Geography
At Discovery Academy, we believe that children learn their best when they are showing the Academy values of Discovering, Inspiring, Caring, Improving and Achieving within our curriculum. We believe in aspiration for all so want to create a world where the sky is the limit for all of our pupils; building pathways for all and focusing on personal and academic success and eventually progress to successful employment.
Subject Intent: At Discovery Academy, we intend to teach Geography by following the National Curriculum through a lens that acknowledges our cultural capital and the ever changing world that the children are living in. As well as this, we understand the value in making our curriculum cyclical and that by building on previous knowledge, skills and themes, the children will be able to develop as successful and informed geographers.
As part of our Geography curriculum, we also want to encourage links where appropriate with other subject areas, so that the children have a rich and deep understanding of different parts of our planet. Another key aim is allowing children to have an understanding of key issues about the future of our planet and to have a passion to make positive change; it is for this reason that we have made environmental preservation and the development of civilisations a core theme throughout our Geography curriculum. By the time that children leave Discovery Academy, we want them to have a clear understanding of geography, which can be built on for the rest of their lives.
Implementation: When planning Geography, we use National Curriculum to ensure learners meet age-related expectations, while simultaneously adapting planning in order to make sure the geography which our learners study is both relevant and engaging for them. Practitioners are given a curriculum map so that learners can continually build on their previous knowledge. Within learning journeys, children will learn about both physical and human geography; they will explore the link between the two. Throughout their time at Discovery Academy, learners will look at the seven key geographical concepts: place, space, environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale and change. We do this as a way to ensure a variety of geographical learning takes place. At the beginning of each year, children will begin to discover more about the geography of another country during our European Fortnight.
Non-negotiables:
- Broad and balanced coverage
- Learning journey every term
- 1.5 hour per lesson
- Coverage of both human and physical geography
- Use of outdoor learning
- Follow bespoke curriculum
Supporting SEND learners
| Adjustment | Support | Intervention | ||
| The adult adapts materials and content to ensure access for all pupils. The relevance and the potential application of information is made explicit to all pupils. | Pupils have an opportunity to work with peers or in a group with an adult to explore information in more detail. Questions are used alongside prompts or artefacts to promote thinking and encourage motivation. | The adult explicitly teaches key concepts as pre-teaching to enable access and scaffold understanding. Concepts and vocabulary are personalised to the pupil. |
Impact: Formative Assessment: Children will be assessed weekly against clear learning challenges. Feedback should be given in order to allow children to progress further or address any misconceptions which may have arisen (see marking policy for further details).
Summative Assessment: Teachers will assess their children against the statements based on the National Curriculum and how well the children are achieving within Geography; these judgements will be moderated with peers and leaders in order to ensure their accuracy.
You can find the Geography Long Term Plan here.