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
Disciplinary Concepts
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 town 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?
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
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?
Y5
Geographical Knowledge Unit
Fieldwork Units
The 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
ecosystems?
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
UK Depth Study
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.
