Geography
Miss Richardson - Geography Leader
At Whitkirk Primary School, we are Geographers! We want our children to love geography and to have ambitions to become cartographers, town planners, conservationists or weather forecasters.
We believe Geography should provoke and provide answers to questions about the diverse world and its people. Our curriculum exposes children to interesting, diverse and relevant enquiry led themes whilst equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to explore and understand these fully. Through these carefully chosen themes, we build on and extend the scale of children’s understanding and knowledge of: the world, its people, natural and human environments, together with a deeper understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. Throughout school, we learn about Leeds and encourage our children to deepen their understanding and appreciation of their home and how it relates to the wider world. As children progress through school, their exposure to the world is broadened, learning about countries and regions further afield.
Built into each Geography theme are opportunities to develop an understanding of global issues, such as the importance of preserving environments (rainforests) and protecting our changing world (Climate Action Superheroes). The integration of this into our curriculum supports our pupils to become knowledgeable inhabitants of our planet, being aware of its diversity and passionate about its protection.
In order to become a successful Geographer, we recognise the importance of fully immersing our children in all areas of the subject. High quality texts are chosen which link with Geography themes throughout the year. School trips and fieldwork are provided to give first hand experiences, which enhance children’s understanding of the world beyond their locality. Cross curricular opportunities are planned in throughout the year to ensure children make links between Geography and other areas of the curriculum, e.g. the link between time and place. Use of ICT, for example Google Earth and Google Expeditions, allows access to global destinations and allows children to see physical processes in action. Through this multi-layered approach, we aim for all children to embed knowledge and master new knowledge and skills in a range of contexts.