Geography

Geography Vision Statement

At Grove Wood Primary School our geography teaching aims to provide high quality learning experiences that inspire, encourage and nurture the children’s natural curiosity, to find out about the physical and human world around them. Our learners gain a growing knowledge and understanding of geography, places, people and environments. They are inspired to be inquisitive and questioning, looking closely at global issues that affect us directly and indirectly, as well as beginning to interpret what they find out.

At Grove Wood we see Geography is an enquiry led subject that seeks answers to fundamental questions such as:

• Where is this place?
• What is it like? (And why?)
• How and why is it changing?
• How does this place compare with other places?
• How and why are places connected?

 We give our children the opportunity to not just answer questions related to Geography but also to ask and debates them:

• What could/should the world be like in the future?
• What can we do to influence change?

 Geography draws on its vast range of vocabulary to identify and name places, the features within them and the human and physical processes at work there. Such core knowledge provides the building blocks of deeper explanation and understanding; providing entry points to geographical conversations about the world.

Geography deals with the ‘here and ‘now’ of real life and as such, is a vital ‘living’ subject that contributes to and enhances the wider curriculum. Although geography can be taught alone, it can also be taught in a cross-curricular way alongside our themes.

In Geography club this term the children have been researching what a country is most famous for and making a 3D models to represent them.

Flags are an important part of a nation’s identity, and learning about flags helps children identify and remember places around the world. In Geography club the children have been researching flags of countries, then making one and find at least 3 interesting facts about the country

Year 4 had a special virtual reality experience. We've travelled around the world linked to our Geography topic. We've been to France and up the Eiffel tower; zoomed to Australia and passed by the Sydney Opera House then flew to New York and climbed the Empire State building! We experienced some of the seven wonders on the world we have been studying in class - walked along the Great Wall of China, then saw Christ the Redeemer in Brazil and finally the Taj Mahal in India. We've talked about continents and capital cities, famous landmarks and quizzed about them. The winning team got to choose our final destination - under the sea.