Geography
Purpose of study
At Markyate School we want our children to understand their place in the world and create a sense of awe and wonder about the world that surrounds us.
We will equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. The Geography Curriculum enables children to develop geographical knowledge and skills, including using maps, globes, aerial photographs and digital mapping to name and identify countries, continents and oceans, as well as collecting and analysing data. Geography allows children to begin to develop their sense of place alongside asking questions, observing, investigating and thinking critically about issues that are affecting people around the world now and in the future.
The National Curriculum for Geography aims to:
- develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes.
- teach an understanding of the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time
- teach children how to collect, analyses and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes.
- teach children to interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
- develop the ability to communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.
These aims are taught within three main geographical areas of study:
- Human Geography
- Physical Geography
- Fieldwork and Map Reading
National Curriculum Geography.pdf
The Geography Curriculum 2014 - The Geographical Society
Geography in the Early Years
Our Geography curriculum starts in Early Years and in October, the children in Nursery and Reception went exploring! They left school in the morning and went on a Village Walk, looking at all the interesting things that are around our school. The children explored the streets that are now covered in autumn leaves, stopping to look at the village map. The children also visited an important location, St.John's Church, which is a very beautiful building that has been important to the people of Markyate village for hundreds of years.
Geography in Key Stage 1
In geography, the children in Amber class have been looking at weather patterns across the UK. The children enjoyed writing and presenting their own weather reports for the UK weather. The next day, they were excited to see weather our forecasts were accurate. The children have also enjoyed learning about the dangers of extreme weather. They thought back to our experiences of the summer 2022 heatwave where temperatures exceeded 40°C. Each child worked hard to design eye-catching sun safety posters.
Geography in Lower Key Stage 2
On the 18th November, our year 3 and 4 children took part in Exploration Day. This was the second time the school has run this activity, which involves the children learning outside of the classroom nearly all day. The activities ranged from map reading and orienteering, to creating shelters using the resources available outside. The final activities were back in the dell as darkness fell, with our Forest School staff lending a hand with cooking dinner on an open camp fire.
Geography in Upper Key Stage 2
