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Geography

Curriculum Aim

The aim of the geography curriculum is to develop children and young people’s (CYP's) passion for learning about the world and about the processes which drive development, produce opportunities and cause challenges. CYP gain an understanding of natural, social, economic and political forces which have and continue to shape the planet. CYP will be able to form their own evidence-based and substantiated perspectives on a range of geographical issues and changes. CYP will engage with evidence and data to help them understand and make sense of their place in an increasingly complex and connected society. Studying geography provides young people with the context for current environmental and geopolitical challenges and aims to teach CYP how different solutions are taken on a local, national and international scale. As with all humanities subjects at Kingfisher, a key aim is to foster a love of learning and a passion to develop this interest.

Context

Alignment with the home school curriculum is prioritised. Where this is not applicable, we focus on geographical skills and subject-specific concepts and select purposeful content from a bank of units which form a ‘safety net’ curriculum, which aligns with the home school wherever possible.

Key concepts, skills and knowledge

All geography units will be underpinned by one or more of the following:

  • Physical and human processes
  • Locational and place understanding
  • Map skills
  • Use of data and graphs.

CYP will develop and apply the following skills:

  • Critical thinking
  • Explain and apply human processes that have an impact on our lives at small and large scales
  • Explain and apply physical processes that have an impact on our lives at small and large scales
  • Apply learning with an awareness of place and space, at various scales. An ability to apply this conceptual awareness to new content
  • Data analysis through the use of graphs, charts, maps and tables
  • Mathematical skills such as mean, median, mode
  • The ability to evaluate and prioritise evidence, in order to construct sound and substantiated arguments and well-reasoned perspectives on geographical issues (and beyond).

Curriculum Overview

Relevant topics can be selected from the following, depending on the most suitable area of need or gaps in learning:

Y7

Where do we live?

Urban living

Rain and flooding

Employment

What are natural hazards?

Data and sustainability

Y8 & Y9

The UK

Rivers

Development

Weather and climate

Population

Threats facing our planet

Resource distribution

Interconnections

Coasts

The natural world (biomes)

Urbanisation

Tectonic hazards

KS4

Rivers: Their processes and use

Meteorological and tectonic hazards: Human reaction to and preparation for hazards

What opportunities and challenges do we face with growing cities?

Economic activity and energy: How does an economy develop, and how can it prepare for the future?

Fragile environments and climate change: Where is the threat greatest, and how are we responding to it?