Geography Curriculum

Each child studies 3 units of Geography in each phase:

• Year 1 – Our Local area, People and their communities and animals and their Habitats
• Year 2 –  Seasons, Journeys - Food, Our Wonderful World
• Year 3 – Climate and Weather, Our World, Coasts
• Year 4 – The Americas, Rivers & The Water Cycle, Earthquakes & Volcanoes
• Year 5 – Changes in our Local Environment, A study of an Alpine Region, Journeys - Clothes
• Year 6 – The Amazon, Global Warming and Climate Change, Our World in the Future

Children’s geographical learning starts with the familiar and slowly builds outwards, from London to the UK, to Europe, South America. Their understanding of how their local area fits into the wider world is therefore gradually accrued. 

Progression within the curriculum is clear: it starts with what is familiar to children and extends outwards.

Progression in fieldwork skills is built across units, with the London units in Years 1 and Year 5 offering rich opportunities for mapping, technical drawing and exploring their environment in a concrete physical way. Other units offer scope for children to use digital resources, globes, atlases and Geographical Information Systems to explore regions. Key technical and tier 2 vocabulary is mapped onto each unit, allowing children to build a rich bank of geographical language.

Each unit is supported by a Knowledge Organiser which details the key facts, vocabulary and skills for each unit. 

Links are built with other subjects, predominantly but not exclusively with writing, art, music and science.