Subject Leader: Mr I Mattison
Geography Curriculum at King’s Meadow Academy
Intent
At King’s Meadow Academy we want all of our children to be geographers.
Our aim is for our bespoke curriculum to inspire pupils to ‘develop curiosity and fascination about the world they live in and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives’. We also want them to understand how their local area has evolved and be proud of the community in which they live.
Through discovery, enquiry and exploration we want to instil a love of the subject not only locally but regionally and internationally.
Through the context of places, namely small areas and regions, the children will begin to gain an understanding of other environments and over their time at King’s Meadow Academy, they will not only acquire knowledge, but develop a bank of skills that will allow them to conduct fieldwork, collect data, analyse evidence and draw informed conclusions about a range of places around the world.
Studying the locational and place knowledge of a number of real places, the children will develop an understanding of differing human and physical features and fieldwork techniques that they will be able to take with them on their journey to Key Stage Three.
We hope to awaken an appreciation of the natural world so as responsible global citizens they will develop a sense of identity and belonging with a caring attitude towards our planet.
Implementation
We follow the ‘Kapow Primary’ scheme of work.
Our scheme of work fulfils the statutory requirements for Geography outlined in The national curriculum (2014) and was created based on the principles outlined in the Ofsted Research review series.
The scheme of work has been designed as a spiral curriculum with the following key principles in mind:
✓ Cyclical: Pupils return to the key knowledge and skills again and again during their time in primary school.
✓ Increasing depth: Each time a skill is revisited it is covered with greater complexity.
✓ Prior knowledge: Prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build upon previous foundations, rather than starting again.
The Kapow Geography scheme of work is designed so that the following strands run through each and every unit:
- Locational knowledge
- Place knowledge
- Human and physical geography
- Geographical skills and fieldwork
Different types of knowledge in Geography that is taught:
Substantive knowledge (knowing about): the content that pupils will learn through studying the Geography curriculum: the recognised knowledge of the world and the human and physical processes that affect the people and environments within it.
Disciplinary knowledge (ways of knowing): Pupils gain knowledge of the subject as a discipline, considering how
geographical knowledge (such as the substantive knowledge they study) originates through geographical practice.
Fieldwork enquiries in each unit give pupils the opportunity to understand and follow the same processes that geographers follow to find answers to enquiry questions and to consider the validity of these
answers.
Procedural knowledge (knowing how to): Pupils gain procedural knowledge primarily through the Geographical
skills and fieldwork strand. They learn knowledge of how to collect, analyse and communicate data and geographical information from fieldwork, maps and other sources and consider how to interpret this range of sources to answer enquiry questions.
Building understanding of geographical concepts
The Ofsted research review series: geography (2022) acknowledges that there has been many differing opinions on what constitutes key geographical concepts in the geography community over the years. However, it highlights the importance of pupils understanding the following concepts:
● Place
● Space
● Scale
● Interdependence
● Physical and human processes
● Environmental impact
● Sustainable development
● Cultural awareness
● Cultural diversity
The enquiry cycle
For the fieldwork studies, the enquiry cycle is used throughout the scheme to encourage pupils’ to ask geographical questions and learn how geographers reach their answers through enquiry.
Assessment in Geography
Formative assessment
Every lesson begins with the ‘Recap and recall’ section which is intended to allow pupils retrieval practice of key knowledge relevant to the upcoming lesson. This section also provides teachers with an opportunity to make informal judgements about whether pupils have retained prior learning and are ready to move on.
Each lesson contains the ‘Assessing progress and understanding’ section which helps teachers to identify those pupils who are secure in their learning or working at a greater depth in each lesson. These assessments can then be recorded on our Geography: Assessment spreadsheet which supports the teacher in identifying gaps in learning amongst the class or for individual pupils.
Summative assessment
Each unit of work assesses children’s understanding and retention of key knowledge using an assessment quiz with nine multiple choice questions and one open-ended question.
In addition, each unit uses either a skills or knowledge catcher, depending on the key strands covered in the unit. This can be used at the beginning and/or end of a unit and gives children the opportunity to further demonstrate their understanding of the key concepts covered.
Assessment quizzes, and skills and knowledge catchers provide teachers with a record of summative assessment as evidence of progression throughout the year and as pupils move between key stages.