Geography teaching at Glebe
Geography Leader
- Claire Marriott
- Ruth Dudding
The INTENT of Geography at Glebe
Geography teaching at Glebe is AMBITIOUS. Together as a whole school we will take a deep dive into our local area, exploring human and physical features and processes, developing our mapping and fieldwork skills, and our knowledge of location and place, including our continent of Europe and the wider world. Our Geography curriculum has our school CORE VALUES at its heart. At Glebe we believe that high-quality geography education inspires an enduring curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. The positive mindset ethos at Glebe encourages pupils to be inquiring, enthused and adventurous as they learn about the world around them. We will nurture a sense of place in our world, firstly by learning about our immediate locality of Southwick and Sussex, and then go onto study and compare significant global locations. We challenge children to develop their own lines of enquiry and encourage them to be independent thinkers and widen their geographical knowledge. Our parts based planning model is ORGANISED AND RESEARCHED. Teachers have clear guidance and support to help them plan a clear sequence of engaging lessons that develop geographical enquiry. Through this approach vocabulary is a focus so that children can verbalise their understanding. This is why it is introduced at the start of every unit for children to have the ambition to gain greater knowledge. Our planning model is based upon BIG QUESTIONS, focusing on our local area and comparative studies. At Glebe Primary, teaching 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. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world will help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. They will learn key geographical skills such as mapping and fieldwork, and use a range of maps, atlases and digital technology to explore their town, country, continent and world. Geography weeks give pupils VALUED EXPERIENCES such as visiting and mapping their local area, monitoring the weather, making their own rivers, and experiencing a taste of other cultures. Geography at Glebe is FOR TEACHERS BY TEACHERS and takes into consideration the expertise and passions of our staff. Subject leaders consult with year groups to collect feedback on units of work so that they can be developed further.
How we teach geography at Glebe
Click here for the National Curriculum - programmes of study for Geography
layer 2 document geography overview 2022 23.pdf
Spotlight within Geography - Autumn Term Whole School Theme Week: We are Geographers!
Before the half-term break, the whole school took part in three themed days to study "Our Local Area", and to discover what sort of skills a good geographer needs. The children and staff always love taking part in this project and it continues to be a real highlight of the year!
From Early Years right up to Year 6, the children learnt about different mapping skills and created their own maps of their classrooms, school, town, country, continent and the world! There was a focus on learning the correct technical vocabulary when using map skills, from coordinates to continents, from latitude to longitude and beyond!
As well as studying and drawing a range of maps, including using digital software, the children also learnt about the different aspects of human and physical geographical processes. By going on field trips within the local area, children were able to spot and sketch some of these features for themselves, like the beach, roads, the river mouth, the train line and the various shops, homes and businesses that make up the locale of Southwick. Each group was given a different aspect to explore, including trade and commerce, coasts, rivers and the weather. In Year 2, the children kept a daily weather diary and used the school grounds to carry out their fieldwork. They particularly loved using their "wind ribbons" to find out from which direction the wind was blowing!
We were extremely impressed with the high standard of presentation across the school, with some beautiful produced pieces in the children's topic books. From hand-drawn maps, detailed diagrams and creative writing, the children really took pride in their work and showcased their learning to a high degree. We can not wait for the next Geography week to take place!
