Primary Curriculum - Geography (5 - 11 years / Grades 1 - 6)

Primary Curriculum - Geography (National Curriculum UK)

Key Stage 1 - (Grades 1 - 2 )

Knowledge, skills and understanding

Geographical enquiry and skills

1. In undertaking geographical enquiry, pupils should be taught to:
a. ask geographical questions [for example, 'What is it like to live in this place?']
b. observe and record [for example, identify buildings in the street and complete a chart]
c. express their own views about people, places and environments [for example, about litter in the school]
d. communicate in different ways [for example, in pictures, speech, writing].

2. In developing geographical skills, pupils should be taught to:
a. use geographical vocabulary [for example, hill, river, motorway, near, far, north, south]
b. use fieldwork skills [for example, recording information on a school plan or local area map]
c. use globes, maps and plans at a range of scales [for example, following a route on a map]
d. use secondary sources of information [for example, CD-ROMs, pictures, photographs, stories, information texts, videos, artefacts]
e. make maps and plans [for example, a pictorial map of a place in a story].

Knowledge and understanding of places

3. Pupils should be taught to:
a. identify and describe what places are like [for example, in terms of landscape, jobs, weather]
b. identify and describe where places are [for example, position on a map, whether they are on a river]
c. recognise how places have become the way they are and how they are changing [for example, the quality of the environment in a street]
d. recognise how places compare with other places [for example, compare the local area with places elsewhere in the United Kingdom]
e. recognise how places are linked to other places in the world [for example, food from other countries].

Knowledge and understanding of patterns and processes

4. Pupils should be taught to:
a. make observations about where things are located [for example, a pedestrian crossing near school gates] and about other features in the environment [for example, seasonal changes in weather]
b. recognise changes in physical and human features [for example, heavy rain flooding fields].

Knowledge and understanding of environmental change and sustainable development

5. Pupils should be taught to:
a. recognise changes in the environment [for example, traffic pollution in a street]
b. proved and sustained [for example, by restricting the number of cars].

Breadth of study

6. During the key stage, pupils should be taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through the study of two localities:
a. the locality of the school
b. a locality either in the United Kingdom or overseas that has physical and/or human features that contrast with those in the locality of the school.

7. In their study of localities, pupils should:
a. study at a local scale
b. carry out fieldwork investigations outside the classroom.

Explanatory notes and cross-curriculum references

Note for 1b - Cross reference to mathematics

Ma2 Number: Processing, representing and interpreting data
5. Pupils should be taught to:
a. solve a relevant problem by using simple lists, tables and charts to sort, classify and organise information

Note for 1d - Cross reference to English

En1 Speaking and listening: Speaking
1. To speak clearly, fluently and confidently to different people, pupils should be taught to:
b. choose words with precision
d. focus on the main point(s)
e. include relevant detail
f. take into account the needs of their listeners

En3 Writing: Composition
1. Pupils should be taught to:
a. use adventurous and wide-ranging vocabulary
c. put their ideas into sentences
d. use a clear structure to organise their writing
e. vary their writing to suit the purpose and reader
f. use the texts they read as models for their own writing

Note for 1d - Cross reference to mathematics

Ma2 Number: Using and applying number
1. Pupils should be taught to:
Communicating
e. use the correct language, symbols and vocabulary associated with number and data
f. communicate in spoken, pictorial and written form, at first using informal language and recording, then mathematical language and symbols
Reasoning
g. present results in an organised way

Note for 2

Geographical skills are developed in the context of geographical enquiry.

Note for 2b

Fieldwork skills are developed during fieldwork investigations outside the classroom.

Note for 2c - ICT opportunity

Pupils could use a programmable toy to develop instructions for following a route.

Note for 2c, 2e - Cross reference to mathematics

Ma3 Shape, space and measures: Understanding properties of position and movement
3. Pupils should be taught to:
a. observe, visualise and describe positions, directions and movements using common words
b. recognise movements in a straight line (translations) and rotations, and combine them in simple ways [for example, give instructions to get to the headteacher's office or for rotating a programmable toy]

Note for 2d - Cross reference to English

En2 Reading: Reading for information
2. Pupils should be taught to:
a. use the organisational features of non-fiction texts, including captions, illustrations, contents, index and chapters, to find information
b. understand that texts about the same topic may contain different information or present similar information in different ways
c. use reference materials for different purposes

Cross reference to ICT

Finding things out
1. Pupils should be taught how to:
a. gather information from a variety of sources [for example, people, books, databases, CD-ROMs, videos and TV]

Note for 3b

This begins to develop pupils' framework of locational knowledge.

Note for 3e

This provides a basis for pupils' understanding of global citizenship in later key stages.

Note for 4

'Pattern' refers to the way in which physical and human features occur or are arranged [for example, weather changes, street layout]. 'Process' refers to a series of events that cause changes in a place or environment [for example, flooding, increasing traffic].

Note for 4a - ICT opportunity

Pupils could use a digital camera to record places, people and events observed outside the classroom.

Geography: 
Key Stage 2 (Grades 3 -6)

Teaching should ensure that 'geographical enquiry and skills' are used when developing 'knowledge and understanding of places, patterns and processes', and 'environmental change and sustainable development'.

During Key Stage 2 pupils investigate a variety of people, places and environments at different scales in the United Kingdom and abroad, and start to make links between different places in the world. They find out how people affect the environment and how they are affected by it. They carry out geographical enquiry inside and outside the classroom. In doing this they ask geographical questions, and use geographical skills and resources such as maps, atlases, aerial photographs and ICT.

Knowledge, skills and understanding

Geographical enquiry and skills

1. In undertaking geographical enquiry, pupils should be taught to:
a. ask geographical questions [for example, 'What is this landscape like?', 'What do I think about it?']
b. collect and record evidence [for example, by carrying out a survey of shop functions and showing them on a graph]
c. analyse evidence and draw conclusions [for example, by comparing population data for two localities]
d. identify and explain different views that people, including themselves, hold about topical geographical issues [for example, views about plans to build an hotel in an overseas locality]
e. communicate in ways appropriate to the task and audience [for example, by writing to a newspaper about a local issue, using email to exchange information about the locality with another school].

2. In developing geographical skills, pupils should be taught:
a. to use appropriate geographical vocabulary [for example, temperature, transport, industry]
b. to use appropriate fieldwork techniques [for example, labelled field sketches] and instruments [for example, a rain gauge, a camera]
c. to use atlases and globes, and maps and plans at a range of scales [for example, using contents, keys, grids]
d. to use secondary sources of information, including aerial photographs [for example, stories, information texts, the internet, satellite images, photographs, videos]
e. to draw plans and maps at a range of scales [for example, a sketch map of a locality]
f. to use ICT to help in geographical investigations [for example, creating a data file to analyse fieldwork data]
g. decision-making skills [for example, deciding what measures are needed to improve safety in a local street].

Knowledge and understanding of places

3. Pupils should be taught:
a. to identify and describe what places are like [for example, in terms of weather, jobs]
b. the location of places and environments they study and other significant places and environments [for example, places and environments in the news]
c. to describe where places are [for example, in which region/country the places are, whether they are near rivers or hills, what the nearest towns or cities are]
d. to explain why places are like they are [for example, in terms of weather conditions, local resources, historical development]
e. to identify how and why places change [for example, through the closure of shops or building of new houses, through conservation projects] and how they may change in the future [for example, through an increase in traffic or an influx of tourists]
f. to describe and explain how and why places are similar to and different from other places in the same country and elsewhere in the world [for example, comparing a village with a part of a city in the same country]
g. to recognise how places fit within a wider geographical context [for example, as part of a bigger region or country] and are interdependent [for example, through the supply of goods, movements of people].

Knowledge and understanding of patterns and processes

4. Pupils should be taught to:
a. recognise and explain patterns made by individual physical and human features in the environment [for example, where frost forms in the playground, the distribution of hotels along a seafront]
b. recognise some physical and human processes [for example, river erosion, a factory closure] and explain how these can cause changes in places and environments.

Knowledge and understanding of environmental change and sustainable development

5. Pupils should be taught to:
a. recognise how people can improve the environment [for example, by reclaiming derelict land] or damage it [for example, by polluting a river], and how decisions about places and environments affect the future quality of people's lives
b. recognise how and why people may seek to manage environments sustainably, and to identify opportunities for their own involvement [for example, taking part in a local conservation project].

Breadth of study

6. During the key stage, pupils should be taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through the study of two localities and three themes:

Localities

a. a locality in the United Kingdom
b. a locality in a country that is less economically developed

Themes

c. water and its effects on landscapes and people, including the physical features of rivers [for example, flood plain] or coasts [for example, beach], and the processes of erosion and deposition that affect them
d. how settlements differ and change, including why they differ in size and character [for example, commuter village, seaside town], and an issue arising from changes in land use [for example, the building of new housing or a leisure complex]
e. an environmental issue, caused by change in an environment [for example, increasing traffic congestion, hedgerow loss, drought], and attempts to manage the environment sustainably [for example, by improving public transport, creating a new nature reserve, reducing water use].

7. In their study of localities and themes, pupils should:
a. study at a range of scales - local, regional and national
b. study a range of places and environments in different parts of the world, including the United Kingdom and the European Union
c. carry out fieldwork investigations outside the classroom.

Explanatory notes and cross-curriculum references

Note for 1b - Cross reference to mathematics

Ma4 Handling data: Using and applying handling data
1. Pupils should be taught to:
Problem solving
a. select and use handling data skills when solving problems in other areas of the curriculum, in particular science
b. approach problems flexibly, including trying alternative approaches to overcome any difficulties
c. identify the data necessary to solve a given problem

Processing, representing and interpreting data
2. Pupils should be taught to:
b. interpret tables, lists and charts used in everyday life; construct and interpret frequency tables, including tables for grouped discrete data
c. represent and interpret discrete data using graphs and diagrams, including pictograms, bar charts and line graphs, then interpret a wider range of graphs and diagrams, using ICT where appropriate

Note for 1c - Cross reference to mathematics

Ma4 Handling data: Processing, representing and interpreting data
2. Pupils should be taught to:
b. interpret tables, lists and charts used in everyday life; construct and interpret frequency tables, including tables for grouped discrete data
c. represent and interpret discrete data using graphs and diagrams, including pictograms, bar charts and line graphs, then interpret a wider range of graphs and diagrams, using ICT where appropriate
f. draw conclusions from statistics and graphs and recognise when information is presented in a misleading way; explore doubt and certainty and develop an understanding of probability through classroom situations; discuss events using a vocabulary that includes the words 'equally likely', 'fair', 'unfair', 'certain'.

Note for 1e - Cross reference to English

En1 Speaking and listening: Speaking
1. To speak with confidence in a range of contexts, adapting their speech for a range of purposes and audiences, pupils should be taught to:
a. use vocabulary and syntax that enables them to communicate more complex meanings
b. gain and maintain the interest and response of different audiences [for example, by exaggeration, humour, varying pace and using persuasive language to achieve particular effects]
c. choose material that is relevant to the topic and to the listeners
d. show clear shape and organisation with an introduction and an ending

En3 Writing: Composition
1. Pupils should be taught to:
a. choose form and content to suit a particular purpose [for example, notes to read or organise thinking, plans for action, poetry for pleasure]
b. broaden their vocabulary and use it in inventive ways
c. use language and style that are appropriate to the reader
d. use and adapt the features of a form of writing, drawing on their reading
e. use features of layout, presentation and organisation effectively

Note for 1e - Cross reference to ICT

Exchanging and sharing information
3. Pupils should be taught:
a. how to share and exchange information in a variety of forms, including email [for example, displays, posters, animations, musical compositions]
b. to be sensitive to the needs of the audience and think carefully about the content and quality when communicating information [for example, work for presentation to other pupils, writing for parents, publishing on the internet]

Note for 2

Geographical skills are developed in the context of geographical enquiry.

Note for 2b

Fieldwork techniques are developed during fieldwork investigations outside the classroom.

Note for 2c, 2e - Cross reference to mathematics

Ma3 Shape, space and measures: Understanding properties of shape
2. Pupils should be taught to:
c. make and draw with increasing accuracy 2D and 3D shapes and patterns; recognise reflective symmetry in regular polygons; recognise their geometrical features and properties including angles, faces, pairs of parallel lines and symmetry, and use these to classify shapes and solve problems
d. visualise 3D shapes from 2D drawings

Ma3 Shape, space and measures: Understanding properties of position and movement
3. Pupils should be taught to:
c. identify and draw 2D shapes in different orientations on grids; locate and draw shapes using coordinates in the first quadrant, then in all four quadrants [for example, use coordinates to locate position in a computer game]

Ma3 Shape, space and measures: Understanding measures
4. Pupils should be taught to:
b. recognise that measurement is approximate; choose and use suitable measuring instruments for a task; interpret numbers and read scales with increasing accuracy; record measurements using decimal notation

Note for 2d - Cross reference to English

En2 Reading: Reading for information
3. Pupils should be taught to:
a. scan texts to find information
b. skim for gist and overall impression
c. obtain specific information through detailed reading
d. draw on different features of texts, including print, sound and image, to obtain meaning
e. use organisational features and systems to find texts and information
f. distinguish between fact and opinion [for example, by looking at the purpose of the text, the reliability of information]
g. consider an argument critically

En2 Reading: Non-fiction and non-literary texts
5. To develop understanding and appreciation of non-fiction and non-literary texts, pupils should be taught to:
a. identify the use and effect of specialist vocabulary
b. identify words associated with reason, persuasion, argument, explanation, instruction and description
g. engage with challenging and demanding subject matter

ICT opportunity

Pupils could use a database to sort, question and present information about different countries.

Note for 3b

This develops pupils' framework of locational knowledge. Places they study could include those studied in other subjects [for example, Greece in history].

Note for 3d, 3f - ICT opportunity

Pupils could use the internet to access comparative weather information about different locations.

Note for 3g

This provides a basis for pupils' understanding of global citizenship in Key Stage 3.

Note for 4

'Pattern' refers to the way in which physical and human features occur or are arranged [for example, variations in rainfall across the United Kingdom, layout of hedgerows in a landscape]. 'Process' refers to a series of events that cause changes in a place or environment [for example, river flow eroding the banks of a river, closure of local shops].