Teachers TV: Investigating the Local Environment

Using local surroundings to enhance primary geography.
This programme covers an in-depth example of how to use the local environment to enhance geographic learning at Key Stage 2. It features the delivery of the Key Stage 2 topic ‘Investigating the Local Environment’ by Sam Jones of St. Leonard’s Primary School in Exeter. The topic can be taught across a day and a half or over a number of weeks. Sam’s approach is to ask his pupils to test the hypothesis that environmental quality is better near the school than by the river.

The work includes a field trip to survey local streets and mark them against selected criteria which measure environmental quality. Geographical understanding is developed through numeracy, as pupils learn to measure distance to scale, draw up a scattergraph and use it to reach a conclusion. David Weatherly, Devon Curriculum Services Geography Advisor, evalutes the work with Natalie Toulson from St. Michael’s Church of England Primary School in Exeter.