Geography

Geography Curriculum Plan

Why are we teaching a knowledge-rich curriculum; how is it different?

In geography we have thought carefully about what knowledge pupils need to retain and retrieve in the longer term, and which knowledge we need them to do work with. 

Within a knowledge-rich geography curriculum, pupils have an entitlement to a geographical education that draws upon geographical practices and approaches. 

Why are we teaching this content?

Geography is a subject for life – it is a subject that is embedded in the world around our pupils, so it is significant that they are well prepared to make sense of the world they live in. It is important that pupils reach the end of Key Stage 3 having learnt sufficient subject knowledge of geography. The curriculum should also serve as a foundation and long-term preparation for both GCSE and A-level geography.

We have designed the curriculum with the aim that  pupils learn the geographical content included within the Geography National Curriculum.   Working through this helped us map out across Year 7, 8 and 9 where pupils would encounter the curricular content that pupils would need to learn in order for them to appreciate the complexity of climate change and related geographical issues.

Why are we teaching it in this order? 

There is certain locational knowledge that we expect pupils to have acquired in Key Stage 1 and 2. The Key Stage 3 Curriculum does not suppose that this has been learnt by all pupils, and so there is opportunity in the autumn term of year 7 to ensure this knowledge is taught .We think this is important in terms of sequencing as it gives pupils a framework that enables them to understand the geographical significance of locations and relationships between places. Much of the KS3 curriculum focuses on the UK first before using wider examples. 

What do pupils need to remember and be able to do in this subject?

As geography teachers, we introduce pupils to a range of subject-specialist vocabulary that can be effectively used within pupils’ work. These key terms are embedded in our lessons and homework tasks so that KS3 pupils can ‘talk like a Geographer’. 

Pupils need to be able to understand that at the core of geography as a subject is the balance of the physical world and the influences of the humans that live in it. To support this, topics tend to rotate between human and physical geography so that pupils save strengths in both areas. 

What methods do we use to help pupils secure this knowledge in long-term memory? 

To embed the use of subject specific vocabulary, we use knowledge organisers and detailed lesson content to ensure pupils access the language and can use it correctly. In class we use knowledge quizzes in each lesson as well as frequent spelling tests to check for any gaps in understanding.