Geography

Geography at Pomphlett

Rationale- What has informed our curriculum design in geography?

At Pomphlett, we want our pupils to develop a curiosity and interest about the world around them and the communities within it. Across the curriculum at Pomphlett, we aim to develop children’s cultural capital and local knowledge. In geography, this begins with learning about and exploring the local area, securing pupils' knowledge of places around the British Isles by regularly identifying where locations are in relation to Plymouth, as well as comparing this with a variety of places around the world. When children consider different global locations, we want them to think about how physical and human geography are connected as well as developing an understanding about how as global citizens their actions affect others. We also aim to equip pupils with a clear understanding of what it means to be working as a geographer and the skills that this entails. 

Intent- What are our aims?

Our geography curriculum is designed to encourage children to develop both geographical knowledge and geographical skills which are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their learning journey at Pomphlett and beyond.

We aim to equip our pupils with the knowledge and skills needed to:

• Investigate the geographical locations of places and their physical and human features
• Understand the patterns and relationships between the physical features of places and the human activity within them
• Understand how to communicate geographically using representations, vocabulary and techniques

Implementation- How do we teach geography?

Geography lessons are delivered by class teachers through carefully planned units of work. Our knowledge organisers identify the knowledge, vocabulary and disciplinary skills that will be covered in each unit. These knowledge organisers are used both in lessons and at home to reinforce learning. Our curriculum is progressive. We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years, beginning each unit and lesson with teacher assessments of what children already know in order to inform the learning that follows. Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills. 

Continuous formative assessment identifies those children with gaps in learning, so that all children can fully access the learning. Teachers create engaging sequences of carefully planned lessons, drawing from a wide range of high quality sources and resources in order to aid understanding of conceptual and disciplinary knowledge. Opportunities are planned in across the year for pupils to put these skills into practice and gain first-hand experience during class trips during each year. During UKS2 pupils also have the opportunity to participate in residential study visits.

Impact- How will we know this?

As a result of our geography provision at Pomphlett, children will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to investigate the world around them, resulting in learners who are keen and motivated to work as geographers.

In our geographers we expect to see:

• An excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like.

• An excellent understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated.

• An extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary.

• Fluency in complex, geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills and use effective analytical and presentational techniques.

• The ability to reach clear conclusions and develop a reasoned argument to explain findings.

• Significant levels of originality, imagination or creativity as shown in interpretations and representations of the subject matter.

• Highly developed and frequently utilised fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques.

• A passion for and commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there.

• The ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment.

They will leave Pomphlett with an understanding of what it means to be a global citizen in today’s ever-changing world.