Geography

Geography at New Oscott Primary School

Intent

At New Oscott Primary School we aim to ensure that all Geography lessons follow our 6 key principles: Honesty, Appreciation, Respect, Cooperation, Kindness and Determination.

 
A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. National Curriculum

We aim to engage pupils with a relevant, exciting and challenging Geography curriculum which inspires curiosity and is appropriate for preparing them for an adult life in the 21^st century. Children will develop geographical skills, build and consolidate geographical knowledge and vocabulary and make links in their learning by understanding key geographical concepts.  This approach will ensure children commit their learning to their long term memory and have a secure knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.

We provide exciting and stimulating differentiated lessons that are inclusive and actively teach problem solving - creating resilient and determined young ‘Geographers’.

We use quality resources from the ‘Collins Connected Geography’ scheme that are purposeful and relevant.  Children are exposed to a wide range of resources and inspired to ask questions which promote independent learning. They are encouraged to question the world around them and to use prior learning to explain what they discover.  Children work together cooperatively to question, explore, discover, justify, debate and reach informed conclusions.

The pupils at New Oscott Primary School can appreciate the geography of our local area and understand how the geography of our local area relates to the wider geography of the UK. At our school we ensure that all pupils can engage with geographical learning and develop as young geographers irrespective of their race, cultural background or gender. Mutual respect and the fostering of empathy and community understanding at local, regional, national and global scales lies at the heart of the study of Geography and at our school we model this in terms of the inclusive nature of the learning and teaching we provide.

During our lessons, the children are exposed to geographical vocabulary in a progressive and ambitious manner: lessons involve clear and concise modelling of this vocabulary giving children the confidence to use the correct terminology in their work. Children are encouraged to use their knowledge and vocabulary in all lessons, particularly to improve the quality of their creative writing.

By developing our own Geography curriculum, children are constantly showing that they are ‘knowing more and remembering more’ through regular retrieval practise and building on prior knowledge

A copy of the programmes of study for KS1 and KS2 can be found below.

Geography Curriculum

Key Geography Principles at New Oscott Primary School

Geography Curriculum Expectations 2022

Our Curriculum

Click on the unit title to be taken to the knowledge organiser detailing key vocabulary, knowledge, concepts and skills.

KS1

In Y1, the children explore the following enquiries;

Weather: How does the weather affect our lives?

Local area: What is the geography of where I live like?

Seaside: Why do we love being beside the seaside so much?

In Y2, the children explore the following enquiries;

Food: Why does it matter where my food comes from?

Penguins: Why don’t penguins need to fly?

Kenya: How does the geography of Kenya compare with the geography of where I live?

In Y3, the children explore the following enquiries;

Florida: Beyond the Magic Kingdom: What is the Sunshine State really like?

Jungles and Deserts: Why are jungles so wet and deserts so dry?

My Local Area: How and why is my local area changing?

 In Y4, the children explore the following enquiries;

Earthquakes: Why do some earthquakes cause more destruction than others?

Sustainability: How can we live more sustainably?

Megacities: Why do so many people live in megacities?

In Y5, the children explore the following enquiries;

Rivers: What is a river?

Fairtrade: Why is Fairtrade fair?

National Parks: Who are Britain’s National Parks for?

 In Y6, the children explore the following enquiries;

Mountains: Why are mountains so important?

Volcanoes: How do volcanoes affect the lives of people living on Hiemaey?

Climate Change: How is climate change affecting the world?

Vocabulary

Vocabulary development is at the heart of New Oscott Primary School’s Geogrpahy Curriculum. Vocabulary is introduced and revisited throughout a child’s time at New Oscott Primary School.  Children are actively encouraged to use this vocabulary in their creative writing. Click on the links for access to year group vocabulary lists.

Year 1 Vocabulary

History and Geography
History and Geography

Year 2 Vocabulary

History and Geography
History and Geography

Year 3 Vocabulary

History and Geography
History and Geography

Year 4 Vocabulary

History and Geography
History and Geography

Year 5 Vocabulary

History and Geography
History and Geography

Year 6 Vocabulary

History and Geography
History and Geography

Improving our Writing

Here are some examples of where children have enhanced the quality of their writing using vocabulary and knowledge from their Geography lessons.

Pupil Voice

Thomas Year 6

I think we learn Geography so we are able to understand how things happen in the world.

Lily Year 6

I liked learning about volcanoes in Geography because we learned about different volcanoes around the world.

Rebecca Year 6

We learn Geography because we need to learn how to use a map and find different locations in the world.

Freya Year 5

Learning Geography helps us to find places in the world on a map.

Miah Year 5

I love Geography because I can learn about lots of different countries and the animals, food and people who live there.

Extra-Curricular Opportunities

Cultural Capital is ‘the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said, and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.’ Ofsted

In addition to the challenging and enriching Geography curriculum we offer, we believe that children can increase their ‘cultural capital’ by experiencing a wide variety of extra-curricular experiences out of the classroom and at home.

At New Oscott Primary School we are lucky enough to be situated in grounds with extensive outside space allowing for plenty of field work practical opportunities.  We are also very lucky to be situated so close to Sutton Coldfield Park, another excellent way that our young ‘Geographers’ can practise fieldwork skills.

Children are given the opportunity to use learnt knowledge and vocabulary in a different context.  They are able to develop geographical skills and work like real geographers exploring the local area.