Geography

Year 7 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	What is a geographer	Students will develop their locational knowledge by accurately locating countries, continents and oceans and use subject specific terminology, such as longitude and latitude. Students will develop their understanding of measuring distance and using a range of scales. Students will also develop skills in this unit, including effective use of an atlas, using 4 and 6 figure grid references to accurately locate features.	Students are adept at using maps in a range of scales. They can consider the advantages and disadvantages of different types of world map projections and decide which is the most accurate. Students demonstrate a range of skills when using OS maps and move beyond description to identifying patterns and using their geographical knowledge to both explain and predict how land use in the local area may change further.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.   Students will be assessed on their knowledge, understanding and learnt enquiry skills through practical tasks.
Autumn	How is our local area changing	Students are investigating how we can describe settlements in our local area and what services do people have. Students will be introduced to the concept of land use and explain the Burgess model. Students will also find the answer for the enquiry question ‘How has land use changed in our local area?’.	Students can describe the main features of their local area and what attracted settlers. Students can identify different types of settlement using OS maps. Students can describe how land is used in urban areas and apply the Burgess model to the local area.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.   Students will produce a summary of their learning in response to the enquiry question ‘How is our local area changing?’.
Spring	Why is the River Thames so important?	Students will explore the physical processes of the water cycle and its interaction with land and sea. Students will gain knowledge of the different landforms and their formation processes on a river’s journey. In the lower course, we will look at meandering at Grays and channel changes into the estuary. Students will also assess how humans use the physical surroundings of the river for maximum gain for our societies. These include tourism in Oxford, hydro-electric power in Maple Durham estate and the  sewage works in Greenwich.	Students have a secure understanding of physical processes of the water cycle and river landforms. Students can identify locations along  the Thames. They are able to assess the uses of the River Thames from a recreational,  industrial and economic  perspective by applying their knowledge.	Formative assessment  throughout involves prior knowledge memory retention  starters. Prompt questioning in class for content clarification including direct questioning. A summative based  assessment with multiple choice questions as well as extended writing questions about the processes of river landform creations and thesocial and economic uses of the River Thames.
Summer	Weather and Climate	In this unit students will be introduced to the principal elements of weather and climate – temperature, rainfall, air pressure, wind, sunshine. The unit begins with a consideration of how the weather affects our everyday lives. Students will discover how weather data is recorded and presented using the synoptic code. Students will explore why it rains, types of rainfall; air masses and types of weather systems that bring our weather – depressions and anticyclones. Students are introduced to the concept of climate and the climate of the UK.	Students will understand the difference between weather and climate. They can explain the processes and patterns of weather and climate. Students show a secure knowledge of the characteristic features of depressions and anticyclones and how they affect the weather. Students can explain how weather affects our daily lives and how weather is measured, recorded and forecast. They can interpret climate maps for the UK / the world and explain weather patterns.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students’ understanding of the subject.Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks at the end of the unit. Skills will be assessed such as knowledge of weather symbols, pressures, recognition of weather fronts and interpretation.
Summer	Exploring Russia	In this unit students will be exploring Russia, its climate, biomes – taiga and tundra. Students will also explore whether Russia exploits the Arctic sustainably. Students will consider cultural differences, appreciate traditions and viewpoints and climates on society and lifestyles. Climate graphs are used to understand temperature and rainfall patterns.	.Students can describe the main features and causes of a continental climate. They show a secure understanding on how biomes are formed by the interaction of the Earths spheres, taiga and tundra. Students can explain how cold temperatures impact on people’s lives and how flora and fauna adapted to the climate. Students are competent in interpreting and drawing climate graphs for Russia.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks.

Year 8 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	Living in the desert	Students will be introduced to the key features of deserts, the main characteristic of desert landscapes and how they are formed. Students will understand the reasons for adaptations. Students will identify how and why deserts might change in the future, consider how humans utilise and manage the landscape and the resources found within them.	Students have an in-depth knowledge about one named hot desert environment. Students have a secure knowledge and understanding of desert landscapes. Students have an in-depth understanding behind the causes of desertification, the areas at risk and the impacts on people and the environment.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks which will assess their knowledge and understanding of landscapes formation and adaptations.
Autumn	Population and resources	Students will gain an understanding of world population distribution and how the number of population changes. In this unit students will learn what factors affect population growth. Students will investigate the challenges of rapid population growth in parts of the world and attempts made by countries to reduce the growth. Students will also gain knowledge of how people use the Earths natural resources such as water and oil and what problems of resource scarcity cause.	Students have a secure understanding what is meant by population distribution and how the population of a country changes as it develops. Students can use a model to investigate population change, able to draw and interpret population data using population pyramids to predict change. Students have secure knowledge about how countries attempt population control and consider their successes. Students have a secure understanding of why it is important to maintain natural resources in a sustainable way.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks.
Spring	Will we ever know enough about earthquakes and volcanoes to live safely.	Students will gain knowledge and understanding of physical geography and geology. Students will understand the  lithosphere, internal structure and natural elements. They will be  introduced to the natural phenomena of earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis; how  they occur, what damage they cause, how humans mitigate the impacts and how they should respond.	Students can  confidently apply concepts relating to tectonics. Students can  use terms relating to different types of volcanoes, how they are created, what creates them and applying this knowledge to other natural phenomena.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks.
Summer	Coasts	Students will gain an understanding of coastal processes. Students will investigate how erosion, deposition and transportation create and change coastal landforms over time.  Students then apply their knowledge to a specific UK case study at Jurassic coast.	Students can apply their knowledge from other natural processes e.g. rivers that directly link to coastal processes without thinking that there is a disconnect.  Longshore drift, spit formation and the main geomorphic processes understood and explained confidently.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject. Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks. Students will be tested on their knowledge and understanding of longshore drift, coastline processes and management strategies.
Summer	How does ice change the world	Students will explore geographical processes in cold environments and how ice changes the world. Students will learn how erosion and deposition create glacial landforms. Students will identify glacial landforms on OS maps and explore how the distribution of ice around the world changes through time. Students will also investigate how people use glacial landforms. They will investigate glaciers and the impact of glaciation in the Lake District.	Students have a secure knowledge and understanding of how ice changes the world. Students can explain how erosion and deposition create glacial landforms; this can be difficult as these cannot be directly observed unlike rivers and coasts. Students can explain how each of the processes works by using keywords confidently. Students can identify glacial landforms on OS maps.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject. Students will be assessed on their knowledge and geographical understanding of concepts and glacial processes. Students will have to use OS map skills to identify glacial landforms.

Year 9 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	What is Development?  Including the case study enquiry: Should Brazil exploit the rainforest?	In this unit students will tackle the concept of development and how it can be interpreted, measured and compared at a global scale. They will gain knowledge about how we come to see the world and the complexities of development as a constantly changing concept. The broader notion of quality of life is used throughout the unit so that the understanding of development is not focused on economic terms. Students are given a range of theoretical perspectives recognising multiple definitions of development. A range of factors will be used to explain inequalities operating at a range of scales.   Students will also be introduced to Brazil and the importance of rainforests as a resource of economic development. Students will participate in a series of decision-making exercises and will make a judgement whether tropical rainforests should be used or not.	Students will progress their understanding and knowledge of global, regional and local scale to see how inequality exists in the world. Students can understand the concept of development and appreciate different definitions of development. They can understand that development occurs at different rates and times in different countries and identify reasons for poverty. They further develop understanding of the concept of sustainability, investigating sustainable development goals.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.   Students will be completing a knowledge test, assessing their knowledge and understanding of the topic. They will also answer a series of enquiry questions and apply their knowledge and skills learnt throughout the unit.
Spring	What are the environmental consequences of development?	Students will gain  understanding of the current major resources of global  energy, their sources, their extraction and how this is continuing at a solid rate into  the future. Students will further develop their knowledge on renewables and fossil  fuels. A major area of focus is the future and the potential take-  over of renewables and slow reduction of fossil fuel consumption. Students will look into a focus region of the  world where huge amounts of energy is consumed on a daily  basis in order to operate and grow at an optimum rate  (China). This will be explored deeper in understanding why  they have gone about economic and industrial growth the way they have, as well as the consequences and damage to people and the environment.	Being able to bring in all concepts from pre-requisite topics and apply anything relevant to new concepts within this topic e.g. the exploitation of wood, using learnt content from deforestation in Brazil.  Being able to fully comprehend the effects of every resource usage and all the damaging effects, as well as appreciating ways these can be mitigated and reversed in very eloquent language. Students are able to assess the effectivity of all energy sources and their relevance to the present day in terms of cost effectivity and optimum energy supply.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.  Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks.
Spring	World cities	Students will gain knowledge of global cities, their importance that emanates across the world economically, financially and  culturally.  Students will look into the lifestyles of the people that live in these cities in all echelons of society.  It also furthers a cultural appreciation of peoples in different religious and philosophical parts of the world and how their daily outlook and perspective on life can be fundamentally different to ours.  This creates a more open-minded approach to a cultural world we don’t know.	Students will be able to deeply appreciate the cultural backgrounds and perspectives of all the countries and peoples covered to be able to assess and question lifestyle and reasons or making life choices based upon their priorities which will not exactly align with ours.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.  Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks.
Summer	Climate Change	In this unit students will consider the future of the planet, in terms of climate change. Students will discover that it is a controversial issue and different people have conflicting viewpoints. Students will investigate the causes and consequences of climate change. Students will consider what can be done internationally before considering their own personal response as a geographer. Students will create opinions on the whole topic along with deciding how fine the line is between mitigation, adaptation and acceptance. Main skills will be discussion, critical thinking and being able to support a viewpoint with evidence.	Students can consider a range of evidence of climate change. Students are shown a good understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change. Students can consider and critically reflect on different viewpoints, detecting bias and future personal actions as a geographer.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject. Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks.
Summer	Fieldwork enquiry What should be done to reduce the risk of flooding on Canvey Island	In this unit students will have an opportunity to study their local area. Students will use a range of fieldwork techniques to investigate their enquiry question. Students will design their fieldwork techniques and use them to collect data. They will then present and analyse their data. Students will learn how to evaluate and reflect their experience during their fieldwork.	Students can design fieldwork techniques to use them to collect data. Students can present their data in different ways and be able to interpret their findings. They can look at trends in graphs or spot unusual results.	Students will be completing a combination of knowledge tests and extended writing tasks. They are designed to revisit skills and assess their knowledge and understanding. Successful completion of coursework of the investigation to be assessed.

Year 10 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	Landscapes of the UK	In this unit students will discover the very distinct natural landscape of the UK which has been shaped over millions of years by a core set of geomorphic processes. This theme gives learners an understanding of the physical geography of the UK, its key landscapes and the geomorphic processes which have driven the changes to UK landscapes. Case studies will be used to contextualise how climate, geology and human activity work in combination with geomorphic processes to shape two landscapes in the UK.	Students have detailed knowledge and understanding of geomorphic processes operating at different scales and how they are influenced by geology and climate. Students can apply their knowledge to explain the formation of landforms and identify features beyond case study locations. They can evaluate the impact of human activity and how it works in combination with geomorphic processes to shape the landscape.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.   Students will be assessed through exam style questions.
Autumn	People of the UK	This theme will develop an appreciation of the changes within UK society, its population and development. Case studies will be used to investigate the growth and/or decline of a place or region and to examine the character of a city in the UK, including the ways of life of the people who live in it.	Detailed knowledge and understanding of the UK’s diversity. Students will be able to apply their knowledge and explain the impacts of urban growth/decline beyond case study locations.  Students have a clear understanding of urban trends in the UK and their consequences. Students have an understanding of the causes and the effects of, and responses to ageing population.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.   Students will be assessed through exam style questions.
Spring	UK Environmental Challenges	This theme provides students with a number of opportunities to engage with Geographical Skills and provides opportunities for local/UK fieldwork. Students will investigate the UK’s unique climate and hoe they can create extreme weather conditions. Students will gain an overview of how environments and ecosystems in the UK are used and modified by humans. They will gain understanding of energy supply in the UK and how it is affected by a number of factors.	Students can explain how air masses can cause extreme weather conditions in the UK. They have a clear knowledge and understanding of a UK flood event and they can explain the causes/effects of the flood as well as how they are managed. They can provide a clear explanation on how environments and ecosystems in the UK are used and modified by humans. They can justify reasons why non-renewable enegy should contribute to the UK’s future energy supply.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.   Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding through exam-style questions.
Summer	Ecosystems of the Planet	Students will investigate a variety of ecosystems that are spread across the world. Students will identify that these ecosystems have a number of interacting components and characteristics. Students will focus on key studies on coral reefs (Andros Barrier) and tropical rainforests (Peruvian Amazon). Learners will examine both ecosystems in terms of their abiotic and biotic components, processes, cycles, their value to humans and how we can mitigate threats through sustainable management	Students will have a secure understanding of the components of ecosystems. They have knowledge of the climate, plants and animals within different ecosystems. They will identify the location of tropical rainforests and warm water coral reefs. They have a secure knowledge and understanding of the processes that operate within tropical rainforests and coral reefs including nutrient and water cycles. Students can explain the value, threats to biodiversity and attempts to mitigate threats through sustainable management within tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Students will increasingly make connections between units of study, understanding the interactions between human and physical processes and applying understanding in unfamiliar contexts.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.   Students will be assessed on their skills, knowledge and understanding through a series of exam-style questions.
Summer	Fieldwork preparation	In this unit, students will have the opportunity to recap key areas in fieldwork investigation, from methodology and data collection to presentation and analysis. Students will be learning, practising and executing specific fieldwork techniques in order to be fully prepared for the fieldwork excursion.	Students will have a secure understanding of the process of a whole investigation, from hypothesis to conclusion. Students will meticulously collect data in the field as honestly as possible, create high quality data presentations using raw data, analyse the results respecting reliability and accuracy, interpret and conclude, linking back to the hypotheses. Students will advise on the future and possible follow-up investigations from the conclusions.	Students will be assessed on their on-going investigative work through formative questioning at every stage. A coursework-style approach will be used to assess students knowledge and understanding.

Year 11 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	People of the Planet	Students will investigate the social, economic and environmental definitions of development. They will investigate the reasons for uneven development and different types of aid. Students will use case studies of one LIDC and EDC countries and will illustrate their economical development. Students will learn about the causes and consequences of urbanisation and how urban growth rates vary in parts of the world.	Students can identify reasons for uneven development and how different types of aid can be helpful and not helpful. Students can distinguish between city, megacity and world city. They can talk about the distribution of megacities and how this has changed over time. They know the causes of rapid urbanisation and its consequences.	Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding through exam-style questions.
Spring	Environmental Threats to our Planet	Students will learn about the causes of climate change and extreme weather conditions that cause many threats to both people and the environment. Students will gain knowledge of the consequences of climate change and how the global circulation of the atmosphere leads to extreme weather conditions in different parts of the world. Students will gain an understanding of key environmental threats that affect countries and the world as a whole. Students will study in detail about tropical storms and drought and investigate a case study of ‘The Big Dry’ in Australia, a drought event caused by El Nino/La Nina.	Students are aware of how climate has changed over time. Students have secure knowledge of the causes of climate change and how human activity is responsible for the enhanced greenhouse effect which contributes to global warming. They know a range of consequences of climate change and causes of the extreme weather conditions that are associated with the hazards of tropical storms and drought. Students have a secure understanding of how the extreme weather conditions of El Nino/La Nina develop and can lead to drought. They will be able to explain the effects of the drought event on people, ways in which people have adapted to drought and effects on the environment.  Students will independently make connections between units of study, applying understanding in unfamiliar contexts and predicting global futures.	Formative assessment: Teacher uses different strategies during discussion and tasks to assess students understanding of the subject.   Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding through exam-style questions.

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