Welcome to the Geography Department
Introduction
Geography is a subject dedicated to study of the lands, the features, the people, and the phenomena of the Earth. The aim of the Geography department is to help our students understand the changing world around them. We want our students to develop the skills they need to help them in doing this.
Geography is now taught for the equivalent of two (50 Minute) lessons in Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9. At KS4, Geography is taught for three lessons a week, over Year 10 and Year 11. Geography is taught in mixed ability groups. There are two field trips at KS4. An Urban Geography field trip takes place in the middle of Year 10 and Physical Geography field trip takes place at the start of Year 11. At KS3, Y8 go on a field trip to Malham in the Yorkshire Dales. A residential trip to Iceland is also offered to GCSE Geography students and then to other students. The nature of Geography means that the content of schemes of work and lesson plans are updated and changed regularly, so that we are able to react quickly to significant world events. We aim to provide our pupils with a rich, varied and engaging curriculum.
Year 7 pupils begin the year with an introductory unit called Fantastic Places. They then do a unit that focuses on the Map Skills they need to be successful in Geography. The third unit is an introduction to Global Warming. They then study plastics and its effects on our oceans. They will then study a unit about Water Resources, followed by a unit of Urbanisation and Sustainable Cities. Finally, Year 7 will study a unit about Globalisation. These units are designed to provide a good foundation for the rest of KS3 Geography and beyond.
Year 8 start the year with a unit studying Earthquake Hazards, part of which includes an assessment relating to a recent earthquake. Other units they study include China, Weather & Climate, and a penultimate unit about Limestone Scenery in the North of England (which forms the basis for their main field trip in KS3). The last unit they study is Russia.
Year 9 begin the year with a unit that includes a mixture of lessons & topics about Africa and Development. The second unit is a study of rainforests and deserts around the world. Then there are units about Geographical Issues making the news, Tourism, and, finally, a unit about coasts which includes a detailed study of the Jurassic Coast in the South of England.
At KS4, Geography is a subject students can opt to take. Geography is a successful and popular subject at KS4. There are three lessons a week for GCSE. Students in Y10 and Y11 follow GCSE AQA Geography. This includes units about ‘The Challenge of Natural Hazards’, ‘Physical Landscapes in the UK’, ‘The Changing Economic World’. ‘The Living World’, ‘The Challenge of Resource management’ and ‘Urban Issues & Challenges’. There is no Controlled Assessment in this syllabus, but there is instead a third exam paper about field work skills and also includes a problem solving/ decision making exercise.
The department offers a variety of extra-curricular activities including a four day trip to Iceland. As previously mentioned, the main field trip the department runs is a day trip to Malham in the Yorkshire Dales in Year 8. At KS4 field work takes place in Manchester & Liverpool, Rivington and sometimes also in Derbyshire,. There are though further opportunities to take part in fieldwork such as trips to the Lake District and a residential trip to Dorset.
Staff permanently in the Geography Department are:
Mr M Makin (HoD)
Mrs D Harvey
Ms S Wade
KEY STAGE 3 CURRICULUM MAP
Year 7 |
Fantastic Places |
Map Skills |
Global Warming |
Plastics |
Water |
Urbanisation |
Fashion and Globalisation |
Introduction to Geography Svalbard Moving Rocks Weathering and erosion. Coastal Stacks Pop up Headland |
Continents and Oceans Latitude and Longitude Grid References Direction, Distance and Symbols Scale and Contours |
Global Warming- an introduction/ Causes Global Warming- effects Responses to Global Warming Global Warming- Causes, effects and Responses- A letter from the future. |
What is the plastic problem? Plastic in our oceans Microbeads How can we fix the plastics problem? |
How does the water cycle work? How much water do we use/need? Where is all the water? A World without water Do we all have a right to water? Who owns the World’s water? Where has the Aral sea gone? |
How our towns and cities grew Manchester’s story 1 Manchester’s story 2 Urbanisation around the World Why do people move to urban areas? What’s good and bad about urban life? Life in the slums A city of the future? |
The Global fashion industry The Nike operation Why go Global A fashion victim Is globalisation a good thing? Against globalisation |
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Year 8 |
Earthquake and volcano Hazards |
China |
Weather in Europe |
Limestone Landscapes in England |
Russia |
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What is our Earth like? Why do we get earthquakes and volcanoes? Where do earthquakes and volcanoes occur? What is an earthquake? What are the effects of earthquakes? Why did so many die in the 2010 Haiti earthquake? Comparing the effects of earthquakes in poor and rich countries What to do in an earthquake |
What do we know about China? China’s physical features History of China Where do people live? How is China developing? How is China linked with the rest of the World? How sustainable is China’s 3 Gorges dam? Dogtan Ecocity How does China compare with other countries? |
Characteristics of Europe How can we measure the weather? Britain’s climate How does it rain? Anticyclones Depressions What affects climate in Europe? Climate in Europe |
Limestone landscapes in England- an introduction Where are the upland and lowland areas in England? Why is limestone special? What are typical limestone features? Why should we protect the limestone areas of the Yorkshire Dales? (Fieldwork Summative Assessment) |
Russia- an introduction Physical features of Russia Russia’s climate Russia’s population Rural vs urban Russia Russia’s natural resources Chernobyl Russia and conflict Russia in our lives Tourism in Russia |
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Year 9 |
Africa’s Changing Economic Development |
Ecosystems- Deserts and Rainforests |
Geographical Issues |
Tourism |
Coasts |
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How do holidays connect us to Africa? How does food connect us to Africa? Shopping facilities in an African village What is development? Ways of measuring development DTM Comparing development Formative 1 HDI Development Gap Consequences of uneven development Solutions- closing the development gap Trade Game Formative 2 Trade & Aid Fair Trade Globalisation Rural & Urban Kenya Why do people move- Kenya Squatter Settlements Improving squatter settlements |
World Biomes and climate zones Layers and adaption Deforestation Management Ecotourism Rainforest Tribes Deserts Animal adaptations People in the desert |
Introduction to Global Issues Mexico to USA migration Environmental Issues Energy Supply North sea oil Sustainable energy futures Sustainable energy example |
What is the tourist industry? What problems does it cause? What causes conflict in tourism? Tourism example in the UK Tourism example – outside the UK Sustainable tourism Tourism fieldwork |
Location of major upland and lowland areas in the UK Wave types Coastal processes Erosional landforms (Assessment) Depositional Landforms The Dorset coast- Swanage Coastal Management |
Assessments
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Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
Year 7 |
Coastal Stacks |
Map skills Global Warming |
Plastics Pollution Impacts |
Water Resources |
Sustainable Urban areas |
Global Fashion Test |
Year 8 |
Earthquakes |
Hazards Test |
China Test |
Weather Forecasts |
Limestone Landscapes Test |
Russia |
Year 9 |
Measuring Development |
Development Unit Test |
Deserts and Rainforests Test |
Geographical Issues Test Question. |
Tourism |
Coasts Unit Test |
KEY STAGE 4 CURRICULUM MAP
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Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
Year 10 |
The Challenge of Natural Hazards - Tectonic Hazards. |
The Challenge of Natural Hazards - Weather Hazards & Climate Change. |
Urban Issues and Challenges - Urban Change & A UK City Case Study; Human Geography Fieldwork |
Urban Issues and Challenges - A LIC City Case Study; Sustainable Urban Living. |
Physical Landscapes in the UK - Coasts |
Physical Landscapes in the UK - Rivers. |
Year 11 |
Physical Geography Fieldwork. Changing Economic World - Economic Development; The Development Gap |
Changing Economic World - A Case Study of a LIC/NEE; Economic Futures in The UK. |
The Living World - Ecosystems - A Case Study of a Hot Desert & a Case Study of a Tropical Rainforest. |
The Challenge of Resource Management - Focusing on Water. |
Issue Evaluation & Revision. |
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Assessments
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Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
Year 10 |
Earthquakes Test |
Atmospheric Hazards and Climate Change Test |
Fieldwork Assessment |
Challenges in Urban Environment Test |
Y10 Exam |
Coasts Test |
Year 11 |
Fieldwork Assessment; Rivers Test |
Mock Exams |
Changing Economic World Test |
Mock Exam (2) Deserts/ Rainforests Test |
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Updated: Jan 2022