“Everything has to do with geography”-Judy Martz (first woman governor of Montana). 

Intent

At Godolphin Junior Academy, the pupils will embark on a journey of discovery and learning about human population settlements in different landscapes of the world and how global changes are increasingly affecting how we live today and in the future.  The study of Geography promotes healthy curiosity for pupils about people and places and enables them to think more critically on how human actions and decision-makings can impact the natural world and human habitation environment.  GJA’s curriculum is aligned with the National curriculum and delivered through inclusive and engaging lessons in classroom, online learning portals and outdoor learning. Pupils learn about basic geographical concepts at local, national, and global scales and are groomed to be ambassadors that celebrate diversity of the physical and human worlds. 

We use a concept curriculum approach to teach Geography. Our concept curriculum is designed to help students learn more and remember more by making connections in a systematic and structural way. Each concept is an overaching idea that is revisted within subjects and across years to reinforce essential knowledge.

Implementation

At Godolphin Junior Academy, geography is taught in units over 6 lessons.  The learning objectives are aligned with the National Curriculum for KS2.  At the beginning of each unit, pupils are provided with knowledge organisers that outline the key vocabulary and facts that they will learn linked to educational learning objectives. 

Knowledge Organisers

 To support pupils' learning, every unit in Geography has an accompanying knowledge organiser. This document contains key information and knowledge that pupils will learn during the topic. It supports their learning of key facts and concepts. Please find a copy of Geography knowledge organisers below:

Impact

At Godolphin Junior Academy, we use a variety of strategies to evaluate the knowledge, skills and understanding that our pupils have gained during each geography block:

• Effective feedback and marking 
• Regular assessment through low-stakes quizzes
• Pupil voice feedback
• Subject monitoring, including book scrutiny
• Recognise and celebrate outstanding work on the school website and app
• CPD to ensure that teacher pedagogy and assessment is secure.

Useful Links
BBC Bitesize:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zcdqxnb

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zbkw2hv

The Geographical Association:
https://www.geography.org.uk/Teaching-resources

The Royal Geographical Society
https://www.rgs.org/