"The study of geography is about more than just the memorising of places on a map.  It is about understanding the complexity of our world."

President Barack Obama

Intent

Our Geography scheme of work aims to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. Our Geography curriculum is designed to develop children’s understanding, fascination and respect for the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives, underpinned by our Christian values and wonder at God’s creation.

We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings. Through our scheme
of work, we aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them.

Our scheme encourages:
• A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge.
• Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.
• The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.
• A deep interest and knowledge of pupils’ locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.
• A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms and vocabulary.

Knightlow's Geography scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National curriculum. The aims also align with those in the National curriculum. For EYFS, the activities allow pupils to work towards the ‘Understanding the world’ Development matters statements and Early learning goals, while also covering foundational knowledge that will support them in their further geography learning in Key stage 1.

Implementation

Geography is taught throughout KS1 and KS2 as a discrete subject using the Kapow scheme of work but, where possible, we enrich the learning though visits and quality texts linked to either location or processes being studied. 

The National curriculum organises the Geography attainment targets under four subheadings or
strands:
• Locational knowledge
• Place knowledge
• Human and physical geography
• Geographical skills and fieldwork

Kapow's Primary Geography scheme has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these four strands across the Primary range and geographical key concepts are woven across all units rather than being taught discretely. 

The Kapow Primary scheme is a spiral curriculum, with essential knowledge and skills revisited with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Locational knowledge, in particular, will be reviewed in each unit to coincide with our belief that this will consolidate children’s understanding of key concepts, such as scale and place, in Geography.

Cross-curricular links are included throughout each unit, allowing children to make connections and apply their Geography skills to other areas of learning.

Enquiry questions form the basis for our Key stage 1 and 2 units, meaning that pupils gain a solid understanding of geographical knowledge and skills by applying them to answer enquiry questions. These questions are open-ended with no preconceived answers and therefore they are genuinely purposeful and engage pupils in generating a real change. 
Each unit contains elements of geographical skills and fieldwork to ensure that fieldwork skills are practised regularly. Fieldwork includes smaller opportunities on the school grounds to larger-scale visits to investigate physical and human features.

Impact

Children’s knowledge and skills develop progressively as they move through the school and are assessed and reported to parents in the end of year report.

After following our Geography curriculum, pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skills and knowledge to enable them to study Geography with confidence at Key stage 3. We hope to shape children into curious and inspired geographers with respect and appreciation for the world around them alongside an understanding of the interconnection between the human and the physical.

We want the children's enthusiasm for the subject to encourage them to seek further opportunities to develop their skills and understanding in the future. Children will leave Knightlow C of E Primary School with a strong understanding of the world, people and their impact.

The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary Geography scheme of work is that children will:

● Compare and contrast human and physical features to describe and understand similarities and differences between various places in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
● Name, locate and understand where and why the physical elements of our world are located and how they interact, including processes over time relating to climate, biomes, natural disasters and the water cycle.
● Understand how humans use the land for economic and trading purposes, including how the distribution of natural resources has shaped this.
● Develop an appreciation for how humans are impacted by and have evolved around the physical geography surrounding them and how humans have had an impact on the environment, both positive and negative.
● Develop a sense of location and place around the UK and some areas of the wider world using the eight-points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and keys on maps, globes, atlases, aerial photographs and digital mapping.
● Identify and understand how various elements of our globe create positioning, including latitude, longitude, the hemispheres, the tropics and how time zones work, including night and day.
● Meet the ‘Understanding the World’ Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS, and the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Geography by the end of Year 2 and
Year 6.

Geography in Action

The stories4schools project is embedded into our school curriculum and has worked in partnership with schools in Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, India, France and Spain, as well as schools closer to home in the UK. The project has been a fantastic vehicle  to develop our Geography knowledge, skills and global awareness. Our latest project 'Journey Through Europe' involved every class focusing on a country, using map work, learning about the climate, culture and traditions and using Traditional Tales and Folktales from those countries to inspire our own stories. Below are some examples of work done.

Village in a Shoe Box Competition

This term, we held a Village in a Box competition. Children were challenged to use their fieldwork skills to create where they lived in a box. We had several wonderful entries!