Primary

The content for key stage 1 and 2 geography can be seen, at first glance, as a series of lists of what children should be taught and what geographical vocabulary should be referred to. This concise national curriculum document, which does not provide explanations of how to deliver the content, must appear quite daunting to a non-geography specialist or a teacher lacking confidence in their subject knowledge.

However, the new curriculum does allow teachers to be imaginative and to excite pupils about the world they live in.

I am in the process of writing a draft programme of study for my school; to do this I have held discussions to find out what teachers have enjoyed delivering and what pupils have been inspired by.

To build on this opportunity to motivate and engage pupils and staff alike, I have taken on board all comments and tried to blend the new curriculum with existing units that work well. It seems sensible not to overhaul the entire curriculum but to make introductions where necessary and renew resources that are tired and out of date.

I have tried to keep certain units in year groups where staff have expressed an interest. However, the introduction of the study of Europe (including Russia) and the Americas has meant that some units have had to be moved to other year groups or replaced. Where pupil interest (our unit on Pakistan) and staff knowledge (Kenya) was strong, I have tried to keep these topics in our new scheme of work.

I am now looking at developing fieldwork through the use of the school grounds, the immediate local area and localities further afield. I am also researching how to extend our map work through digital mapping - various providers are available so it is important to choose one that will complement our needs.

My aim for September is twofold: for our school to have an exciting, engaging and dynamic geography curriculum that allows a progression of knowledge through each key stage; and for our pupils to be inspired to become geographers of the future.

Joanne Davey is a specialist leader in education for primary geography and a geography coordinator at Holy Trinity Primary School in Halifax, West Yorkshire

Secondary

The new key stage 3 curriculum offers the challenge and opportunity for secondary school geography departments to revisit dated schemes of work, tired resources, old assessments and assignments.

This is precisely what many schools, including mine, are doing across the country - seeking support, guidance and advice from the professional associations, as well as looking internally at our own situation. As a learning community, we should not be panicked; we should see this as an opportunity and rise to the challenge with quality geography.

The new national curriculum gives greater autonomy to schools and should not be seen as a prescriptive list. In fact, it is a minimum entitlement that should be woven into exciting, engaging and challenging topics that are supported by contemporary and relevant case studies in well-planned schemes of work.

We are currently planning for our 1,200 students in Years 7-9. We have already held several department meetings in which we have thrashed out new ideas. We have critiqued a first and second draft to ensure that there is a progression through the statutory content of the key stage and have embedded a variety of local topics.

For us, a good starting point was to cut the curriculum topics into cards and sequence them on a three-year grid. We have not thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Some topics are already well resourced and extremely well taught, so they may need no attention or only slight modification.

An early departmental audit last October showed that there were other topics that we should ditch. They were outdated and lacking core geographical knowledge. These are being replaced by units that are based on places or themes, which are not necessarily half a term long.

With the introduction of place topics such as Russia and the Middle East, we will not be seeing a return to the regional geography approach of the 1960s and early 1970s that many of us experienced at school - that would be taking the curriculum too literally. Topics such as these, and others such as geomorphology and pedology, need to be taught in exciting, imaginative, creative and accessible ways.

Sure, there are content gaps, but these will be plugged and written throughout the rest of this academic year, ready for first teaching in September. New topics will be openly discussed and we are planning to use departmental meetings for CPD rather than routine administration.

We hope that our approach will encourage large numbers of students to opt for geography at key stage 4 and beyond, as well as preparing them for later life as global citizens.

Maria Larkin is subject leader for geography at Cardinal Newman Catholic School in Hove, East Sussex

A look inside the new geography curriculum

Key stage 1

Pupils should be taught to:

• name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans and identify characteristics of the four countries and capitals of the UK and its surrounding seas;
• understand geographical similarities and differences by studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the UK and a small area in a contrasting non-European country;
• identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the UK and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the equator and the North and South Poles;
• use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical and human features.

• Key stage 2

  Pupils should be taught to:

  • locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe and North and South America, concentrating on environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries and major cities;
  • name and locate counties and cities of the UK, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics and key topographical features;
  • identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, the equator, the northern and southern hemispheres, the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the Arctic and Antarctic, and time zones;
  • understand geographical similarities and differences by studying the human and physical geography of a region of the UK, a region of a European country and a region within North or South America;
  • describe and understand key aspects of physical and human geography, such as climate zones, rivers, volcanoes, types of settlement and land use.

  • Key stage 3

    • Pupils should be taught to:
    • extend their locational knowledge using maps of the world to focus on Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East;
    • understand geographical similarities, differences and links between places by studying the human and physical geography of a region within Africa and one within Asia;
    • understand key processes such as geological timescales and plate tectonics, rocks, weathering and soils, and weather and climate, including the change in climate from the Ice Age to the present;
    • understand how these human and physical processes interact;
    • interpret Ordnance Survey maps in the classroom and the field, using grid references and scale, topographical and other thematic mapping, and aerial and satellite photographs;
    • use geographical information systems to analyse data;
    • use field work in contrasting locations to collect, analyse and draw conclusions from geographical data, employing multiple sources;
    • communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

    • Supplied by John Lyon, programme manager at the Geographical Association.

      Read the full breakdown of the new curriculum

      Resources

      Primary

      1. Blogging the basics

      A blog from the Department for Education gives further guidance on the geography curriculum.
      
      2. Broader horizons

      This scheme of work sets out how to tackle the new content.
      
      3. Locating expertise

      Cover all the locational knowledge requirements of the new curriculum in a fun pub quiz.
      
      4. Plan preparation

      Try lesson plans carefully tailored to the new curriculum.
      
      5. Physical framework

      This lesson combines human and physical geography.

      Secondary

      1. Society support

      Visit the Royal Geographical Society’s TES Connect profile for the latest resources to support the KS3 curriculum.
      
      2. Points of interest

      This game builds locational knowledge by asking pupils to guess a sequence of five locations with the help of geographical clues.
      
      3. Top topics

      These lessons cover a range of key geography topics.
      
      4. Brief encounters

      If you are running open evenings, revision classes or option talks for young geographers, this resource, which can be used for posters or a presentation, is perfect for you.
      
      5. Young explorers

      Engage geographic minds in enquiry with this guide.