At Summercourt Academy, geographical knowledge is interwoven through our Curriculum and forms an intrinsic part of our termly projects.
Our Geography intent is to provide ‘Living Geography’ concerned with pupil’s lives, their futures and their world. Through our curriculum we aim for pupils to develop a sense of their world at a local, national and global scales understanding the interconnections between how people and the environment interact. Fieldwork is an essential part of our Geography provision with every pupil also having a half term of forest school linked to their termly project. Pupils learn to think critically, think spatially, use maps, visual images and new technologies, including geographical information systems to analyse and present information. They will have an adept understanding of their responsibilities within their own society whist also having a coherent insight into sustainability of a dynamically changing world.
Our Aims
To ensure that all pupils:
- develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
- understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time
- collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
- interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
- communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.
Class 1 (EYFS/Year 1) used a school map to go on a treasure hunt around the school grounds to explore the world around them. This learning links to 'Understanding of the World'. They were able to use the map to locate all the areas in the school. They also met other staff members along their journey.
Class 2 (year 1/2) enjoyed completing their (geography based) orienteering task where they learnt to navigate using a simple map to find clues revealing the names of capital cities. This learning links to 'use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map' as well as 'name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom'.
As a part of their geography coverage, class 3 (year 3/4) have learnt about volcanoes and earthquakes. They were lucky enough to create their own model examples of volcanoes and create volcanic eruptions. This learning links to 'describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle.'
As a part of their geography coverage, class 4 (year 5/6) have learnt about mountains and linked this to knowledge about tectonic plates. They were lucky enough to use Jaffa cakes to recreate the plates colliding to form 'mountains'. This learning links to 'name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time'.
