geographical knowledge and skills.
- The curriculum is designed to develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
- Pupils have a strong knowledge of where places are and what they are like, both in Britain and the wider world.
- Pupils are able to review their learning and with encouragement can identify personal targets. Comparatives are made with what pupils know at the start and end of every unit.
- Pupils have the ability to ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current issues in society and the environment.
- Pupils’ work books evidence a board and balanced geography curriculum and demonstrate the children’s acquisition of knowledge and skills that are progressive across phases and throughout school.
- They learn how to draw and interpret maps and use subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography, with accuracy and confidence.
- As pupils progress, they deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.