Thinking Geographically

Learn to think geogra phically

Real world geography, real world learning

One of the challenges and a power of geography is that it is about the world, yet the real world is changing, as is our understanding of it, so our curriculum should not be a reproduction of what we were taught x years ago.

Arthur Kelly, PG Number 61,Autumn 2006, pp 8-9

“ What’s in the News?” has been successfully introduced this year as a homework activity. Each week a different class of children take it in turns to prepare a presentation on an item of news.

Think about the future What do I already know?

Geographical Imagination DEVELOP I learnt that we need more materials like peat and soil that absorb water and less materials like concrete. Visit to Kelham Island Museum Investigating flooding - The River Don in 2007

Geography can take you anywhere

if you want it to – but where do you start?

Place Space Scale Geography’s big ideas CONNECTEDNESS

How am I connected to the world through food? PLACE – World SCALE – Global SPACE – Worldmap The World in a Supermarket Bag Bananas From Windward Islands Cocoa from Ghana Kenyan Beans CONNECTEDNESS Kiwi Fruit Italy www.quikmaps.com

Planning learning … Making comparisons 1. Start with - my enthusiasms and the interests of the children … this starting point provides a shared experience to build on and a basis for common understanding 3. Make the learning of geography accessible to children? Asking questions Using pictures/ photographs/maps Drama, role-play, enactment 2. Decide on the geography Fieldwork STARTING POINTS GEOGRAPHY BIG IDEAS ENQUIRY & SKILLS Place Scale Interconnectedness Space

Use a mix of given and children’s own questions as a starting point - some prompts may be: As a class, choose the most relevant questions to investigate. What have we found out? Do we all share the same point of view? How does this affect our lives? What does it mean to us? What has this experience taught us? How do we know? Has it changed our thinking and if so, how? What new questions do we have? How will we analyse and present information? Starting Point and Focus What do we do with this knowledge? Who can we share it with? And how? For example: An Enquiry Framework

Living Geography

Geography that is made to come alive for children

It builds on an understanding of children’s `everyday geographies’ and helps to enhance geographical imagination and thinking

Concerned with their lives, their futures, their world

Often starts with local but is set in the context of the global (community)

Concerned with how their world is changing and whether this will lead to a more sustainable future for ALL

Living geography - starts with me in my community

Identity :

Who am I?

Where do I come from?

Who is my family?

What is my ‘story’?

Who are the people around me?

Where do they come from? What is their ‘story’?

Identity Place

Living Geography: how our identity is shaped by the places that we live in and know well

My place in the world :

Where do I live?

How does it look?

How do I feel about it?

Y5 Methodist J & I, Wakefield http://www.quikmaps.com/full/47961

Living Geography: how we might influence our `futures’

My place in the world :

Where do I live?

How does it look?

How do I feel about it?

How is it changing?

How do I want it to change?

Oyster Park Junior School, Castleford http://www.gowilder.org.uk/Oyster-Park/index.htm

Identity : Who am I? Where do I come from? Who is my family? What is my ‘story’? Who are the people around me? Where do they come from? What is their ‘story’?

Place in the world : Where do I live? How does it look? How do I feel about it? How is it changing? How do I want it to change?

The Physical world : What is the world (and this place) made of? Why do things move? What becomes of things?

The Human world : Who decides on who gets what, and why? What is fair? How do we handle differences of opinion?

Geography, me and the world! Use geographical questions to structure `enquiry’ learning

Enquiry – additional guidance

The enquiry approach: What, why and how? Martin, Fran (2006) PG Number 38, July 1999

The Primary Geography Handbook

http://www.geography.org.uk/shop/shop_detail.asp?ID=454&section=2

In particular: Chapter 6 – Understanding and developing primary geography, Section 2: Geographical Skills – focus on enquiry, mapwork skills, using images and fieldwork

Martin, F. (2006), Teaching Geography in Primary Schools , London: Chris Kington Publishing ISBN 1 8998 857 83 4

Skills - Fieldwork

In particular: Chapter 10 – Fieldwork, Paula Richardson

Local Fieldwork: `Our Island Home’, Paula Owens, http://www.qca.org.uk/geography/innovating/examples/PDF5r.pdf [On the innovating with Geography Website – Planning KS1 – Medium Term Planning)

Fieldwork & Visits programme for Tithe Barn 2007-8

Skills - Mapwork

St Hugh’s map progression from Reception to Year 6 , Sue Woods – GA VLE http://primary.geography.org.uk/ict/ictmapsmapmaking2008/sthughs/

In particular: Chapter 8: Mapwork Skills, Colin Bridge

Fairy Stories and Bawburgh Village Study

http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/curriculum-making/teaching-ideas/fairy-stories-and-bawburgh-village-study/

Skills – Using Images

A Journey Down the River Ouse , Sue Kelly http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/curriculum-making/teaching-ideas/a-journey-down-the-river-ouse/

Look behind you what might you see? The River Great Ouse’ – pupils work http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/images/misc/GA_CMKellyExample1.ppt

What do we feel about the environment around our school? – Y 5 pupils using Photostory3 http://www.geography.org.uk/projects/younggeographers/resources/stpeters/