Our Geography
Intent
It is our intent for our Geography curriculum to inspire the children’s curiosity and fascination with the natural, physical and human aspects of the world for many years to come. At Bentley New Village we seek to equip children with knowledge of diverse places, people resources and natural environments together with a deep understanding of the earth’s physical and human features. We want our children to experience first-hand how to apply geographical knowledge and skills using a range of resources, which will develop their confidence and aid them beyond their educational setting. Geography will be taught in a progressive manner where children are supported from the point of learning they are at inclusive of specific learning needs. A progressive planning overview will be developed and adapted so that knowledge is embedded and stored into long term memory. The sequence of lessons will be developed so that knowledge can be recapped and reinforced at regular intervals bringing knowledge from long term memory into the working memory. Learning will be assessed through quizzes and open-ended questioning within retrieval recovery in order to enable children to share the amount of knowledge they have acquired. Aspects of Geography knowledge and skill building will be interconnected across the curriculum A key message at Bentley New Village is the importance of looking after environment and how changes, which evolve overtime, are interconnected with human behaviour. We strive to teach the children the responsibilities they have as part of a community and how this can impact on the wider world along with raising the attainment of a deep understanding for subject specific vocabulary.
Implementation
At Bentley New Village, we implement a progressive geography curriculum that builds on prior knowledge and skills year on year. Teaching and learning is supported through the range of sessions set out through the progressive units within the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) scheme of work. Schemes will be followed to provide opportunity for progressive learning to all children and build children’s knowledge into their long-term memory. Knowledge then can be revisited within other concepts or subjects and long-term memory will become working memory to support children’s understanding. The geography curriculum is taught to develop curiosity where children are inspired to use enquiry to build their own knowledge of the world around them. It aims to be challenging, inspiring, creative and encourage active learning.
Children will be immersed in rich, progressive subject specific vocabulary. Vocabulary will be displayed in the classroom and reference made as a non-negotiable part of the lesson.
The lessons will be carefully taught to ensure that all children are well supported in their learning and that opportunities for depth is included. Children will explore environmental issues and be guided to understand how we can protect our world. Outdoor space within the immediate grounds of the school, local area and further afield should be utilised to ensure kinaesthetic learning is a provision. Trips and visiting experts will be used to enhance the learning experiences for the children when opportunity arises.
Impact
Children will know about the world around them through a progressively developmental structure of skills and knowledge–building on prior understanding. Through such a progressive, development and the focus of recapping and reinforcement, children will remember learning taking knowledge into their long-term memory which can be switched into working memory when required.
Children gain a wider knowledge of vocabulary that can enhance speaking and listening skills within other areas of the curriculum.
Children will ask relevant questions and analyse findings in such things as field study and exploration of their immediate environment and world around them. Teaching will develop knowledge in locational, environmental and other geographical concepts through interesting and up to date units set out within the Primary Knowledge Curriculum scheme of work ( PKC). Lessons will be taught with differentiation so all children can develop knowledge, language and skills for Geography. Children will understand geographical knowledge about their local area and the wider world.
