Geography

The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.

Barack Obama

What is Geography?

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment and the way that locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there and how they develop and change over time.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/geography/

Why do we study Geography?

Geography’s fundamental role lies in helping children to understand the world, its environments and places near and far, and the processes that create and affect them. It encourages a holistic appreciation of how the world works and of the interconnections between concepts such as scale, community, cultural diversity, interdependence and sustainability. Geography is a subject that contextualises and extends the possibilities for developing and applying language and mathematics, and enriches understanding of, and in, subjects from science and history to art and design.

The National curriculum states the purpose of geographical study is to:

Inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

Geography at St Mary's Primary School

Our Geography curriculum content is a skills based curriculum with a strong connection to the Isle of Wight and the wider world. We want our children to understand why living on an Island is important and the unique physical and human geography found here. Children then build on this knowledge to understand where we are in the context nationally and internationally.

 We have also tailored our Geography curriculum to ensure that it can support the children in their understanding of where the civilizations they study in KS2 were situated.