Geography

Geography lessons, at St. Peter’s, aim to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world which will stay with them throughout their lives. Our pupils learn about diverse places, people, resources and environments, with a deepening understanding of the earth’s key physical and human processes.

Culture- Our curriculum incorporates how cultures and societies shape landscapes. We promote respect and understanding of other cultures and religious beliefs around the world.

Oracy- Knowledge mats including key vocabulary which we use to explain our knowledge and understanding of the world through geographical conversations.

Understanding the World- Progressive planning builds upon previous knowledge and understanding of the world.

Reading- Shared geographical texts, which link to our curriculum units, support an understanding of geographical concepts and vocabulary.

Arts- Opportunities for showing our geographical understanding through the arts are included in our lessons e.g. debating current issues of climate change.

Growth- Through our curriculum, we promote growth mindset including recognising our place in the world and the impact we can have. We learn about humans overcoming adversity through discrete discussions e.g. actions to aid climate change in the Himalayas, differences we can make in our local area.

Enquiry- Progressive planning includes enquiry skills e.g. from asking simple geographical questions in Early Years to investigating current geographical issues and implications in Year 6. We take part in surveys and fieldwork.

Geography Ambassadors

Our Geography Ambassadors aim to develop the learning in our school. Some of their tasks include challenging the school with our weekly 'Geog Your Memory' questions and updating our vocabulary wall.  

Our knowledge mats are designed to outline the 'sticky knowledge' and vocabulary that children need to understand and remember for each unit. Children use the knowledge mats within our geography lessons to support their learning. They are added to our geography books at the start of each unit. The knowledge mats for this half term can be found in the files below.

An example of a knowledge mat:

Vocabulary

The use of language is a core part of learning geography. Children draw upon geographical vocabulary to identify and name places, the features within them and the human and physical features of them. They explain their knowledge and understanding of the world through geographical conversations. In each year group, children learn different vocabulary which they will use within their studies. They refresh their knowledge of the words used in previous year groups to support their geographical explanations throughout school. Our whole school geographical vocabulary list can be found below.

An example of a class vocabulary list:

Knowledge Retrieval

Each of our Geography units begin with a knowledge retrieval exercise in which children recall previous content. This allows them to deepen their knowledge and make links between concepts. These activities enable children to reflect on their areas of strength and identify the gaps in their knowledge.

Another strategy for knowledge retrieval is our weekly 'Geog Your Memory'  question. This is added, by our Geography Ambassadors, to our Geography board and also asked at the end of a weekly assembly. An example is:

'How many oceans are there? Can you name them?'

We also promote the retrieval of vocabulary used in our curriculum. Our Geography ambassadors add a new word with definition to our Geography board on a weekly basis.

Why is reading important in Geography?   

In each year group, we read and discuss books, which are related to our learning, to stimulate, enliven and enrich our geography curriculum. Using books and stories supports geographical teaching and develops children's knowledge and sense of place, creative and reflective thinking, enquiry and problem solving skills. The use of language is also an integral part of learning geography. It is through language that children understand geographical concepts, develop geographical thinking and communicate geographical ideas.

We use the vocabulary from our knowledge mats when discussing the books we read.

Our subscriptions support the teaching of Geography at St. Peter’s:

Oddizzi is an online geography resource for primary schools. They aim to inspire children with a deep and lifelong love of the subject.

Designed to engage pupils and inspire them to be curious and fascinated about the world, Digimap for Schools provides students and teachers with digital access to modern day and historic maps and detailed aerial imagery to enable the teaching of Geography.

Websites

Click on the images below to visit the websites.

Spring Term 1

The knowledge mats for Geography taught during this half term can be found in the files below.

Files to Download