Geography

Geography at Prince Rock

INTENT

Creating a sense of ‘Here and There’  provides the fundamental basis for the Prince Rock Geography  curriculum overview to ensure all children have a sense of their place in the world. A sense of rigour and clear structure means that the National Curriculum is set as the minimum expectation for our children. Going beyond this, at Prince Rock, we maximise the diverse location of Plymouth and our diverse experiences and cultures to bring about a true sense of belonging.

Our objective is to develop a clear knowledge and understanding of a wide range of geographical contexts and ideas for all children at Prince Rock to use these to make links to notice how the world around us has changed. From EYFS to Year 6 children will use a range of resources to develop their field skills and understanding of map work. High quality teaching ensures this knowledge is embedded throughout the school. At the same time, a whole school focus on improving oracy skills and frequent vocabulary development is very important in the teaching of Geography. This approach provides the opportunity for language development and ensures that disadvantaged groups, as well as SEND and EAL children, can access the Geography curriculum at Prince Rock. Local context is vitally important to give our children an idea of Plymouth and the South West’s role in local, national and world geography. At Prince Rock, our aim is to incorporate the geography of our immediate area (such as the River Plym, the Hoe and Barbican) to allow the children to see how important the local context is to the local community and the school. In contrast, on a global scale, many of our children speak English as an additional language and over 30 languages are spoken. As a result, we believe it is vital to explore, learn about and compare the geography of different cultures around the world (for example South America), and how this have shaped the world we live in today. 

A sense of rigour and clear structure means that the National Curriculum is set as the minimum expectation for all schools within the LAT. A sense of location as well as the development of key Geographical concepts were also used to create flow within the Geography curriculum. The local context is vitally important to give our children an idea of Plymouth and the South West’s role in local, national and world geography. At Prince Rock, we focus on three key concepts location, place & environment and scale. These form the basis of our geography teaching.

IMPLEMENTATION

EYFS 

Geography within the EYFS at Prince Rock is seen within the Understanding of the World where children develop an understanding of the world around them. A key part of the EYFS learning is to provide the children with many opportunities to walk around their local area allow the children to develop this practical and visual understanding of what they see. The knowledge they acquire within the EYFS supports their readiness for KS1 and KS2. As part of their learning, they explore a range of books (both fiction and non-fiction) which provide wide opportunities to compare and contrast locations. They use maps, atlases and technology to discover the local area as well as the world beyond Plymouth. Children within the EYFS learn key geographical vocabulary linking with concepts and ideas needed to develop their geographical knowledge.

Key Stage One

Children at KS1 develop an idea of their own local environment and then go on explore the physical and human geography of their locality in a regional, national and global context. Key ideas are introduced; settlement, land use and the impact of the local environment on man’s activity.  At Prince Rock we begin by focusing on the local area in which we live by taking walks around the local areas (Prince Rock, Laira Heritage Trail), to understand the geographical features of where they live. We are proud of our cultural diversity within our school and within KS1, we will identify these countries when using maps and atlases to build an understanding of different cultures.

Key Stage Two

As they move into KS2, the content and development of key ideas expand to look at Human and Physical Geography within Europe and the world. The concepts of settlement, land use, trade and the distribution of natural resources are explored within the physical and natural environment and the potential conflicts this creates. We compare and contrast places in our wider local area (Dartmoor) to other places around the world. At Prince Rock, we identify the different cultures within our KS2 children and focus on these when we are looking at the places around the world.

IMPACT

Children really enjoy their geography lessons at our school. They are able to articulate the knowledge acquired in geography lessons. Our geography curriculum provides the children with knowledge and skills that will support them in KS3. Through a range of enrichment opportunities such as visits to The Hoe and visits within our local area to understand how the land is used, we aim to enhance their knowledge, curiosity and enjoyment of geography.

Progression in Geography is supported through the use of techniques such as retrieval quizzes. These techniques, combined with responsive teaching which adapts learning in light of children’s knowledge, understanding and misconceptions, ensures that the children understand and remember key knowledge. Assessment takes place through high quality questions, a range of application tasks to show their ability to apply field skills, listening to children’s responses and contributions to discussions and evaluating their written work. The progression document and summative assessments will also support the age-related assessment given at the end of the year to parents/carers on reports. Assessment is formative and responsive. This is then used to inform any interventions and responses in following lessons.

Enrichment

Overall, the geography we offer to our children aims to instill a lifelong love of the world and ensures that all of our children have the opportunity to find out about the world around them and explore their place within it. In order to support this all children will use maps and other resources on a range trips in the local area. Children have enjoyed trips to the Hoe, local areas and supermarkets to understand the importance of geography on our area and how this effects how we live. 

In the Summer  term, children across the school took part in a 'Geography' Day. The children explored and learnt about a continent in the world. Children were able to compare the places they discovered and how it is different to where we live. It was so wonderful to see the children building upon their knowledge of Geographty by exploring somewhere new. Ask us about our learning! 

Global Learning at Prince Rock 

At Prince Rock, we are passionate about Global Learning. We want to raise awareness, appreciate and celebrate cultural diversity within our school and throughout the world. We look at 'big issues' such as poverty and pollution, providing opportunities for pupils to recognise, understand and appreciate similarities and differences. We have had partner schools in South Africa for over 10 years which has provided a chance for pupils and staff to bring the wider world and different perceptions into the classroom. We have started to embed global learning throughout our Geography curriculum, ensuring that all children are given the chance to learn about global and local issues and develop as global citizens. Our Geography knowledge organisers highlight the global links and learning that each year group will be covering in the term.

Geography Matrix

At Prince Rock, there is a carefully mapped out progression of skills document to ensure a clear and tight progression of locational knowledge and field skills from EYFS to Year 6. The field skills are clearly identified on the knowledge organisers so that the children are aware of the particular area they are focusing on that term. The progression of skills gives a clear break down of geographical ideas into smaller steps in order to understand where the content should be taught.

Knowledge and Graphic Organisers

At Prince Rock, we use knowledge organisers to support the children's ability to learn, understand and retrieve key knowledge. These will be shared with the children in every lesson and they will have copies of both which will support them with their learning. 

Documents will be emailed to parents and carers so that they are able to support their child with their learning in school. The content and amount of information will be appropriate to the year group and age of the children. 

Useful Links

KS1 BBC Bitesize 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zcdqxnb 

Lots of useful resources about the world around us and different countries. 

KS2 BBC Bitesize

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zbkw2hv 

Here are some useful resources about the world and different countries. 

Geography games

https://world-geography-games.com/ 

Here is a website with lots of different Geography games to play. There are some tricky quizzes too!