Geography Teaching Today

Elaine Middleton explains how this plan of work came about...

I wanted to give my children the opportunity to engage in aspects of education for sustainability especially as it is becoming more and more of an issue in the news. I wanted them to experience maps, have the opportunity to think about the school environment and how what they do affects other things even creatures that they might not otherwise think about. I wanted them to have an opportunity to think about what they could do to improve what happens and thus open up a very simple enquiry process.

Curricular targets

Investigate objects and materials by using all of their senses as appropriate. Find out about, and identify, some features of living things, objects and events they observe. Observe, find out about and identify features in the place they live and the natural world. 

Course leader's comments

We have chosen this unit to share because of the enthusiasm reported by the class teacher and the pupils in engaging with the stewardship of their environment. The pupils had lots of opportunities to: gain first hand experience; develop relevant vocabulary; recognise and use maps, and participate in the care of their campus. 

Learning journey reflections

I think that this unit encouraged my reception colleague to think about this unit in terms of geography and she was able then to add in her own creative flair to link other aspects of the curriculum to it. I have been able to encourage more map work and interest in maps in my classroom as a result, and the children have been keen to discuss what they see.  

I have learnt that the school grounds are a valuable resource that often gets overlooked. I have tried hard to make my curriculum link with the outdoors more often as a result. I was able to encourage the use of geography as a basis of a topic rather than adding it into other topics and this worked well.

Examples of children's work

             

Downloads

Download: Initial brainstorm plan
Download: Medium term plan of work
Download: Minibeasts PowerPoint (with photos of children's work)
Download: Full Learning Journey

The photos at the top of this page were taken by the children of Orchards C of E Primary school.