Evelyn Street School

Why teach Geography?

Geography inspires pupils to be curious and fascinated about the world around them and its inhabitants and our hope is that this sense of curiosity will remain with pupils for the rest of their lives.

Enquiry based learning is woven through our units of work. Pupils are encouraged to act as geography detectives; generating their own geographical questions and then carrying out research to answer them.

The children develop their knowledge of the world around them through lots of opportunities to explore their rich and diverse local environment and learn about global natural and human environments.

Alongside this children will develop a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human features and processes. Over time, the children’s growing knowledge about the world should help them deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human features and processes, and of the formation and use of land and environments.

How we teach Geography

At the beginning of every topic, pupils begin with an overarching enquiry question and discussion, which ensures that our teaching is informed by the children’s prior knowledge. It is enquiry based and the pupils have an opportunity to explore a range of resources, texts and experiences. There are regular opportunities for all pupils to carry out field work to enable them to experience their local area and beyond.

Enrichment plays a vital part in geography teaching and learning at Evelyn Street Academy. Every year group does fieldwork, which gives them the opportunity to explore the local area while developing skills that will help them navigate and understand their environment, such as using compasses, reading maps and planning routes. We use high quality resources and we also have a carefully planned programme of visitors, workshops and visits.

What your child will learn

A secure understanding of the world around them and how it has been shaped
Knowledge of the location of places, seas and oceans, including their defining physical and human characteristics
An understanding of the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they change over time
A range of geographical skills, including collecting and analysing data gathered through fieldwork that deepen understanding of geographical processes
The ability to interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globe and aerial photographs