Geography

Geography at West Wycombe School

West Wycombe Primary’s Geography scheme of work aims to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings.

Intent

Through our scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens with the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them.

Our scheme encourages:

• A strong focus on developing geographical skills and knowledge.

• Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.

• The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.

• A deep interest and knowledge of pupils’ locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.

• A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms and vocabulary.

West Wycombe Primary’s Geography scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National curriculum. The aims also align with those in the National curriculum.

Implementation

The West Wycombe Curriculum organises the Geography attainment targets under four subheadings or strands:

• Locational knowledge

• Place knowledge

• Human and physical geography

• Geographical skills and fieldwork

West Wycombe Primary's Geography scheme has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these four strands across each year group. Our Progression of skills and knowledge shows the skills taught within each year group and how these develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage. Geographical key concepts are woven across all units rather than being taught discretely as seen in the Progression of key geographical concepts. Our National curriculum coverage document shows which of our units cover each National Curriculum attainment target and the four strands in Key Stage 1 and 2.

Cross-curricular links are included throughout each unit in West Wycombe, allowing children to make connections and apply their Geography skills to other areas of learning. Our enquiry questions form the basis for our Key stage 1 and 2 units, meaning that pupils gain a solid understanding of geographical knowledge and skills by applying them to answer enquiry questions. We have designed these questions to be open-ended with no preconceived answers. Therefore, they are genuinely purposeful and engage pupils in generating real change. In attempting to answer them, children learn how to collect, interpret and represent data using geographical methodologies and make informed decisions by applying their geographical knowledge.

Each unit contains geographical skills and fieldwork elements to ensure fieldwork skills are practised as often as possible. West Wycombe Primary units follow an enquiry cycle that maps out the fieldwork process of questioning, observing, measuring, recording, and presenting to reflect the elements mentioned in the National curriculum.

Children will learn how to decide on an area of enquiry, plan to measure data using various methods, capture it, and present it to various appropriate stakeholders in multiple formats. Fieldwork includes smaller opportunities on the school grounds and larger-scale visits to investigate physical and human features. Developing fieldwork skills within the school environment and revisiting them in multiple units enables pupils to consolidate their understanding of various methods. It also gives children the confidence to evaluate methodologies without always having to leave the school grounds and do so within the confines of a familiar place. This makes fieldwork regular and accessible while giving children a thorough understanding of their locality, providing a solid foundation when comparing it with other areas. Lessons incorporate various teaching strategies, from independent tasks to paired and group work, including practical hands-on, computer-based and collaborative tasks. This variety means lessons are engaging and appeal to those with various learning styles. Each learning experience guides teachers in adapting their teaching to ensure that all pupils can access learning, and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are also available if required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging the recall of key facts and vocabulary.

Impact

Pupils will develop contextual knowledge and understanding of places in the world, oceans, and seas, including their defining human physical characteristics. Children will understand other cultures and, in doing so, will have opportunities to show what it means to be a positive citizen in our multicultural society because we at West Wycombe are a multicultural school. Pupils will be encouraged to express their commitment to sustainable development and an appreciation of ‘global citizenship’. Furthermore, each unit has a knowledge assessment quiz, which can be used at the end to provide a summative assessment and a teacher assessment to identify how much the children have learned, what they remember and how confident they are with their learning. 

West Wycombe’s Geographers will interpret a range of sources of Geographical information, including globes, maps, diagrams and aerial photographs. Throughout each Key Stage, children will use maps, atlases, compasses and globes. They can use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present human and physical features in our local area. During lessons, pupils will develop a wide range of Geographical vocabulary. They will be taught how to use new vocabulary in the correct context to broaden their knowledge and understanding of Geography. Children are encouraged to use subject-specific language and terminology when discussing their learning.

What our children have said so far:

"This year we will be learning so much about different places and cultures around the world. The activities look really engaging and I get to interact with the content in creative ways. It's also helpful that I can explore topics in lessons that my teacher has chosen because they feel that we will enjoy them." 

Adam Year 6

Page last updated: 20/11/23