Geography
Geography at Birchen Coppice
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
Intent
At Birchen Coppice Academy, we aim to inspire pupils to have a ‘fascination and curiosity’ (DfE 2013) of the world that is lifelong. We want to expose our pupils to the complexity of our dynamic and ever-changing world, to enable them to become global citizens by exploring their own place in the world, their values and their responsibilities to other people and to the environment.
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. We also want our pupils to have a first hand, hands-on experience of being a geographer. Through our curriculum, we aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time.
We have 6 principles that are behind the development of our curriculum and these underpin the principles of this geography curriculum.
- Evidence and expert informed
- Knowledge and vocabulary rich
- Coherently planned
- Inspiring
- Inclusive
- Evolving and responsive
Implementation
Our curriculum is designed to consider both the disciplinary and substantive knowledge that pupils require to become geographers.
Substantive knowledge … this is the knowledge that is accepted as fact within a subject.
Disciplinary knowledge… is a curricular term for what students learn about how that knowledge was established, its degree of certainty and how it continues to be revised by scholars, artists or professional practice. It is the part of the subject where the pupils understand each discipline as a tradition of enquiry with its own distinctive pursuit of truth - CHRISTINE COUNSELL, “TAKING CURRICULUM SERIOUSLY,” IMPACT.
In geography disciplinary knowledge is made up of three parts
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When these three areas of disciplinary knowledge are combined together we can gain a better understanding of what it is to be a geographer.
In order to deliver these three areas of disciplinary knowledge, the Geographical Association recognise four key concepts that represent the overarching ideas of the subject.
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These key concepts are enhanced by five different organising ideas that are core to the substantive knowledge we are delivering through our curriculum. These are:-
- Time
- Scale
- Diversity
- Interconnection
- Interpretation
Our curriculum is designed to teach pupils these four key concepts through a range of topics and studies over their time at Birchen Coppice. Furthermore, our curriculum is designed as a ‘spiral’, where the key concepts and organising ideas are revisited with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Cross curricular links are also developed in each unit, therefor allowing our pupils to make connections and apply their geographical skills.
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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 that lessons are engaging and appealing. When required, content is scaffolded to ensure that all pupils can access the key learning, as well as providing opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning.
Impact
Our enquiry-based approach to our Geography Curriculum allows teachers to assess children against the National curriculum expectations. The impact is constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson provides teachers with opportunities to assess pupils against the learning objectives. Furthermore, quizzes and at times, more formal assessments, are used to monitor pupil progress against the national curriculum for geography. Opportunities for children to present their findings using their geographical skills also form part of the assessment process in each topic covered.
As a result of implementing our Geography Curriculum, our pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skills and knowledge to enable them to study Geography with confidence at Key Stage 3 and beyond. We hope to shape children into curious and inspired geographers with a respect and appreciation for the world around them, alongside an understanding of the interconnection between the human and the physical.
The expected impact of our curriculum is that children will be able to:
- Compare and contrast human and physical features to describe and understand similarities and differences between various places in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
- Develop a deep knowledge and understanding of the country the live in, at a greater scale year on year.
- Name, locate and understand where and why the physical elements of our world are located and how they interact, including processes over time relating to climate, rivers and the water cycle, mountains, coastlines and natural disasters.
- Understand how humans use the land for economic and trading purposes, including how the distribution of natural resources has shaped this.
- Develop an appreciation for how humans are impacted by and have evolved around the physical geography surrounding them and how humans have had an impact on the environment, both positive and negative.
- Develop a secure knowledge of the skills required to be a geographer, including map work, field studies, geographical enquiry, data collection and presentation.
- Present and answer their own geographical enquiries using planned and specifically chosen methodologies, collected data and digital technologies.
- Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Geography.