Geography
Intent
Geography prepares young people with the knowledge, skills and understanding to make sense of their world and to face the challenges that will shape our societies and environments at the local, national and global scales.
The teaching of Geography at Oaklands aims to inspire curiosity and understanding of the world around us. We help develop the children’s interest in a variety of physical and human environments in the wider world by expanding horizons out of the local community.
Implementation
In Early Years, we teach Geography through the Early Years Foundation Stage. We start to explore the world through the related Early Learning Goals (ELGs) for understanding the world. We begin looking at our immediate environment using observation and maps. We use stories and non-fiction texts to talk about similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries.
We follow the National Curriculum by teaching units of work based on geographical themes. These topics are well integrated across the curriculum and cross-curricular links have been well thought out. Care has been taken to ensure a secure progression in skills from Year 1 to year 6 and these skills are carefully built upon as the children journey through the school.
In Key Stage 1, we begin by exploring different views of the world using simple scale maps, plans and atlases. The children start to use different sources of information to explore the local and the wider world. We use simple geographical language to discuss position and direction, and we support children in asking questions and developing a curiosity about the world around them.
In Key Stage 2, the children build on their previous learning; they use and create more complex plans and maps and are more secure about their knowledge and understanding of locations and places around the world. The children are encouraged to think more critically about local and global issues and use a wider range of information and sources to research their ideas. The children look in more detail into the physical and human features of the places around them and understand how these features may change over time. Through field work and opportunities to use the school grounds and local area, children are able to see these features first-hand and are encouraged to analyse their findings.
Impact
Children will:
- Have developed the geographical knowledge and skills to help them explore, navigate and understand the world around them and their place in it.
- Have been exposed to many global issues and explored how places and communities are similar or different to their own.
- Topic books and final project pieces will demonstrate the children’s understanding of key knowledge and vocabulary.
- Have a curiosity and fascination of the world around them; preparing them to be competent geographers at Key stage 3 and beyond.