Geography

Geography at Benhall Primary School is an engaging, practical and thought-provoking subject, where we seek to ask questions and find answers to natural and human aspects of the world we live in. We aim to develop a community of curious, enthusiastic geographers. An understanding of diverse places and people, map and fieldwork skills, and knowledge of the world's physical processes are key to this.

The children that we teach today will have many opportunities and challenges that will arise in their lifetimes and these will be very much about geography. These include adapting and mitigating the impact of climate change, predicting natural disasters such as tsunami and earthquakes and understanding the causes and effects of population migration around the world. Geography at Benhall, will help to prepare children for life in the 21^st century with all of its currently unknown possibilities.

The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.

President Barack Obama

Key Purpose: Why is this subject important?

To understand how geography has played important roles in the evolution of people, their ideas and environments.
Geography has a valuable role to play in developing responsible citizens especially in relation to sustainable development education and global citizenship.
It helps us to understand how to interact with and better utilise our planet and its resources and, most importantly, how we can care for it.
Conducting geographical enquiries develops proficiency in asking relevant questions, collecting and analysing data, and drawing conclusions.

Key Principles: What are the distinctive ways of knowing, working and learning in this subject?

We believe that teaching geography should be based upon the knowledge and experience which have already been acquired by the learner for they then see the meaning of what they’ve learned and will acquire such a liking for the subject.
We believe the study of geography should consist not in the mere memorization of facts but in the study of relations. At every step, the pupil should be brought face to face with the notion of cause and effects.
We use a variety of teaching and learning styles in our geography lessons. We believe in whole-class teaching methods and we combine these with enquiry-based research learning opportunities.
We encourage children to ask as well as answer geographical questions.
We encourage children to handle artefacts and to ask as well as answer geographical questions. We offer them the opportunity to use a variety of data, such as maps, statistics, graphs, pictures, aerial photographs, geographical footage and we enable them to use IT in geography lessons where this serves to enhance their learning.
We believe that getting outdoors and experiential learning are key to embedding understanding.
Wherever possible, we involve the children in ‘real’ geographical activities, e.g. research of a local environmental problem, visiting relevant sites and carrying out fieldwork. Every effort will be made to incorporate the local environment into our geographical study.

Expectations: What does success look like in this subject?

Pupils will develop a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Pupils will be equipped with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world will help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.
Pupils will gain geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to comprehend how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.