GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM INTENT STATEMENT

INTENT

At Butterwick C of E Primary School our Geography curriculum aims to provide a rich cultural capital and a coherent, structured geography curriculum that leads to a sustained mastery for all and a greater depth of understanding for those who are capable.

Our geography provision aims to create excitement, curiosity, creativity, compassion and deep thinking about the world and the people who live there. This will be achieved through developing the children’s skills of geographical enquiry, questioning, the use of fieldwork and the correct terminology.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our Geography curriculum at Butterwick C of E Primary School is based on the National Curriculum and linked to our termly topics. All lessons build on prior learning and knowledge organisers are used to support knowledge development and key vocabulary.

The curriculum is structured in such a way as to allow children to develop their understanding from basic to deep. This is through a spiral curriculum and spaced learning. Retrieval of previously learned content is frequent and regular, which increases both storage and retrieval strength.

Appropriate links are also made to other curriculum areas.

The curriculum is enquiry based, which enables children to develop geographical skills and concepts. The key geographical skills and concepts, which are revisited throughout different units, are:

• Investigating places – this concept involves understanding the geographical location of places and their human features.
• Investigating patterns – this concept involves understanding the relationships between the physical features of places and the human activity within them, and an appreciation of how the world’s natural resources are used and transported.
• Communicating geographically – this concept involves understanding geographical representations, vocabulary and techniques.

Trips and visits from experts enhances the learning experience.

IMPACT

At Butterwick C of E Primary School our geography curriculum will develop a passion for the subject, with children who have a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people that live in it. Children will be able to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in good knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment.

Pupils will understand the geographical location of places and their physical and human features and will be able to compare it to other places. Pupils will also be able to investigate patterns, understanding the relationships between the physical features of a place and the human activity within them, appreciating how the world’s natural resources are used and transported. They will use geographical vocabulary for physical and human geography and will have developed their mapping skills.