Geography

Our Geography Lead is James Harvey

Intent 

C: We explore different cultures in our own locality and from around the world.   

H: We learn about environmental factors that will impact our personal health and the health of our planet. We learn how to make positive changes.  

A: We build aspirations by learning about the wider world and understanding how and why countries differ from one another. 

I: We develop identity by developing a clear understanding of our locality and the wider world and how it has changed over time.  

R: We build relationships by encouraging group work and participating in fieldwork and practical exploration

Geography, alongside history, is a driver topic within our curriculum. During a term where geography is the driver, children will go on a learning journey to answer an enquiry-based question. 

At Rushden Primary Academy, we use Focus Education to ensure our curriculum...

• Is designed to focus on the main geographical concepts that pupils need to learn and remember. It is also true to the national curriculum for both Key Stages 1 and 2.
• Ensures full coverage of the National Curriculum is met.
• Has a high focus on reading, writing, mathematics, PSHE, religious education, physical education and a foreign language.
• Is designed to give a metacognitive approach to leaning a knowledge rich curriculum.
• Is underpinned by our British values, equalities, school ethos and the need to build cultural capital for all our pupils.

Key principles underpinning our curriculum:

• Children knowing and remembering 'sticky' knowledge
• Make explicit links and connections between subjects and real-life experiences.
• Resource rich environment.
• Children have an enthusiastic attitude towards geography lessons and begin to ask and answer questions about the world around them.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supports children’s understanding of geography through the teaching of ‘Understanding the World’. This aspect of children’s learning is about how children find out, discover and make sense of their physical world and community through a range of personal experiences. 

Sticky words are identified on a knowledge organiser (see example below), taught throughout a unit of work and referred to during the day. This knowledge mat provides a basis for the 'sticky knowledge' and 'sticky words' that we want our children to learn about and embed throughout the unit.  As a way of assessment, children are expected to apply these sticky words to their writing across the curriculum. If children use these words successfully, the use of gold star stamp is applied to their work. Sticky words are displayed within the classroom environment and used in all lessons to explain and retrieve definitions.  

 

Please take a look at the document below to see how we teach Geography at RPA Primary - upload to follow. 

This outlines the progression of Skills and Key knowledge taught in each year group. The progression of geographical vocabulary throughout the primary phase can be found in the documents at the bottom of this page.