Geography Teaching Today

This section extends the content of Primary Geography Handbook Chapter 3

Geography and the Emotions

by Julia Tanner (p.35-47)

Getting started

1. Visit the beach and the town in advance
2. Write risk assessment (Download)
3. Plan route, questions to ask and activities (Download)
4. Prepare a map of the route and maps to use whilst there (Multimap, Google Earth, Quikmaps)

Children's issues and misconceptions

Children may reveal their misconceptions about the locality of Herne Bay within the UK. They may also be unaware that the sea is the Thames estuary.

Using and making maps

• Equip children with a map of the route and of areas to study as necessary.
• Use maps at different scales to identify areas to be visited and combine this with aerial views and photographs of key features. This can be an important part of a risk assessment in the classroom with pupils. Multimap, Google Earth and Quikmaps are good places to start but use paper maps as well.
• Write-on whiteboards of the UK are useful for pupils to mark where they are going to and identify nearby areas.
• Laminate maps of the area for pupils to draw on.

See also Chapter 8 by Colin Bridge on Mapwork skills.

Primary Framework opportunities

'The national curriculum specifies how pupils' understanding of geography can be developed through the study of localities as they progress through the primary school (DfEE/QCA, 1999). At key stage 1 pupils are required to undertake a study of their school locality. Similarly there are designated localities for key stage 2 - one of which has to be in the UK and could focus on the local area'
(p.181)

Activity ideas

• See the lesson plans (look particularly at lessons 5 and 9)
• Use images of the locality to help pupils risk assess the area to be visited
• Download a sample risk assessment lesson for the IWB

Possible questions to ask:

• What would you like to find out about Herne Bay?
• What would you expect to see?
• What can you do there?
• What can we see / smell / hear etc?
• Why is this place like it is?
• How can this are be improved / sustained?
• How are people damaging the area?
• How is this place changing and why?
• Who could we arrange to visit and talk to? (e.g. local people and businesses)
• How does this place link to the wider world?
• Why should I care?

Five activities to do in the town centre can be found on p.189 of the Primary Geography Handbook.

Children's voices

There are many opportunities for children to express their feelings and share their ideas. These could include discussions on whether Herne Bay is a dying shopping centre, does the sea front offer what people want etc. (See the lesson plans for more ideas).

• Pupils could collaborate to write their own questionnaires.
• Pupils could feedback findings to interested parties e.g. the local tourist board, the local council or local newspapers to give work a real context.

Examples:

• Write a letter to the Council suggesting improvements.
• Design a tourist brochure for 2010.

ICT

• Pupils can use a digital camera or video recorder to record what they see.
• Use a tape recorder to record sounds
• Use online mapping programs such as Quikmaps to record information and feelings about a place on the IWB (you can register for free and the icons are very easy for pupils to use - with Quikmaps, made maps can then be exported to Google Earth).

Assessment for learning

See lesson plans.

Displays

Displays will concentrate on how we can improve Herne Bay town and Sea Front. They will include the results of data collected by the children, photos taken of beautiful and ugly areas, and children's suggestions for a better Herne Bay (art work and written work).

You could put up a display of pupils' work in an accessible place within the school to which the local community could be invited.

Additional resources

• Aerial photographs
• Variety of maps of different scales
• Local books
• Photographs of local features
• Digital cameras and tape and video recorders

Read Chapter 9, p.121 of the Primary Geography Handbook by Margaret Mackintosh - 'Images in geography: using photographs, sketches and diagrams'. (Download extract).

<<< back to Primary Handbook Extension Project