Why do we learn geography?
Our approach
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6

Why do we learn geography?

The Geography curriculum at Ark Conway aims to provide pupils with a deep knowledge about the variety of physical landscapes across the world. Through studying geography, children make sense of the world around them and learn how the events in their local areas and around the world can impact them directly and indirectly. They also learn to think critically about the impact of human activity on the natural world. Geographical study further equips students to discuss and debate issues on a local, national and global scale.

Our approach

The Geography curriculum at Ark Conway is carefully sequenced to guide students from the study of their local area in Key Stage 1 to the broader world in Key Stage 2.

Pupils practise key geography skills in every lesson by reading rich texts, reading and interpreting a variety of geographical information sources such as map, collecting data and expressing their understanding through writing, verbal discussions and drawing.

Students also engage in Wonder Days and fieldwork to dive deeper into the core skills.

Reception

All about me: What makes me who I am? 
  • Where do we belong?

  • How are our families similar and different? (lives of the people around them and their roles in society)  
Celebrations: What do we celebrate?
  • What are the different celebrations around the world? 
How things work : Can you make it work?
  • What do I want to know about the universe? 
Animals: How are animals suited to their habitats?
  • Where do we live?

  • What are the different habitats?
People who help us: How can we help our community?
  • Who helps us at home?
  • Who helps us at school?
  • What can we do to help?
Growth: How do things change over time?
  • How does the world around us change? 

Year 1

What is it like to live in my local area?
  • Learn about where they go to school and explored their school and school grounds
  • Investigate what it is like in their local area through a local area walk
  • Understand what makes their local area unique – focusing on people and places
  • Investigate where people live and work in their local area and learn names of different types of homes 
Why should people visit the United Kingdom?
  • Become familiar with maps of the United Kingdom and learn to recognise its shape and to locate it on a world map and a globe 
  • Identify England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as their capital cities 
  • Locate their own town/city within the United Kingdom 
  • Develop contextual knowledge of the location of significant places within the UK – including their defining physical and human characteristics 
  • Recognise the 4 countries individual flags, as well as the Union Jack and what it represents 
  • Begin to develop an understanding of the concept of union 

All Year 1 subjects Next Year 1 Subject - Religious Education

Year 2

Can you describe the seven continents and five oceans that make up planet Earth?
 

  • Learn the names of the world’s seven continent, recognise their shape and locate them on a world map 

  • Name the five oceans, understand the difference between ocean and sea and how to locate these on a world map

  • Explore the key human features of each of the seven continents:

    • can name some countries and capital cities 

    • can name significant landmarks 

  • Explore the key physical features of each of the seven continents:

    • identify which climate zones the continents fall into

    • can name some native animals of each continent 

  • Understand the location and significance of the Equator, northern and southern hemispheres
How is living in Kenya similar and different to living in the UK?

  • Kenya is a country in the continent of Africa located in East Africa and borders the Indian Ocean

  • Climate: varies in different parts of the country; Kenya sits on the Equator, so it is very hot all year round; Kenya has wet and dry seasons

  • Physical features: Mount Kenya, Rift Valley, desserts, savannah

  • Human features:

    • Rural means a countryside area where there aren’t many buildings or people

    • Life on a rural farm is both similar and different to your lives

    • Nomads travel from place to place. The Maasai are nomads and live rurally

    • Urban is where many people live and work close together and there are lots of buildings 

  • There are similarities and differences between the UK and Kenya 

All Year 2 subjects Next Year 2 Subject - Religious Education

Year 3

What is the land like in the United Kingdom?
 

  • Discover and locate some of the mountains, hills, seas, rivers and coasts of the United Kingdom

  • An understanding of what a settlement is, where people choose to settle and the difference between a hamlet, village, town and city

  • Learn about some of the hamlets, villages, towns and cities of the United Kingdom
  • An understanding of what a county is and the locations of the counties of England
  • Learn about how the land is used in the United Kingdom and considered why the land is used in that way
How are climate zones different around the world? 

  • There are seven different climate zones – polar, subpolar, temperate, Mediterranean, arid, tropical and equatorial 

  • Climate zones depend on proximity to and from the Equator, tropics and Arctic and Antarctic Circles 
  • The same climate zone can be found in different places across the globe 
Which countries make up Europe?

  • That Europe is a continent found in the Northern Hemisphere.

  • The names of the countries within Europe.
  • The names and locations of the key physical features of Europe.
  • The names and locations of some of the significant man-made landmarks of Europe.
  • That Europe can be separated into different geographical regions.
  • Information about some of the countries within Europe.
  • How countries in Europe are both similar and different to the United Kingdom.
  • Where Italy is and what the land is like within it
  • The names and locations of regions, cities and landmarks in Italy.
  • The human and physical geography of Rome and what it is like to live there.
  • How Rome is both similar and different to their locality.

All Year 3 subjects Next Year 3 Subject - Religious Education

Year 4

What is the Amazon, why is it significant and should it be protected?
  • South America is a continent found in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • What the climate and land is like across S.America
  • The names and locations of the countries within South America.
  • Information about the peoples of the countries of South America.
  • What tropical rainforests are and where in the world they are located.
  • What the different layers of a rainforest are and the key characteristics of each.
  • Which animals can be found living in a tropical rainforest and their characteristics.
  • Information about the people living in the Amazon Rainforest.
  • How and why the Amazon Rainforest is being destroyed. 
  • The features of a river and where in the world major rivers are found.
  • How rivers shape the land through erosion and deposition.
What is it like in the USA?
  • The USA is located in North America and is in the Northern Hemisphere 
  • There are four major climate zones found across North America and the USA
  • There are many physical features across the USA 
  • The USA is separated into states 
  • The population differs across the states 
  • There are man-made landmarks in the USA 
  • A comparison of life in different states to their own lives in their own locality 

All Year 4 subjects Next Year 4 Subject - Religious Education

Year 5

What are natural disasters and how do they impact the lives of people living in Asia? 
  • Asia is located mostly in the Northern Hemisphere 
  • All seven major climate zones are across Asia
  • There are many physical features across Asia: Gobi Desert, West Siberian Plain, Himalayas, Yangtze River, Sundarbans Mangrove Forest, Persian Gulf, Mount Tambora
  • Asia can be separated into regions: Central Asa, Middle East, East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia
  • There are significant borders across Asia
  • The Earth’s crust is made up of tectonic plates
  • Tectonic plate movement forms mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes
  • Volcanoes and earthquakes have a huge impact on people and the environment
What are the different biomes in the world?
  • Biomes are large regions of the world that share similar plant and animal species 
  • Biomes are linked to climate zones 
  • The plants and animals in each biome are suited to life there 
  • Humans have adapted biomes to make their own lives easier 

All Year 5 subjects Next Year 5 Subject - Religious Education

Year 6

How can maps help us to understand a place? Is there anything they do not tell us? 
  • Different maps serve different purposes depending on what they are designed for. 
  • Cartographer is someone who makes maps
  • A compass is a tool for finding direction.
  • Latitude lines run in horizontal parallels and represent distance north or south from the Equator.
  • Longitude lines, called meridians, run vertically from pole to pole. They represent the distance east or west from Greenwich in London, England.
  • Latitude and longitude are divided in degrees (°), minutes (‘) and seconds (“). 
  • Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain.
  • Grid lines are used to locate different symbols or features on an OS map.
  • Four-figure grid references allow you to locate a grid square and six-figure grid references allow you to identify a specific place such as a shop.
  • OS maps use map symbols to reduce the clutter on a map and to help the reader locate features easily.
  • A geographical investigation involves fieldwork.
  • Fieldwork is when you go outside explore the local area and find out more about it.
  • When carrying out fieldwork, you will need to observe, plan, question, research, collect and record data and present your findings.
  • Fieldwork includes investigating both human and physical features. 
What are the most significant challenges facing the world today? 
  • Learn how climate has influenced land use and our responsibility as global citizens. 
  • Understand how we distribute the world’s natural resources by finding out what they are, how they are used and how fair it is. 
  • Learn why we trade, who the UK trades with and what fair trade means. 
  • Investigate the challenge of sustainability and how it effects the globe by exploring renewable and non-renewable resources. 
  • Explore the challenge of climate change: human activities that have crated it, the effects of global warming and the actions of environmentalists trying to make a difference. 

All Year 6 subjects Next Year 6 Subject - Religious Education