Geography
GEOGRAPHY
Geography is a curiosity in our world: its people, places and environments, near and far.
Intent
At Twineham, we believe that children should leave the school fascinated by the wonders of Earth and with a curiosity to further explore its human and physical features. They should recognise connections and seek explanations about how the world works and how they might like to make it better. We aim to provide children with a wealth of opportunities to apply their skills in both the local area and beyond, leading their own learning through questioning, researching and fieldwork.
We aim for our children to build upon their experiences and prior knowledge, and ensure they retain specific ‘sticky knowledge’ that we wish for them to know in the long term. These are guided by our golden threads of 'Our Place in the World' (climate change, location, similarities and differences) and Fieldwork.
Implementation
Throughout their time at Twineham, children draw on their own experiences and curiosity to shape our geography curriculum. Teachers are responsive to what children want to learn and provide opportunities for them to revisit and extend their prior knowledge.
Each year, children are active participants and investigators, applying their geographical skills in class, on trips and through our Outdoor Learning programme. Our curriculum projects guide our geographical exploration and learning with carefully considered open-ended questions such as ‘Is exploration always good?’ ‘Where does our food come from?’ and ‘Do we value what we’ve got?’
EYFS: Children begin by thinking about their personal geography: Who am I? Where am I? They explore the geography of the school: what happens in different rooms and spaces and who works here. They experience the world beyond the classroom through child-led discovery in our amazing school grounds and through local walks. Children learn about different places in the world through engaging stories and making links to their own experiences. They compare very hot and cold places and find out about the people and animals that live in these places. It is through this that children begin to grow their curiosity and start asking questions.
KS1: Children develop their geographical understanding further, looking outside of their local area and developing subject-specific vocabulary. They find out about where our food comes from, about the worlds oceans and compare Twineham to London and villages in Nigeria.
KS2: Children bring together their previous learning, extending it further by ‘thinking geographically’ about our changing world. They become deeper critical thinkers, challenging different viewpoints and extending their understanding of how our planet is changing on local, national and international scales. They gain greater knowledge of mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, rivers and rainforests. Their fieldwork skills are extended by developing mapping techniques, surveys and collecting and analysing data.
Impact
Children leave Twineham as experienced, curious and knowledgeable geographers. They have an understanding of how our planet is changing and how we can look after it both at local and global levels. They are ready to challenge stereotypes, further understand how the world works, and use fieldwork in new and exciting contexts.