Geography
Intent
At Penketh South, we believe that Geography helps our children to answer and ask their own questions about the natural and human Geography of the world they live. Children develop a greater understanding of the world they live in and their impact and place within it. Our curriculum helps our children to develop knowledge and skills that they can transfer to other subjects and experiences once they leave Penketh South. Through our curriculum we make links between our local History and Geography whenever possible so the children can build and link their understanding by revisiting regularly.
Our aim is to spark children’s curiosity and fascination about our world which will stay with them even after they leave Penketh South. Children will develop an understanding of places, people, resources and environments and their place in it, through enquiry questions which they will be fully equipped to answer confidently.
Through our Forest School sessions, we will develop our fieldwork skills regularly so that children can develop their understanding of the world practically in a fun, engaging, meaningful way. These skills will help children to develop a lifelong love of Geography.
Implementation
All learning will start with revisiting prior knowledge and making meaningful connections so the children can build on what they already know. Staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the topic being covered. During lessons children are exposed to geography specific vocabulary and taught these through repetition and meaningful use. Previous vocabulary and knowledge is recapped and reinforced in lessons in a variety of ways including low stakes quizzing. The classroom walls provide scaffolding and a reference for children with a rich range of library books for the children to explore. The classroom walls highlight key knowledge, vocabulary, facts, questions, and model exemplars of the work being taught. Children have access to a variety of resources in the classroom to deepen learning and to help them understand key knowledge, concepts and geographical skills. Within the Summer term, our main aim is to give children lots of first-hand experience conducting fieldwork within our local environment.
Impact
At Penketh South, our children have the knowledge and skills to work like Geographers. They make progress across the subject and can apply their knowledge and skills in a range of field work. Children have a sense of place with locational knowledge of the world, its environment and how human and physical factors lead to changes over time. Our Geography curriculum is assessed against National Curriculum objectives through teacher judgement through children’s work and low stakes quizzing. Each lesson begins with recapping prior learning in order for our children to make meaningful connections. Pupil work demonstrates that geography is taught at an age appropriate standard across each year, which is ambitious for all children to help them to understand the world, their place in it and the impact they can have. Pupil voice demonstrates that children at Penketh South have a love of Geography and that they are eager to understand the world around them.
Click on the link below to see what we teach in Geography: what the children need to know and understand and the skills and attitudes they will develop as they are learning in Geography:-
Also, have a look at the class pages for more detail.
Geography is our key driver for our Summer term - Discover our World.
Geography Progression Document