The Grammarsaurus Curriculum

The Grammarsaurus Geography Curriculum aligns with the English National Curriculum. The concepts, geographical knowledge and geographical skills have been mapped to ensure that pupils following our sequence of learning have ample opportunity to make progress in geography by knowing and remembering more geography content.

Disciplinary Knowledge

Locational Knowledge
Place Knowledge
Human and Physical Geography
Geographical Skills
and Map work
 

Disciplinary Concepts

Place
Space
Scale
Interdependence
Physical and
Human Processes
Environmental
Impact
Sustainable
Development
Cultural Awareness
and Diversity
 

Curriculum Aims

  • To develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
  • To understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time.
  • To be competent in the geographical skills needed to:
    • collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
    • interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
    • communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

Y1

Geographical Knowledge Unit
Fieldwork Units
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The world and my school

Where in the world do I live?
In this unit, children will begin learning about space and scale by looking at their classroom location using a planned perspective of the school. Children will then look at the location of their school on their street, including some of the other key human and physical features of the area. Children will explore the location of their settlement within the United Kingdom and learn about the UK’s four countries and capital cities. They will learn about the seasons in the United Kingdom and how they change. Children will then look at where the United Kingdom is in the world, learn the names of the continents and oceans and look at weather and climate across the globe.

Our local park

What is at our local park? How do people get there?
In this unit, children explore their local park, naming and describing what they see (e.g. different areas: play areas, ponds, wildlife areas, car parks) and how these areas are used. Children will study data collection methods and choose appropriate methods according to their enquiry. They will use first-hand sensory exploration and observations to investigate the key features of their local park. Children will reflect upon the data collected to answer how people use and enjoy their local park. Children will present their data to answer their enquiry.

Our school
grounds

Do our school grounds support plant life?
In this unit, children explore their school grounds, naming and describing what they see (e.g. different areas: buildings, playgrounds, planters, sensory gardens, field, forest school) and how these areas are used. Children will study data collection methods and choose appropriate methods according to their enquiry. They will use first-hand sensory exploration and observations to investigate the key features of their school grounds. Children will devise simple maps, including map symbols to represent their observations. Children will learn about compasses and the simple use of directional language. Children will reflect upon the data collected to answer how their school grounds support and encourage plant life. Children will present their data to answer their enquiry.

Y2

Geographical Knowledge Unit
Fieldwork Unit
 
 
 
 
 
 

My local area and Tulum, Mexico

What are the similarities and differences between my local area and Tulum, Mexico?
In this unit, children will use atlases and globes to discover about the world, including the seven continents and five oceans, the countries, capital cities and surrounding seas of the UK and the equator and poles. Children will develop fieldwork and map skills, creating maps of the school and their local area. Children will learn the geographical human and physical features of Tulum in Mexico and compare them to the geographical features of their own local area.

Investigating weather
and climate

How can we record and measure weather phenomena?
In this unit, children will learn about the differences between weather and climate. Children will learn about climate zones and the conditions in the temperate and tropical climate zones. Children will learn about people's roles in weather forecasting and how forecasts work. Children will learn about various weather instruments before creating some of their own. Children will use weather instruments to record and present data. Children will analyse and evaluate the data collected to observe weather patterns.

Y3

Geographical Knowledge Unit
Fieldwork Units
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The United Kingdom

What are the key geographical features of the UK and my region?
In this unit, children will learn about the key geographical characteristics of the United Kingdom. They will discover the different countries of the United Kingdom and the regions within England. Children will explore the human and physical features of the UK, including the types of settlements, key topographical features and how types of land use have changed over time. Children will use maps and atlases to explore the UK and their local region while learning to use a compass, 4-figure grid references, keys and symbols.

Bee conservation

How can we make our school environment more bee friendly?
In this unit, children will learn how important bees are for humans and the natural world. Children will learn the dangers facing bees and the ways in which they can be conserved. Children will observe bees in their natural habitat and carry out improvement works on school grounds to help conserve and protect bees.

Land use, economic activity and travel

What facilities are in
my local area, and how do people travel there?
 

In this unit, children will learn about the places around them and begin looking for land use patterns. Using a case study of a fictional town to provide context, children will investigate their local area, focusing on its facilities and transport links and how they might be changing. Children will learn different ways of presenting, analysing and evaluating the data collected about their locality.

Y4

Geographical Knowledge Unit
Locality Unit
Fieldwork Unit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

My region and
Campania, Italy

What are the similarities and differences between my region and Campania, Italy?
In this unit, children will learn about the world and how it is represented on maps. Children will discover the different countries and capital cities of Europe as well as recapping the countries and cities of the UK. Children will specifically focus on Italy and will learn the key human and physical features of the country before focusing on the region of Campania. Children will learn about plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes and will complete two Campania case studies. Children will then use their knowledge to compare their own region in England with Campania and establish similarities and differences between the two.

Investigating weather and climate

How can we record and measure weather phenomena?
In this unit, children will review their knowledge of weather and climate dierences. Children will learn about the six main climate zones and the weather conditions in each. For instance, they will understand that the UK falls under the temperate climate zone, while other countries may have dierent climate zones. To understand weather forecasts, children will learn about the symbols used to display weather conditions. They will also be introduced to various weather instruments such as anemometers, rain gauges, and thermometers, and their uses in measuring wind speed, rainfall, and temperature respectively. Children will be encouraged to make informed choices to decide which weather phenomena they want to observe and measure. They will collect and record weather data from the school grounds using these instruments. Children will make sensible predictions based on weather trends and patterns. They will analyse the collected data and identify weather trends and patterns. Children will evaluate the fieldwork they have carried out.

Y5

Geographical Knowledge Unit
Fieldwork Units
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

My region and the Western United States

What are the similarities and differences between my region and the Western United States?
In this unit, children will recap the key human and physical of their region in the United Kingdom. Children will discover the different countries and capital cities of North America and then focus on the Western region of the USA. Children will learn the human and physical features of the Western region of the USA, including biomes, climate zones, vegetation belts, earthquakes and volcanoes. Children will learn about the physical processes of rivers, mountains and the water cycle and apply this to their region and the Western USA.

Rivers

What are the features of my local river?
In this unit, children will learn about the formation of a river at each course and the specific features that can form. Using the River Trent as a case study, children will recap regional rivers before selecting a local river to conduct fieldwork. Children will learn how to conduct fieldwork at a local river by gathering, analysing, presenting and recording data.

Biomes and ecosystems

What trees, plants and animals are in our local ecosystem?
In this unit, children will learn about the biomes and ecosystems in the UK. They will complete a case study of the New Forest, discovering the diversity of trees, plants and animals found there. They will plan fieldwork to be conducted in a local woodland ecosystem, investigating the amount and variety of trees, plants and animals. They will then conduct this fieldwork at a local woodland ecosystem, observing, measuring and recording their findings. Children will finally analyse the data collected and present their information to an audience.

Y6

Geographical Knowledge Unit
Fieldwork Unit
 
 
 
 
 
 

Economic activity
of the UK

What is the economic activity of the UK and how sustainable is it?
In this unit, children will do an in-depth study into the economic activity of the United Kingdom. Children will learn about the three main economic sectors and how each of them impacts the economy of the UK. Using a range of case studies, children will find out how sustainable different economic activities in the UK are and the ramifications they have on the environment.

Sustainability

How can our school reduce its plastic waste?
In this unit, children will learn what plastic is and its uses. Children will learn about the problems associated with plastic. Children will investigate ways to reduce plastic waste in school and conduct fieldwork before recording, presenting and evaluating the collected data.