Newburgh C of E Primary School
Geography
Intent
At Newburgh CE Primary School, we want to develop our pupils' fascination and curiosity about the world and we want them to think and act like Geographers. We want our children to have an interest that will last for the rest of their lives and to also understand the impact they can have on the local area and the wider world.
We want our children to learn about a variety of places in Britain and around the world. We complete fieldwork and geographical activities within our local area of Newburgh to build upon the children's geographical skills. We offer opportunities for the children to investigate, research, enquire and ask questions about our locality and what makes it so special and unique. The children will learn about key landmarks, land use and heritage within Newburgh and the surrounding area. We then provide opportunities for our pupils to compare and contrast Newburgh and our locality with other places in the United Kingdom and then the wider world.
Through our carefully planned curriculum, combined with high quality teaching, we develop the following:
- An excellent knowledge of Newburgh, the surrounding areas and how they have changed and developed over time;
- A rich and varied Geography vocabulary;
- An understanding of physical and human aspects of geography;
- A comprehensive understanding of places within Britain and the wider world;
- Ability to apply questioning skills and geographical enquiry to different locations and places and to explain their findings;
- The ability to communicate and present their findings and opinions effectively in a variety of ways to a range of audiences;
- Excellent fieldwork skills;
- An awareness of current topical issues and understanding of sustainable development;
- A keen interest in Geography as a subject and a curiosity about our wonderful world.
Implementation
Teachers plan their lessons based upon the information provided on the Curriculum maps. They use a range of teaching resources to plan and deliver effective, interactive and interesting lessons that challenge and engage learners. Teachers ensure that they build on pupils' prior learning to allow for contingency and progression. Key vocabulary is outlined and expanded upon in all lessons so that pupils can make links between new and prior learning.
Carefully planned cycles of lessons concentrate on the key geographical skills that should be taught and teachers ensure that activities match the needs and ability levels of their pupils. External visitors are planned for when they can enhance learning and a variety of fieldwork is planned for each year group also. We also send optional creative homework activities and links to parents/carers to supplement this curriculum subject. The subject has strong links with History, Forest School, Science and PSHE. Activities are carefully planned across subjects to help children learn holistically.
Impact
At Newburgh School, we have planned our Geography curriculum carefully to meet the needs of our pupils and we always ensure that teaching and learning tasks are appropriate and high quality. We celebrate our successes and learning with our end of unit 'Fabulous Finish' events and we invite parents and family members to attend these. We also plan for educational visits linked to Geography and fieldwork throughout the curriculum. As a whole school and staff, we reflect upon standards of teaching and learning, the achievements of our pupils and how Geography continues to be embedded within our school ethos.
Geography Curriculum Map 2022-2024
Big Questions at Newburgh in Geography
Knowledge Organisers
A Knowledge Organiser is a set of key vocabulary, facts and information on a topic that your child needs to be able to know and recall by the end of the topic. Please use these at home as conversation starters to discuss learning and as a way of helping your child commit their learning to long-term memory (for example, you may want to cut up the vocabulary and meanings and play matching pairs or encourage your child to learn how to spell the words.
2022-2023
Autumn Term 2022:
Year 1 Knowledge Organiser - Our School
Year 2 Knowledge Organiser - Our World Land and Sea
Spring Term 2023:
Year 2 Knowledge Organiser - Hot and Cold Places
Year 2 Knowledge Organiser - Hot and Cold Places - Kenya
Year 3/4 Knowledge Organiser - Map Reading
Year 5/6 Knowledge Organiser - Vegetation and Farming
Summer Term 2023:
Year 1 Knowledge Organiser - Hot and Cold Places & Japan
Year 2 Knowledge Organiser - Human & Physical Features of Newburgh
Year 3/4 Knowledge Organiser - Mountains
Year 3/4 Knowledge Organiser - North America
2023-2024
Autumn Term 2023:
Year 1 Knowledge Organiser - Our School
Year 2 Knowledge Organiser - Our World Land and Sea
Year 3/4 Knowledge Organiser - Rivers
Year 5/6 Knowledge Organiser - South America
Spring Term 2024:
Year 2 Knowledge Organiser - Hot and Cold Places
Year 2 Knowledge Organiser - Hot and Cold Places Kenya
Year 5/6 Knowledge Organiser - Natural Disasters
Summer Term 2024:
Year 1 Knowledge Organiser - Hot and Cold Places & Japan
Year 2 Knowledge Organiser - Human & Physical Features of Newburgh
Picture News
We use Picture News at Newburgh during a weekly whole class Collective Worship. This invaluable resource allows our pupils and staff alike to think about local and global news, current affairs and topical issues. These resources and photographs are then displayed on our whole school Picture News display board, where pupils can read further information texts and find out more about the current news and headlines.
The children also have the opportunity to consider and discuss how the news makes them feel. These carefully planned activities open up questions for debate and also encourage pupils to discuss and think about their own experiences, beliefs and values. In addition, the children get to vote and make decisions based upon a variety of issues and they have the opportunity to think about their personal choices and the impact these have on the wider world.
We make our links to our whole school Geography teaching within the Picture News sessions and we discuss these issues within our class Geography sessions. We have also completed work on our Global Carbon Footprints, Recycling and Sustainability, and have made links to the local and wider area.
Ask the Expert - Soil Surveyor
As part of Science week in March 2023 Years 5 and 6 had a visit from a Soil Surveyor. After learning about soil types they experienced testing the soil at Newburgh School.
