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.