Geography
What will students learn?
Year 7
Autumn Term
Introducing Geography
Students will question the meaning of geography and the skills they will need to be a good Geographer.
Our Dangerous World
Students will explore tectonic hazards, how people are affected by and respond to them. They will develop an understanding of the physical processes that create tectonic hazards and their global distribution.
Spring Term
Local Area Enquiry
Students will organise and sequence an investigation around the question “Is Charter Avenue a better place to live than Ley Street.”
Who’s Got the Power?
Explores how energy is generated and the interconnections that are created between humans and their environment. The gain an understanding of sustainable development and environmental change.
Summer Term
Continuation of Who’s got the Power?
Renewable Energy Debate
Students will learn and build on their skills of geographical debate focusing on a local area conflict.
Year 8
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What topics will I be studying? |
What will I learn about? |
How will I be assessed? |
What does home learning look like? |
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Aspiring Asia |
Over the course of this unit students will be studying the continent of Asia. They will engage in a variety of lessons that will seek to enrich their understanding of the diverse content, learning about Asia’s location, diversity and economic development. Specific topics include child labour, Russia and tourism in Thailand. |
Students will produce an essay that assesses whether tourism in Thailand is sustainable. |
Examples of home learning include informative posters on Asia and letters to Asian governments persuading laws to be changed around child labour and the use of sweatshops. |
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Endangered Ecosystems |
Students will be studying a range of different ecosystems found across the world including: cold environments, savannah grasslands and deciduous forests. Students will study these ecosystems through a critical lens looking at the ways in which they are used by humans, the impacts of these and how we can sustainably manage them to ensure they are protected from endangerment. |
Pupils will be individually assessed in a class debate on how best to manage our ecosystems. |
Home learning will be based around preparing for teaching a specific part of a lesson. This will stretch students’ understanding of a specific ecosystem and help them develop confidence in teaching their peers |
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Let’s Get Mapping |
In this exciting unit of work, students will be learning about the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and its importance in Geography. They will gain valuable experiences in using GIS to create and present data on maps through a range of IT-rich lessons that challenge them to interact with different forms of GIS. |
Student’s understanding of GIS will be assessed through their ability to produce a map that will allow them to apply the range of new skills learnt in lessons demonstrating their understanding of GIS. |
Examples of home learning include researching maps, engaging with Google Earth independently and participating with exciting geographical games that incorporate GIS. |
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Enticing UK Environments |
Pupils will learn about a range of different physical processes and how these have shaped different UK environments, gaining a deeper understanding of physical topics such as climate, glaciation and rivers through the study of different places and locations in the UK. Students will be given the exciting opportunity visit Debden Brook (Epping Forest) to apply their knowledge to a real life setting |
Pupils will be assessed on their learning and understanding of rivers through an enquiry of how Debden Brook changes downstream. |
Homelearning includes analysing river data, creating models of glacial landforms and tracking the weather of the UK. |
Year 9
Autumn Term
Waterworld
Students learn how rivers shape our land, the threat of coastal erosion and ways to prevent it and an enquiry project into oceans.
Development
Students learn how a country’s development can be measured, obstacles that prevent countries from developing and question “how” and “if” countries should develop sustainably.
Spring Term
Weather and Climate
Students learn about the factors that affect our climate, how deserts form and discuss the issue of Global Warming. They also carry out an enquiry based project on microclimates and learn about the impacts of hurricanes.
Summer Term
Globalisation
Students learn about the different ways in which countries are interdependent. They also carry out enquiries into different global companies and question the impacts of living in a globalised society.
How will they be assessed?
Year 7
Autumn Term: Montserrat Volcano Investigation
Spring Term: Local Area Enquiry Exploring Energy in China
Summer Term: Renewable Energy Debate End of Year 7 examination.
Formative assessment in lessons takes place through self and peer assessment and regular target setting. All assessments have success criteria to help students achieve their very best.
Year 8
Topic 1: Population Change China One-child Policy essay
Population Theory classwork
Topic 2: Development Progress in Development Map Task
Sustainable Development Assessment
Topic 3: Africa Obstacles to Development Essay
End of Topic Test
Topic 4: Impossible Places Group presentation on specific environment
Topic 5 and 6: Rivers Test on river processes
Fieldwork enquiry on River Roding
Year 9
Autumn Term
Unit1: Waterworld
- An extended piece of writing on Coastal Erosion
- End of unit test paper
Unit 2: Development
- Development Indicators Report
- Development End of Unit Test
Spring Term
Unit 3: Weather and Climate
- Microclimate Investigation
- An extended piece of writing on Hurricane Katrina
- End of Year Assessment. This will consist of short questions based on the topics learnt during the year
Summer Term
Unit 4: Globalisation:
- Globalisation of Football project
- Nike Enquiry Project
All the above students have success criteria to help students achieve their very best
Home Learning
Year 7
Homelearning will be set on a half termly basis by a group of subjects; Geography, Drama, Media and ICT. Projects will focus on the skill of enquiry through story telling. This may involve activities such as:
• Interviewing
• Researching
• Group collaboration
• Journal Writing
• Collective presentations
Year 8
Homelearning will be set on a half termly basis by a group of subjects; Geography, Drama, Media and ICT. Projects will focus on the skill of ‘empathy’. This may involve activities such as:
• Interviewing
• Researching
• Group collaboration
• Journal Writing
• Collective presentations
Year 9
In year 9 students can expect to complete a range of home learning tasks such as revising for end of unit tests, drawing and annotating diagrams explaining their opinions on geographical topics and researching different topics. Example: Students are expected to draw and annotate a diagram of a house to show how it has adapted to different types of climate. The annotations should fully explain why the house has adapted in this way.
How can parents support their child?
Year 7
Finding out information from the internet, newspapers and reference books. Giving your child access to an up-to-date atlas. Helping your child check his/her work. Using Google Earth. Help them create a ‘geography glossary’ of keywords that have been introduced in lessons. Good websites include:
http://www.bbcbitesize.co.uk/geography
http://www.georesources.co.uk/
Year 8
Finding out information from the internet, newspapers and reference books. Giving your child access to an up-to-date atlas. Helping your child check his/her work. Using Google Earth. Help them create a ‘geography glossary’ of keywords that have been introduced in lessons. Good websites include:
http://www.bbcbitesize.co.uk/geography
http://www.georesources.co.uk/
Year 9
Parents can help their child by spending time helping them to think of examples to help support their ideas/opinions, reading through research and creating a glossary of “keywords” and definitions. Through going through the homework activity with their child and helping them to think of, for example, different examples to support the point of view they are making. www.bbc.co.uk is suitable for students researching geographical events going on in the world.
