St. Thomas More Catholic Primary School

Geography

Becoming world explorers!

Our world, created by God, is a wonderful, exciting and dynamic place. It is full of incredible of places, climates and people, ready to be explored and investigated. Geography is an important part of our school curriculum, which allows our pupils to explore their local environment and the wider world beyond. We aim to develop children's curiosity about the world around them and to become real world explorers.

Through the study of Geography, pupils develop their awareness of places, processes in the world, key fieldwork skills and the effects of human behaviour on places and the natural world. Geography provides opportunities for children to develop map reading skills and to explore topical environmental issues. Through exploring different places pupils learn about different cultures and ways of life.

At St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Geography is taught as part of our themed curriculum, linking with other areas of the curriculum. The themed curriculum is planned following the National Curriculum expectations for key stage one and key Stage two, as well as the Early Years Foundation Stage objectives.

The themed curriculum addresses the four key areas of Geographical skills:

Geographical skills and field work
Locational knowledge
Place knowledge
Human and physical features and processes

These skills are mapped through key stage 1 and 2, building year on year.

Geography skills and fieldwork are planned as part of themed topics, focusing on places or processes, to provide a stimulating and motivating context.

Geography curriculum map

This is the curriculum coverage for Geography in 2022 and 2023.

Geography is highlighted green.

Year	Autumn		Spring		Summer
Year 1	Ahoy there! (Pirate maps)	Ahoy there Grace O’Malley	Hot and cold places	Castles, Kings and Queens (Changes)	A taste of India	Legends of London
Year 2
Year 3	The United Kingdom	Ancient Egypt: How did the civilisation of Egypt wax and wane?	Extreme Earth	All Around the World	The Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age: When would you prefer to have lived?
Year 4	The Mediterranean	Ancient Greece: Can we thank the Ancient Greeks for anything in our lives today?	Water/Weather	The Romans: Why was the Roman Empire so envied? Locality	The Anglo-Saxons and Scots: How did the Anglo-Saxons and the Scots change Britain?	Local Area Study (Conkers)
Year 5	The Vikings	World War 2	Local Area Study: Blitz, boom, bust – Coventry in the 20^th Century How did Coventry change in the 20^th Century?	Marvellous Map Skills	Brazil - Rainforests
Year 6	The Mayans: Manmade or natural disaster – which best explains the disappearance of the Maya around AD 900?	Mighty Mountains and Raging Rivers DYM	Crime through the Centuries: Why has the meaning of the word criminal changed so much in Britain?		SATs	North America