Geography Intent at Holy Family

Geography is essentially about understanding the world we live in. It helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. At Holy Family, children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it and to enhance their cultural capital and know about life beyond Stainforth. The geography curriculum enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferrable to other curriculum areas. Geography is an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. At Holy Family our intent, when teaching geography, is to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and people within it; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.

Children had a variety of pictures of families from different cultural backgrounds doing similar activities, eating, playing, celebrating. Children were encouraged to find similarities in the images and discuss differences they notice. 

Children also had 'Storytime with Multicultural Books'. These books showcased different cultural traditions and children identified different homes. To complete the children's experience, they all made a handprint World mural. They dipped their hands in different shades of paint to create a mural of handprints representing diversity. Children discussed how hands look slightly different but still do the same things such as wave, clap and hold.

The nursery children have been learning about the celebration Lunar New Year. They have made dragons, decorated lanterns and even learnt a dragon dance.

Children in Reception learnt all about contrasting environments. They used non-fiction books to look at similarities and differences between two environments and used their fine motor skills to sort different animals and to create a collage using colour for a purpose. 

During the first lesson in our new topic 'Planet Earth' children visited the globe and spotted the seven continents. Children also worked in small groups to fact find and then presented their findings to the rest of the class! 

In Geography, Year completed Mapping around the World. We learnt about the different types of maps and their uses and completed some fieldwork in our local area

Here is a few pictures of our display and children’s learning from our most recent topic. They have enjoyed learning about UK Land and settlements. 

FS1 - Understanding the World

The FS1 children explored their immediate environment this week with a walk around school. The children really enjoyed getting to know their school and the people who work in it. We visited lots of different places!

Children in Reception used the display to talk about where they live and what their environment looks like. Some children named the road and the City they live, the number they live at and they knew the name of our school.

The children went outside to explore the local area using their senses. 

Year 1 loved their school trip to Cleethorpes. They enjoyed hearing about the RNLI and asking questions. They even got to try on a helmet. We then had a picnic on the beach and had lots of fun playing in the sand. They also spotted different landmarks at the seaside and used our rules we decided on in lesson 6 of our geography unit. We were all very grateful to the governors for buying us an ice lolly to finish off the day.

Thank you to all the grownups and chilldren who visited our geography showcase. It was lovely to see all the children enjoying showing off their amazing work.

The children created a map of the seaside and used compass points to navigate a beebot through the map to reach different landmarks.

In year 3, the children have enjoyed using a world atlas to find the capital city of many European countries. The children have also been able to use this information to decide which ordinal direction they are situated in. The children enjoyed using a map to compare with their own image to label rivers, oceans, mountains, volcanoes and coastal areas.

The children in year 5 started their topic exploring the different biomes around the globe then they began to identify individual features including climate zones and flora and fauna. They finished their topic by completing an investigation into the impact of deforestation on the deciduous forests in the UK.

Take a look at their learning journey above...

Year 4 have studied the Amazon Rainforest and investigated why it is so important to our planet. The children have studied what life is like for the indigenous people of the Rainforest and why this needs to be protected. 

Children looked at the contrasting environments between life in the circus and life as we know it. They looked through books and looked at pictures on the internet.

Year 1 explored the countries of the United Kingdom. They completed lots of work showing all that they have learnt.

Here are some pictures of Y3 topic work for our summer 1 unit. The children have enjoyed learning about the different climate zones around the world and their properties.

The children were learning about what the Union Jack is and what it represents. They created their own version of the flag.

Children looked at images and video clips, they shared texts and other resources to bring the wider world into the classroom.

In year 3, we have been getting better at exploring temperate and Mediterranean climate zones. We have been using our research skills and mapping tools to complete table activities.

In our new topic we have been getting better at understanding what the weather is like in our local area. In our lesson we have began conducting an experiment to track the amount of rainfall in a week, as well as temperature and type of weather. Y3 will record this in their books for 5 days.

Children in Reception have really enjoyed visiting our 'Chinese Restaurant' and sampling the delightful Chinese foods.

Reception children joined the 'Nature Girls' as they packed their bags and started a journey, exploring natural habitats around the world. They swam in the sea, explored the desert and discovered the harsh arctic tundra. Children understood that there is so much to discover about the natural world.

The children in year 5 really enjoyed their topic all about the mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes in Asia. They learnt all about the processes that form mountains and volcanoes and how earthquakes are causes. They finished their topic with a case study into an earthquake and volcano event, exploring the after effects including tsunamis. Take a look at some of their amazing work!

Year 4 have been using atlases to locate the capital cities of countries in South America.

In Mapping the World, Year 6 learnt what maps can tell us, how to locate places on a map, how to read an Ordnance Survey map and then how to plan fieldwork in our local area - we then conducted fieldwork and presented our findings using tables.

Y3 have enjoyed learning about UK land and Settlements, where they have explored different rivers, mountains, and areas within the UK and our local area.

Children listened to lots of stories about the everyday lives of children in countries around the world. They learnt that even though they live in different countries and speak different languages, they still have the same things and enjoy the same activities.

Children looked at the picture of our school and discussed the name of the road and town that our school is located in.

Year 1 have been learning all about countries within the UK such as Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales. We have explored their flags and how all four countries flags combined create the UK flag- The Union Jack. We have explored the meaning of the Union Jack flag, being united together. We have looked at famous landmarks and tourist attractions within the countries in the UK and how they have similarities and differences to each other. 

Year 4 have shown their creative talent when completing our geography unit- What is the Amazon, why is it significant and should it be protected?

Asia: Mountains, Earthquakes and Volcanoes- End of Topic

The children have learnt so much in their geography topic all about Asia. From describing human and physical features to explaining the effect of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, the children have recorded their work in the most creative ways. Take a look!

Reception children drew a map using their knowledge of the story, 'What the Lady Bird Heard.'

Do you think they made it to the prize cow?

Who would have thought looking at the weather could be so much fun!

Children in FS2 have danced and copied actions, sang new songs, observed the weather and recorded their findings.

Children have been made aware of the changes that have occured in the world around them and have learnt that places change with seasons and over long periods of time. 

In Year 4 this half term, the children have been learning about the USA. We have explored where the USA is in the world, the population of the different states, what landmarks are there and completed some state studies. The children have completed maps and learnt lots of new information about the USA.

The following shows a sample of work from Year 6 on their topic; Global Challenges. This topic allowed children to analyse climate change, borders, how we distribute the world's resources and ways ways to promote sustainability! 

In Year 2, we have started our topic- 'Life in Kenya'. Using what we learnt about continents, we have discussed how Kenya is located in Africa. We found out which countries are next to Kenya and which is the closest ocean. We have also discussed the climate in Kenya and how this is similiar or different to the UK. 

In Year 2, we have been studying the continents of the World. We have studied the physical and human features of each continent, animals that may live there and the climate. 

Children are extremely excited to spend time exploring geography and history in depth and to focus on developing accurate historical and geographical terminology in their inviting immersive classrooms.

Year 5 Geography

Year 5 have now finished their learning journey. We learnt how volcanoes and earthquakes happen and researched the secondary effects that occur from these devastating natural disasters. Take a look below at some of the amazing work the children produced.

Year 5 Geography

Year 5 have started their Geography learning journey. They have studied physical and human features of Asia, studied continental drift and tectonic plates. They have found out what hard and soft borders are and where they exist in Asia. Year 5 have also studied how mountains are formed. 

Year 4 have been researching about the animals and habitats located in the Amazon Rainforest in South America. They have learnt about a capybara, pygmy marmoset and a jaguar.