Geography at key stages 1 and 2

• stimulate children's interest in their surroundings and in the variety of human and physical conditions on the Earth's surface;
• foster children's sense of wonder at the beauty of the world around them;
• help children to develop an informed concern about the quality of the environment and the future of the human habitat; and
• thereby enhance children's sense of responsibility for the care of the Earth and its people.

• investigate and learn about the physical and human features of their own environment and appreciate how their locality is similar to and different from other places;
• focus on geographical questions like What/Where is it? What is it like? How did it get like this?;
• develop and use geographical enquiry skills, including fieldwork skills, geographical terms, making and using maps, and using photographs.

• study places and themes at different scales from local to national in the United Kingdom and overseas, and investigate how people and places are linked and how they relate to the wider world;
• study how and why physical and human features are arranged as they are in a place or environment, and how people are influenced by and affect environments;
• focus on geographical questions like What is it like? How did it get like this? How and why is it changing?;
• develop and use geographical enquiry skills, including fieldwork and IT skills, geographical terms, making and using maps, and using photographs.

• develop language skills through talking about their work and presenting their own ideas using sustained and systematic writing of different kinds;
• use geographical language and draw maps and diagrams to communicate geographical information;
• read fiction and non-fiction, and extract information from sources such as reference books, CD-ROMS, e-mails and the internet.

• work with others, listen to each other's ideas, and treat them with respect;
• have opportunities to consider their own attitudes and values, and those of other people;
• develop respect for evidence and critically evaluate ideas which may or may not fit the evidence available;
• develop a respect for the environment and be encouraged to evaluate their own and others' effect or impact on it.

• an increasing awareness of their surroundings;
• focusing on the variety and diversity of human and natural resources;
• being introduced to moral responsibility;
• developing ideas of citizenship and challenging stereotypes;
• learning mapwork skills.

• describe the main features of localities and recognise similarities and differences;
• recognise where things are and why they are as they are;
• express their own views about features of an environment and recognise how it is changing;
• find out about places and environments by asking and answering questions, by using their own observations and other geographical enquiry skills and resources.

• explain the physical and human characteristics of places, and their similarities and differences;
• know the location of key places in the United Kingdom, Europe and the world;
• explain patterns of physical and human features;
• recognise how selected physical and human processes cause changes in the character of places and environments;
• describe how people can affect the environment and explain the different views held by people about environmental change;
• undertake geographical investigations by asking and responding to questions and using a range of geographical enquiry skills, resources and their own observations.

• an increase in breadth of studies: the gradual extension of content - places, themes and environments - to be considered;
• an increasing depth of study: the gradual development of general ideas and concepts and deeper understanding of increasingly complex and abstract processes, patterns and relationships;
• an increase in the spatial scale of study: the shift in emphasis from local, smaller scale studies to more distant, regional, national, continental and global scales;
• a continuing development of skills: to include the use of specific geographical skills such as mapwork and more general skills of enquiry matched to children's developing cognitive abilities;
• increasing opportunities for children to examine social, economic, political and environmental issues: the chance to develop greater appreciation and understanding of the influence of people's beliefs, attitudes and values on alternative courses of action relating to people, places and environments.

	From		To
Location and scale of study	greater emphasis on small-scale/local, eg school grounds		more emphasis on the larger scale; contrasting and distant places, eg localities in the UK and overseas
Breadth and depth of focus	narrow focus, eg local stream or shopping area		wider focus, eg major river system or city centre
Complexity of ideas	simple links, features, eg local journeys, use of resources		generalised, more abstract, eg transport systems, sustainability
Precision of subject language	basic terms, eg stream, hill		precise, subject specific terms, eg tributary, relief
Progression of map skills	simple, basic, eg coordinates		wider range, precise, eg four or six figure references
Development of values and attitudes	personal views, eg likes and dislikes		critical evaluation, conflicts and solutions, eg response to local issues
Enquiry skills	responding to questions, eg what, where, why?		initiating questions, eg what, where, why, how?
Fieldwork skills	simple/basic field techniques, eg observe and identify which way a river flows		more precise measurement, eg river measurement at different sites - width, depth speed
Secondary sources	simple/basic skills, eg observation of features on a photograph		complex skills drawing on subject knowledge and ideas, eg identification and explanation of features
Use of ICT	Simple/basic skills; teacher directed, eg spreadsheets for weather data, using representational symbols		Precise, complex skills; greater independence, eg spreadsheets for numeric data (weather variables), use of simple formulae

Developing knowledge and understanding of patterns and processes through selected units

Reception:	children show an awareness of their immediate locality, eg they can find important places in the nursery area, eg the sand pit, the toilets children show an awareness of the purposes of some of the features of the area in which they live, eg they tell you what you can buy in some of the shops, or the things you can do in the local park
Year 1 Around our school - the local area	to recognise where things are, eg recognising where the resource area is in relation to other areas to recognise why things happen, eg recognise that the road outside is busiest when people are going to school and to work
Year 2 Going to the seaside	to make simple observations about where things are, eg observing that gift shops are in the main street to make appropriate observations about why things happen, eg observing that the car parks can fill up quickly in the summer because of the very large number of tourists
Year 3 Weather around the world	to begin to offer appropriate observations about locations and patterns, eg observing on an atlas map that some places have more rain than others to begin to offer reasons for the way things are, eg suggesting that the sunny side of school is warmer than the shady side
Year 4 A village in India	to offer appropriate observations about patterns in places, eg noticing themselves that on a map of the village the houses are strung out along the road to begin to explain processes, ie why things are like that, eg suggesting that the market is near the centre of the village because this is easiest for people to get to because the paths and roads meet there
Year 5 A contrasting UK locality - Llandudno	to make appropriate observations about locations and patterns, eg observing the distribution and location of banks and finance functions in the high street to offer explanations for a number of processes, eg explaining why certain activities cluster around the sea front and pier in a seaside town
Year 6 Should the high street be closed to traffic?	to begin to offer explanations about locations and patterns, eg explaining why a town grew up at a river crossing to know about a number of physical and human processes and their importance, eg knowing that settlements tend to grow outwards from a central point and that this puts pressure on surrounding farmland

Developing geographical enquiry skills through selected units

Reception:	children begin to record geographical information, eg they collect different coloured leaves on a nature walk and put them on a model of the walk children begin to develop an understanding of maps and plans, eg they identify everyday objects from their outlines children begin to develop way-finding skills, eg they do 'maze' puzzles children begin to use ICT, eg they use a programmable toy and direct it through a maze
Year 1 Around our school - the local area	to investigate their surroundings, and to know that the world extends beyond their own locality, eg carry out a fieldwork investigation of the school grounds to ask and respond to geographical questions in straightforward terms, eg saying what a feature is on a photograph of an area when asked to use appropriate vocabulary, eg shop, church, road, park, playground to make, use and interpret globes, maps and plans, eg labelling places on a plan of the school and its grounds using ICT where appropriate, eg word processing the name of their school or settlement
Year 2 Going to the seaside	to investigate their surroundings and to know that the world extends beyond their locality, eg knowing where their locality is and where the seaside is in relation to it to ask and respond to geographical questions on the basis of information and their own observations, eg asking what the pier, groynes or beaches are used for to use appropriate geographical vocabulary, eg seaside, beach, holiday, postcard to make, use and interpret globes, maps and plans, eg using letter and number coordinates to locate features on a plan of the coast use ICT when appropriate, eg drawing a picture/map of the beach and coast using a Draw/Paint programme
Year 3 Weather around the world	to investigate places and themes at more than one scale, eg investigating the school's microclimate and the weather in other places to begin to ask geographical questions, eg What is the weather like? How do the school's buildings affect the weather? to use appropriate geographical vocabulary, eg temperature, rainfall, windspeed to make, use and interpret globes, maps and plans, eg marking temperatures onto a site plan of the school without assistance use ICT when appropriate, eg presenting rainfall statistics as bar charts using an appropriate software package
Year 4 A village in India	to investigate places and themes at more than one scale, eg the different types of shop found in the villages, main towns, and cities of India to begin to ask geographical questions, eg Where is this settlement? What is it like? to use appropriate geographical vocabulary, eg village, town, city, field to make, use and interpret globes, maps and plans, eg drawing a simple sketch map of the village use ICT when appropriate, eg recording building size, material and use on a database
Year 5 A contrasting UK locality - Llandudno	to investigate places and themes at more than one scale, eg land use in Llandudno, functions of the main towns and cities of Wales to suggest geographical questions, eg How did this town get like this? How is it changing? to use appropriate geographical vocabulary, eg market town, resort, industry, agriculture to make, use and interpret globes, maps and plans, eg drawing a sketch map of Llandudno from an Ordnance Survey map to show site and situation to use ICT when appropriate, eg presenting (with appropriate software) a settlement study by combining text, maps, graphs, diagrams and pictures
Year 6 Investigating rivers	to investigate places and themes at more than one scale, eg the local river, atlas search of major world rivers to suggest geographical questions, eg What changes are taking place to the river bank at this meander? to use appropriate geographical vocabulary, eg erosion, deposition, source, tributary, current to make, use and interpret globes, maps and plans, eg annotated sketch map of local river, relating world rivers to national boundaries, mountain ranges and coastlines to use ICT where appropriate, eg recording river flow and converting data to a spreadsheet; search for information about rivers on the Internet