Geography
Ms J Toyne Humanities Leader:
Our Vision for Geography
Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Working as geographers, children at Birchwood Junior School learn about the diversity and connectivity of real people and places. Our geography curriculum is influenced by Forest Skies Dream Big powers.
Discover – through learning about new places and digging deeper into places we think we are familiar with
Reasoning – suggesting solutions to environmental issues and explaining why decisions might have been made
Empathise – walking in the shoes of others to find out about what places are like and how they are changing, learning about real people in real places
Ask Questions – helping to develop independent enquiry and pose their own ideas for investigation
Make mistakes – evaluating our own learning and suggesting how we could do better
Be Resilient – challenging ourselves and other to deepen our understanding through challenge questions
Imagine and create – working together to develop ideas and present fieldwork enquiries to an audience
Grow – becoming confident geographers who can link our understanding and ideas across the full curriculum
Our curriculum is outlined below but please feel free to pop into school any time and ask to speak with our Geography lead Miss Toyne. She is always more than welcome to answer any questions.
We are really proud to have been awarded the bronze Quality Mark by the Geographical Association in recognition of the improvements to the geography curriculum
How geography promotes our golden threads:
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Inclusivity for all The geography curriculum is inclusive, all children are able to participate and be successful through adapted tasks and resources, and adult support. Children with complex needs and EHCPs have a planned adapted pathway for geography. This ensures that the key subject knowledge for their age group is taught and the children have experience of each unit of work. Staff know the children well and are able to adapt plans accordingly to take into account gaps in learning and limit of previous experiences. When we know the children need to have an understanding of the wider world beyond their environment, then we can plan our learning accordingly. Our learning journeys and approaches to planning help to build independence and resilience. We introduce new skills and knowledge in small steps and use a mastery approach to ensure that these are embedded before moving forward. |
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Every Child a reader Every year group across school has access to relevant books that fall in line with the unit they are teaching at the time. These books form excellent resources for pre reads within lesson. Children have access to these books for independent or grouped reads and can form linked texts within reading sessions across our curriculum. Staff are also alerted to any online reading that can be shared with classes with upcoming sessions in that unit. Units of work in reading and writing for each year group are based around a class novel, when geography is the focus of the term, the novel will reflect this. (The Explorer linked to South America, Robin Hood linked to Nottinghamshire) Children in adapted pathways and continuing phonics teaching have access to the class read for pleasure book, which is read by the adult. They also experience some of the longer novels as part of their targetted learning |
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Experiences, for deep sustained learning Practical experiences are important, especially for fieldwork. Y3 – The Deep in Hull to develop their understanding of survival in cold climates and other biomes; Sherwood Forest to learn about a contrasting locality and be immersed in the natural world Y4 – map work following the footsteps of Romans in Lincoln; Farm to Fork residential visit at Rand Farm learning about sustainable farming for the future Y5 – orienteering using the local area with maps at different scales; mapping Lincoln castle using panaramic and bird's eye views Y6 - visit London and use maps at different scales to navigate; visit to recycling centre to support environmental work All year groups also participate in the National Fieldwork Week. The school has invested in VR headsets to further enhance experiences within the classroom |
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Mental, Physical and Emotional Wellbeing Geography supports wellbeing by helping children develop a sense of curiosity about the world around them and how physical processes have shaped, and continue to shape the landscape. Pupils are encouraged to explore environment around them, local orienteering packs are available to encourage families to be out and about in Birchwood. Geography is truly an outdoor subject, whether this is a local walk or navigating a journey using road maps; learning about the local environment or an exotic biome; planning an epic exploration or a day trip; Geography encourages everyone to take notice of the world around us.
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Community Approach Our community is at the heart of everything we do. We have adapted our curriculum so that is relevant to our community to develop a greater sense of being part of Birchwood and Lincoln through geography fieldwork and understanding the physical features of Lincolnshire.
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