Geography
What is Geography?
Geography is the study of relationships between physical and human phenomena leading to different geographical patterns on the surface of the earth. Geography is crucial to understanding the modern world around us, not just looking at what happens but delving deeper to understand why this happens allowing students to make sense of the world around them.
Why do we teach Geography at HASU?
Whilst other disciplines may study landscapes, the atmosphere, people and culture, the built environment and politics, geography is the only discipline that concerns itself with the relationships between these resulting in spatial differences. Geography equips students with the knowledge to think about the world in new ways, recognising human and physical interactions, appreciating the different cultures and ways of life, and understanding contemporary human and environmental problems. It is for these reasons that we aim to develop students at Harris Academy Sutton to develop geographical knowledge and understanding. Through this powerful academic knowledge, it is our intention that students will go beyond their existing knowledge and feel confident to critique information, consider different perspectives, reflect, and feel empowered to resolve these problems.
How do we teach Geography at HASU at KS3?
Our curriculum is based on contextual (locational), propositional (theoretical) and procedural (skills) geographical knowledge including geographical fieldwork to encourage students to ‘think geographically’.
Our Key Stage 3 curriculum is taught using enquiry questions allowing students to think geographically about places and processes both locally and globally. The enquiry questions are interweaved with five main key concepts: Development, Climate, Human and Physical Interactions/Processes, Sustainability and Geomorphology. These are revisited throughout Key Stage 3 and become increasingly complex and interconnected as the curriculum progresses.
Within lessons students build locational knowledge, and once these foundations are established place knowledge can be developed. Place knowledge and geographical theories and processes are taught through a variety of methods to support understanding including atlases, articles, GIS, videos, graphs, and images. With these sources students are encouraged to analyse and interpret developing their ability to think write and speak like geographers. Through using key vocabulary, they will describe, explain, and make decisions about the causes, consequences, and responses to the geographical patterns around them.
Geography lessons also encompass several opportunities for students’ personal development, empowering students to be empathetic and inquisitive whilst learning about new places. Lessons reflect the contemporary and challenging issues we have as a society, providing engaging examples of not only how geography influences our world, but more importantly to develop students’ passion to show that they can influence geography through links to geographical careers.
How do we teach Geography at HASU at KS4?
Students will have the option of studying Geography at GCSE as part of our broad and balanced Key Stage 4 curriculum.
At Key Stage 4, students are taught similarly to KS3 with a strong focus on enquiry questions. There are eight topics which include human and physical geography on varying scales. These are assessed in year 11 through two separate papers: Our Natural World and People and Society. The topics within these papers are taught discretely and sequenced specifically to ensure students can make conceptual links between and within synoptic units.
Our Key Stage 4 curriculum is taught based on the four OCR GCSE Assessment objectives, so students can demonstrate locational and place knowledge, demonstrate geographical understanding, apply knowledge to make judgements and use geographical skills to investigate findings.
Within lessons students will have knowledge retrieval practice before being taught new geographical content including key geographical theories and processes. With this knowledge they are often encouraged to link this to geographical theories across topics and apply these to specific case-studies. In a Key Stage 4 Geography lesson, students might study the causes and impacts of a geographical process such as an earthquake in a specific place and write an extended answer to explain why some places are more vulnerable to earthquakes.
Further to the geographical content studied, students will have an opportunity to apply their knowledge through fieldwork both in a physical and human geography context. This compulsory fieldwork allows students to understand how content can be linked locally and how it is relevant to their own personal geographies. Fieldwork is taught discreetly through a series of lessons to prepare for and consolidate their fieldwork investigations.
What exam board do we study and Key Stage 4?
Students studying Geography follow the OCR Geography B (Geography for Enquiring Minds) (J384) Specification.
This specification can be found here.
How do we teach Geography at HASU at KS5?
A-level Geography is a popular subject at HASU6, with students recognising the value of both the content and skills acquired from studying the course. Furthermore, Geography compliments a wide array of other A-level subject, both within the science and humanities fields.
A-level Geography is split into 4 components – physical systems, human interactions, geographical debates and investigative geography. In physical systems, students study coastal landscapes and earth life support systems. Human interactions include Changing Spaces, Making Places as well as Global Migration topic. Disease Dilemmas and Hazardous Earth make up the geographical debates proportion of the course. Whilst investigative geography is non-examined assessment where students independently investigate their own fieldwork enquiry, which must relate to any aspect of the A-level specification.
Similar to our key stage 4 curriculum, key stage five is taught based on the three OCR A-level assessment objectives so students can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of laces, environments, concepts, processes, interactions and change at a variety of scales, apply knowledge and understanding in different contexts to interpret, analyse and evaluate geographical information and issues as well as using a variety of relevant quantitative, qualitative and fieldwork skills.
As part of the A-level course, students are required to complete 4 days of both human and physical fieldwork. This compulsory fieldwork allows students to build on their fieldwork understanding from KS4.
What exam board do we study and Key Stage 5?
Students studying Geography follow the OCR Geography (H481) Specification.
This specification can be found
here.https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/geography-b-geography-for-enquiring-minds-j384-from-2016/specification-at-a-glance/
Geography Assessment
Due to the breadth and broadness of skills developed in geography; students are assessed through a variety of methods. Within lessons this may include teacher questioning, multiple choice questions, short-answer questions, numeracy, and cartographic (map) skills. To assess their geographical understanding and their ability to ‘write like a geographer’ this generally includes extended writing tasks intended for students to apply geographical knowledge and evaluate to reach a decision. These methods are often low-stakes self or peer assessed to provide quick feedback for students on how to improve within the lesson.
Once a half term KS3 students will complete a Learning Snapshot consisting of multiple-choice questions and a selection of appropriate style questions to assess students on the skills they have learnt that half term. These are teacher assessed, and students are given a feedback lesson to receive written feedback and an opportunity to improve these skills further. These styles of assessment intend to prepare students for their formal Mid and End of Year assessments.
At Key Stage 4, we assess students geographical understanding more regularly using exam style questions in lessons, homework, and Learning Snapshots (once per half). These are questions similar to the style they will be completing in their GCSE exams. Additionally, students will complete practice exam papers for their Mid and End of Year assessments which will ensure pupils are writing articulately and analysing sources where appropriate. These assessments will enable students to receive preparation of what to expect from exams, thorough feedback and will allow students to engage in improving.
Assessment at Key Stage 5 continues across lessons, homework as well as both formative and summative formative assessment (learning snapshots at least once per half term, per teacher). Assessment content covers all assessment objectives of the A-level exams – AO1 (knowledge and understanding), AO2 – (application of knowledge and understanding) and AO3 (skills). Students will experience mid and end of year mock style assessments, which will give students experience of sitting a full exam style paper in timed conditions. These assessments help prepare students for their A-level exams at the end of year 13 and are always followed by feedback for students to understand both what went well and what they can improve.
Geography Homework
In Geography, homework is intended to consolidate classroom learning or practice key geographical skills. Homework will generally take the form of four styles of activity:
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Research/source based- This is important so students can engage with contemporary events that link to geographical theories learnt in lesson.
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Knowledge retrieval quizzes- These are based on SatchelOne or Seneca encouraging them to recall information learnt in lessons which is important to embed geographical knowledge
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Numerical/Cartographic/GIS Skills- These are key geographical skills students continually practice throughout their studies and will enable them to become more familiar and competent in accessing different forms
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Extended Writing practice- Extended writing remains a key part of our curriculum and this will allow students to practice applying geographical language to explore writing like a geographer independently.
At Key Stage 4, students engage in similar activities as above, however there is also emphasis on creating revision materials, critiquing resources, and decision-making activities. These tasks are intended to support and enable students to become more confident independent learners.
At Key Stage 5, students should use their guided independent practice to complete revision with emphasis on exam practice questions as well as wider reading around the subject, particularly around current affairs which will support their broader contextual knowledge and help build synoptic links between the various topics.
