Intent
Geography at MDIS inspires children to develop curiosity about the world around them and understand their place within it. Through studying local, national and global environments, children develop knowledge of places, people, environments and natural processes whilst gaining an appreciation of the diversity of the world. Children learn to think and work as geographers by asking questions, investigating places, interpreting information and developing fieldwork skills.
The breadth of our Geography curriculum is designed with three goals in mind:
- To provide appropriate experiences that help children understand their local area and the wider world.
- To provide rich cultural capital through the study of diverse places, environments, communities and cultures.
- To provide a coherent, structured Geography curriculum that enables all children to develop geographical knowledge, skills and understanding progressively over time.
We believe strong geographical understanding begins in the Early Years, where children first explore their immediate surroundings, local community and the wider world. These early experiences provide the foundations for later learning about places, human and physical geography, fieldwork and geographical enquiry.
Implementation
Our Geography curriculum is based upon the Chris Quigley Essentials Curriculum and is organised around key geographical concepts that are revisited and developed throughout the school. These include:
- Locational Knowledge
- Place Knowledge
- Human and Physical Geography
- Map Skills and Fieldwork
- Investigating Places
- Investigating Patterns
- Communicating Geographically
The curriculum begins in the Early Years where children develop an understanding of familiar places and their immediate environment. Through exploration, observation, outdoor learning and discussion, children begin to recognise places that are important to them and learn to describe the world around them using geographical vocabulary.
Reception
In Reception, Geography is taught through a range of meaningful themes which gradually expand children’s understanding from their classroom to the wider world.
Children begin by exploring their classroom and school environment through mapping and positional language. They create simple classroom maps, use bird’s-eye views and investigate routes and locations within familiar environments.
As their understanding develops, children learn about their local area through studying Market Drayton. They take part in local walks, identify jobs within the community and begin to understand what makes their town special.
Children then broaden their geographical knowledge beyond their locality by learning about England and London, recognising that London is the capital city of England. Through visits and fieldwork experiences, children begin to develop locational awareness and place knowledge.
Further learning focuses on farms and food production, helping children understand how people interact with the environment and how farms provide food. Children explore human and physical features through first-hand experiences and visits.
Reception pupils are also introduced to the wider world through studies of Africa, its animals and cultures, and develop an understanding of the world’s oceans and why they are important. This helps children recognise similarities and differences between places and communities around the world.
As children progress into Key Stage One, they move from exploring familiar places to studying contrasting localities, countries and continents.
Children deepen their understanding of settlements, land use, physical and human geography, and global comparisons. They become more confident using maps, keys, symbols and fieldwork techniques to investigate the world around them.
Throughout each unit, children investigate enquiry questions and use a variety of geographical sources including maps, globes, aerial photographs, fieldwork observations and data collection. They are encouraged to ask questions, identify patterns, compare locations and communicate their findings using geographical vocabulary.
The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills are revisited and strengthened over time through an interleaved approach. This enables children to make links between places, understand geographical processes and develop increasing confidence as young geographers.
Impact
Through the explicit teaching of geographical knowledge and disciplinary skills, children continually build their understanding of the world. Teachers assess learning through discussion, questioning, fieldwork activities, investigation tasks and outcomes linked to enquiry questions.
Children regularly revisit prior learning and make connections between their local area, the United Kingdom and the wider world. This helps them develop a secure understanding of place, location and geographical processes whilst strengthening their geographical vocabulary.
By the end of Key Stage One, children can:
- Locate and identify places at a local, national and global scale.
- Describe and compare places using geographical vocabulary.
- Identify human and physical geographical features.
- Use maps, globes, aerial photographs and simple fieldwork techniques.
- Investigate patterns and relationships within the environment.
- Communicate geographical understanding using maps, discussion and appropriate vocabulary.
As children progress through the curriculum, they become increasingly confident geographers who can ask questions, investigate places, interpret geographical information and understand the connections between people, places and environments on a local, national and global scale.
