Geography

Our Vision

At Southborough Church of England Primary School we aim to develop children’s curiosity in both their immediate surroundings and in places and environments in the wider world.

Our Geography teaching inspires pupils to become global citizens by exploring their own place in the world, their values and their responsibilities to other people, the environment and to the sustainability of the planet.

Our Geography curriculum builds on children’s previous learning and own experiences and inspires them to ask and explore important questions about their world, as they learn the fundamental skills to help understand the link between human and physical processes.

This Term in Geography

EYFS – Let’s Explore

In the Let’s Explore project, your child will explore their class environment and school grounds so that they feel settled and happy in their new surroundings. They will learn about the local environment and find out about places they have visited on holiday. They will look at and create maps for journeys.

Year 1 - Bright Lights, Big City!

Hop on board a big, red bus and head for England’s capital. Yes, that’s right, we’re on our way to London!

This half term, we’ll take tea with the Queen and visit Buckingham Palace online. Using maps and research, we’ll locate Buckingham Palace, understand compass directions, plan routes around London and learn about the countries of the United Kingdom. Our research will take us back in time to the Great Fire of London and to famous London landmarks, as well as giving us an understanding of what it’s like to live in a big city. We’ll Skype a school in a city far away, write adventure stories, take a virtual trip to London Zoo and make souvenirs for tourists.

At the end of our project, we’ll share our skills and knowledge with you. Our class will tell well-known stories about London, make a stop-motion animation and share traditional British songs and nursery rhymes.

Year 2 - Coastline 

In the Coastline project, your child will use maps to learn about the location of the world’s seas and oceans and keys to learn about map symbols. They will also find out about the directions on a compass. They will learn about the human and physical features of a coastline, including the effects of erosion and how to stay safe when visiting the coast. They will have the opportunity to learn about the work of the RNLI, what happened to the SS Rohilla and about the coastal town of Whitby, including how Captain Cook is linked to the town. They will research the tourism industry and consider what features make a place a successful tourist destination.

Year 3 - Rocks, Relics and Rumbles.

In the Rocks, Relics and Rumbles project, your child will learn about the different layers of the Earth, including plate tectonics and their potential effects on the Earth's surface. They will investigate different types of rock to learn about their uses and properties. They will also investigate soil and fossils, including learning about the work of Mary Anning. They will have the opportunity to use maps to learn about the lines of latitude and longitude and a compass to learn about the cardinal and intercardinal points. They will also learn about volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis and the long and short-term consequences that these can have.

Year 4 - Misty Mountains, Winding Rivers

In the Misty Mountain, Winding River project, your child will learn about the characteristics and physical processes of rivers, including how they shape the landscape over time, their significance around the world and the impact of flooding. They will learn how to use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and a key to locate and plot geographical places and features on a map, as well as how contour lines are used to show the topography of an area. They will have the opportunity to learn about the stages of the water cycle and about mountains and their different formations, studying mountain ranges in the United Kingdom and around the world. They will also learn about habitats and how human and natural influences can have an impact on the environment.

Year 5 - Sow, Grow and Farm 

In the Sow, Grow and Farm project, your child will learn about allotments in the United Kingdom and how the government encouraged people to have them to support food rationing during the Second World War. They will learn about food webs and animal life cycles, including how living things are dependent on one another within a habitat. They will investigate the different ways that plants reproduce and will dissect flowering plants to identify the different structures. They will have the opportunity to learn about farming in the United Kingdom and the techniques used in modern farming, including the challenges that farmers face. They will learn about the benefits of eating seasonally and about the pros and cons of importing food. They will also learn about world farming and how the different climate zones affect where different foods can be grown.

Yera 6 - Frozen Kingdoms 

In the Frozen Kingdoms project, your child will learn about the regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. They will learn about the similarities and differences between these two regions, including the climate, landscape and natural resources. They will learn how to use grid references, lines of latitude and longitude, contour lines and symbols to identify the geographical locations of the Arctic and Antarctic, and how these, along with the tilt of the Earth, affect day length and warmth. They will investigate polar oceans to learn how they differ from other oceans on Earth and how climate change increases Earth's temperature and leads to rising sea levels. They will learn about the indigenous people of the Arctic, including how their lives have changed over time, and about the positives and negatives of tourism in Antarctica. They will also learn about classifying animals, animal adaptations and evolution, and polar exploration and discovery.