Becoming Geographers
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
Psalm 95: 4-5
Geography at Whitegate CE Primary School
At Whitegate CE Primary School we aim to inspire in children to be curious and fascinated about God's world and its inhabitants. As we appreciate the natural beauty of the earth we are thankful to God for all that he has created. Our aim is, not only for the children to grow in knowledge, but also in wisdom as we learn to be more socially and environmentally sensitive, better informed, and more responsible as citizens; afterall, we are called to be good stewards of God's earth.
Our curriculum equips children with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, the formation and use of landscapes and environments, together with an understanding of the earth's physical and human processes and the interactions between these.
Geography enables our children to be aware of the knowledge, skills and cultural capital in order to have a broad and balanced view on the world.
The aims of teaching geography in our school are:
- To enable children to know about the location of the world’s continents, countries, cities, seas and oceans.
- To give a particular focus to the study of local geography to enable children to understand and appreciate their locality.
- To develop the skills of interpreting a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems.
- To help children understand how the human and physical features of a place can change over time.
- To enable children to progressively develop their geographical skills (including fieldwork) throughout their school journey.
Websites we recommend to explore:Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps
UK OS Maps: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/
National Geographic:
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/teacher-category/geography/Royal Geography Website: https://www.rgs.org/schools/teaching-resources/
Geography Association: https://www.geography.org.uk/
BBC Weather: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather
Kids First News Newspapers: https://www.firstnews.co.uk/
If you have any questions about our Geography curriculum, please contact Mrs Mackenzie (subject lead) on contact@whitegate.cheshire.sch.uk
Thank you
Our Geography year group curriculum overview:
Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term | |
Maple Year 1 |
Under the Sea
Seasons and the Weather
The Equator: Hot and Cold Places
Oceans and Continents
|
Our Village
Aerial photographs and plans
Devising simple maps |
Castles and Homes
Similarities and differences of homes around the world |
Beech Year 2/3 |
Medicine
Using world maps, atlases and globes to identify the UK, continents and oceans
Understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the UK and a contrasting non-European country - Jamaica and Scotland |
Explorers
Landmarks and basic human and physical features
Simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of school and its grounds Compass points |
Beside the Seaside
Wales and Llandudno
Coasts Name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the UK and its surrounding seas |
Cedar Year 3/4 |
Rocks, Relics and Rumbles
Volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and the layers of the earth
|
The Industrial Revolution
Changes in landscape during the Industrial Revolution Locating countriesBritain colonised during this time and the different routes they think people would have taken to reach the various British colonies, deciding why particular areas may have been colonised or certain routes wouldn’t have been viable
or
Raging Rivers |
Settlements Human geography including types of settlement and land use or South America
Environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries and major cities Map Work (OS) including 4-figure grid references (linked to the residential visit) |
Willow Year 4/5 |
North America including biomes Environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries and major cities |
Greece or Mountains, including Antarctica Climate change - Our World, our Responsibility |
Raging Rivers including the water cycle or Conflict Locate the world's countries - environmental regions and major cities Map Work (OS) including 6-figure grid references linked to the residential visit |
Oak Year 5/6 |
Economic Activity and Trade Links |
Vale Royal Local geography or Antarctica Climate change - Our World, our Responsibility
|
Our Natural World Human geography distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water. Coasts Map Work (OS) including 6-figure grid references linked to the residential visit |