Welcome to Geography

All About Me:

• Children learn about their immediate environment by using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
• Children learn about their door numbers and where they live.
• Using pictures, children learn to draw simple maps of how to get from school to the local park.

People Who Help Us:

• Children talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society

Fantasy:

• Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.

Traditional Tales:

• Children learn to explore the natural world around them by, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants.

Dinosaurs & Animals:

• Children understand that some things happen nonfiction texts and (when appropriate) maps.
• Children have real minibeasts and plants to help them observe the changes that occur. 
• Children look at a range of maps of the world. 
• Children about different countries and hot and cold climates.
   

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 
   

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 
   

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.
   

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 
   

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 

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.