Geography

Geography Curriculum Documents	Download
Curriculum Rationale
Curriculum Plan Year 7
Curriculum Plan Year 8
Curriculum Plan Year 9
Curriculum Plan Year 10
Curriculum Plan Year 11
Learning Journey KS3
Learning Journey KS4

“Geography is a subject which holds the key to our future” - Michael Palin

We live in a world of amazing beauty, infinite complexity and rigorous challenge. Geography is the subject which opens the door to this dynamic world and prepares students for the role of global citizen in the 21^st century. Through studying geography, students begin to appreciate how places and landscapes are formed, how people and environments interact, what consequences arise from our everyday decisions, and what a diverse range of cultures and societies exist and interconnect.

In Geography we like to get students to ask and formulate questions, develop their intellectual skills and find answers to issues affecting their lives. It introduces them to distinctive investigative tools such as maps, fieldwork and the use of powerful digital communication technologies such a GIS. It opens their eyes to the beauty and wonder around them and acts as a source of inspiration and creativity. More than this, it ensures that they appreciate the complexity of attitudes and values which shape the way we use and misuse the environment. Through geography, Hurstmere’s students learn to value and care for the planet and all its inhabitants.

Fieldwork

Geography helps us investigate and to think critically and creatively about the complexities of places, and different views and feelings relating to places. Geography is studied through enquiry, this requires the formulation of effective questions. Therefore fieldwork and outdoor education are essential to geography to develop these skills as well as cultivate a sense of awe and wonder about the world we live in.

To build these qualities in our students here at Hurstmere we run as many field trips as possible both in KS3 and KS4, either as a whole year group or as small groups. Some of the trips undertaken in previous years include: -

KS3 Fieldwork Trips

Local fieldwork in and around the school.
Visit to Kew Gardens
Visits to the Natural History Museum
Visits to various zoos such as London Zoo or Howlets Zoo.

KS4 Fieldwork Trips

Herne Bay and Olympic park.
Iceland – add link to Iceland page!!!

KS4 Geography

Please find below everything you need to know about the GCSE Geography course we do here at Hurstmere:

Examination Board: AQA

Syllabus Number: 8035

Course content:

This GCSE Geography course covers areas in physical and human geography incorporated into a series of themes. Students will travel the world from the classroom, exploring case studies in the United Kingdom (UK), newly emerging economies (NEEs) and lower income countries (LICs). Topics of study include climate change, poverty, deprivation, global shifts in economic power and the challenge of sustainable resource use. Students are also encouraged to understand their role in society, by considering different viewpoints, values and attitudes. It is available as an option subject at GCSE. Throughout the two years students will study a variety of topics:

Living with the physical environment

The challenge of natural hazards
Physical landscapes in the UK
The living world

Challenges in the human environment

Urban issues and challenges
The changing economic world
Challenge of resource management

Geographical applications

Section A: Issue evaluation
Section B: Fieldwork

Geographical skills

Geographical skills (Ordnance Survey map work, photographic interpretation satellite imaging and data interpretation.)

Assessment structure:

Assessment will include three final examinations:

Paper One (35%) : The challenge of natural hazards, Physical landscapes in the UK, The living world, and Geographical skills.

Paper Two (35%): Urban issues and challenges, The changing economic world, The challenge of resource management, and Geographical skills

Paper Three(30%) : Issue evaluation, Fieldwork, and Geographical skills

Geographical skills check list:

The following skills will be acquired by students studying GCSE Geography:

Cartographic skills

use and understand gradient, contour and spot height on OS maps and other isoline maps (eg weather charts, ocean bathymetric charts)
interpret cross sections and transects
use and understand coordinates, scale and distance
describe and interpret geo-spatial data presented in a GIS framework (eg analysis of flood hazard using the interactive maps on the Environment Agency website)

Graphical skills

select and construct appropriate graphs and charts to present data, using appropriate scales and including bar charts, pie charts, pictograms, line charts, histograms with equal class intervals
interpret and extract information from different types of graphs and charts including any of the above and others relevant to the topic (e.g. triangular graphs, radial graphs, wind rose diagrams, proportional symbols)
interpret population pyramids, choropleth maps and flow-line maps

Numerical skills

demonstrate an understanding of number, area and scale and the quantitative relationships between units
design fieldwork data collection sheets and collect data with an understanding of accuracy, sample size and procedures, control groups and reliability
understand and correctly use proportion and ratio, magnitude and frequency (e.g. 1:200 flood; and logarithmic scales such as the Richter scale, in orders of magnitude)
draw informed conclusions from numerical data

Statistical skills

use appropriate measures of central tendency, spread and cumulative frequency (median, mean, range, quartiles and inter-quartile range, mode and modal class)
calculate percentage increase or decrease and understand the use of percentiles
describe relationships in bivariate data: sketch trend lines through scatter plots; draw estimated lines of best fit; make predictions; interpolate and extrapolate trends

be able to identify weaknesses in selective statistical presentation of data

Geography

Curriculum

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