How we teach Geography at Wordsworth Primary School

Starting in EYFS, the children will begin to develop an enthusiasm for exploring, observing and finding out about people, places, technology and the environment, through making sense of their own community and the world around them. 

In KS1, the children will continue to embed a sense of place starting with their local area but expanding out to a wider scale, exploring the part they play in the world around them. They will use fieldwork skills alongside a variety of different types of maps to explore and develop a sense of adventure.

In KS2, they will build and expand on this knowledge, developing a deeper sense of place and people and an understanding of how to protect our world for the future.  

What you will see in the classrooms

Our curriculum immerses children in the local environment, our country and the rest of the world and will foster a curiosity and fascination to experience Geography for themselves.  Using children’s naturally inquisitive nature, they will develop a knowledge of diverse people and places across the world and a deeper understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.

Children will be:

• Comparing locations, using a variety of maps, writing and talking about different places and the people who live there.
• They will be given opportunities to practise transferable skills such as researching, observation, measurement, recording and presenting information during lessons and fieldwork.
• They will be using maps, atlases, globes, aerial photos and plans.

At Wordsworth, our children are engaged and motivated geographers with a desire to think critically about the world around them, developing knowledge about physical and human geography and the impact of people on our world.

Geography Protocol

Classroom environment

• Hexagon overview sheet needed in books and displayed in class when Geography is being taught
• Hexagon words displayed in classroom
• Learning journey displayed where there are Geography displays

Teaching and Learning

• Progression document must be used for planning
• Skills explicitly taught and referenced
• No more than 6 hexagon words (with pictures added) per unit – must be particularly relevant to the particular unit, not just the subject in general
• Explicit instruction using the "I do/you do" approach
• Scaffolding where appropriate for children at different levels
• Many opportunities for practical practising of skills during lessons