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!