Geography at Hodge Clough Primary School

At Hodge Clough Primary School, we aim to inspire children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. We believe in encouraging all children to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. This will instill a passion and interest for the subject overall, providing children with the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary needed to be confident geographers.


Learning is linked to a range of topics and the children will have opportunities to investigate places and patterns and communicate geographically. They will build on their prior learning and revisit these areas regularly, allowing them to remember more, know more and understand more.


Children at Hodge Clough will develop an excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like, using geography to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. We see exploring geography within the context of the immediate and wider local area as highly valuable and our children will be provided with the chance to explore the geography of their locality.


We are committed to providing them with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area of Moorside and Oldham so that they can develop a real sense of who they are and what makes their local area unique. Our geography topics have been chosen to allow children to develop their knowledge and understanding of both the geography of our local area and the wider world.

Within our geography curriculum, we have identified several key themes which the children can investigate:
Location knowledge and maps
Place knowledge
Human and physical geography
Skills and field work

These will be achieved through the following topics:

Y1- Oldham and Moorside, The UK and Weather
Y2- London, Nairobi and Around the World
Y3- Counties and Cities of the UK, Extreme Earth and Land Use
Y4- Europe, Countries and capitals, Rivers, Mountains &The Water Cycle and the South Aegean
Y5- Somewhere to settle, Rainforests and Brazil
Y6- Biomes & Climate zones, Economic activity and World Time Zones

By the end of Reception children will be able to:
Draw information from a simple map. 
Recognise some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries. 
Explore the natural world around them. 
Recognise some environments that are different to the one in which they live. 
Understand the effect of changing seasons on the natural world around them.
Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps. 
Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and maps
Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants. 
Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class. 

By the end of Key Stage 1 children will be able to:
Name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans
Name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas
Compare and contrast the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country
Explore seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles
Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to and describe key physical and human features of locations
Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage 
Use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language
Use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features
Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment.

By the end of Key Stage 2 children will be able to:
Locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, 
Name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics
Identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones 
Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America
Describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
Describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water
Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied 
Use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world  
Use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.

Characteristics of a good Geographer

At Hodge Clough, our geographers will develop skills to better understand the world they live in and its environments.  They will develop map skills, compare locations, investigate regions and carry out research.  They will learn to ask thoughtful questions and solve problems whilst making geographical links with a variety of different subjects.  They will develop spatial awareness, using outdoor exploration, and regular application of geographical enquiry.  They will also learn to anticipate and understand future geographical and environmental challenges.

We would like our geographers at Hodge Clough to move beyond their immediate world and deepen their environmental knowledge.  A good geographer will be able to demonstrate an awareness of their physical and human world and understand the importance of their place within the world and the impact their actions may have on it.

 

  • EYFS
    A good geographer in EYFS can make sense of their physical world and their immediate locality. They demonstrate this by exploring and observing familiar features based on everyday experiences. 
     
  • Key Stage 1
    A good geographer in Key Stage 1 will have begun to develop their geographical vocabulary by learning about where they live, as well as another area of the United Kingdom and an area in a contrasting non-European country. They will be able to describe weather patterns in the United Kingdom and hot and cold areas of the world. They will use ICT, world maps, atlases and globes, simple compass directions, aerial photographs and plans, as well as fieldwork and observational skills.
     
  • Key Stage 2
    A good geographer in Key Stage 2 will be able to use more detailed maps and discuss human and physical characteristics of regions. They will understand climate zones, mountains, volcanoes, the water cycle, rivers, types of settlement and natural resources. They will use ICT, different types of maps, atlases, more complex compass directions, aerial photographs, as well as fieldwork and observational skills.

We follow the National Curriculumn for Geography. Please use the link to find out more information.

External Link Icon NC Geography

Within our geography curriculum, we have identified several key themes which the children can investigate:

  • Location knowledge and maps
  • Place knowledge
  • Human and physical geography
  • Skills and field work

 

These will be achieved through the following topics:

  • My local area and Moorside
  • The human and physical geography of Oldham, and a small area in Kenya
  • Places around the world where there are volcanoes and earthquakes
  • Mountains of the UK and the main mountain ranges of the world
  • Greater Manchester (local towns and villages) and Cities, towns and counties in the UK
  • South and North American countries
  • The location of UK ports and cities and countries relating to imports and exports of natural resources

 

By the end of Reception children will be able to:

  • Draw information from a simple map.
  • Recognise some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries.
  • Explore the natural world around them.
  • Recognise some environments that are different to the one in which they live.
  • Understand the effect of changing seasons on the natural world around them.
  • Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
  • Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and maps
  • Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants.
  • Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.

 

By the end of Key Stage 1 children will be able to:

  • Name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans
  • Name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas
  • Compare and contrast the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country
  • Explore seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles
  • Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to and describe key physical and human features of locations
  • Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage
  • Use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language
  • Use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features
  • Use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment.

 

By the end of Key Stage 2 children will be able to:

  • Locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America,
  • Name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics
  • Identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones
  • Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America
  • Describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
  • Describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water
  • Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
  • Use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world  
  • Use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.