Geography

Geography

At St. Gilbert's RC Primary School, we believe that Geography should inspire children to develop a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Through a wide range of learning experiences, we aim to equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to make sense of the diverse world in which they live whilst fostering a sense of wonder and responsibility for God's creation.

We want our children to become confident geographers who can use geographical vocabulary to explain their world, ask questions about places and environments, understand how the world is changing and appreciate the wonderful world and people God has created. Through the study of Geography, pupils develop an awareness of their local community, their place within the wider world and the importance of caring for the environment.

Our Geography curriculum follows the National Curriculum and enables children to develop an understanding of both physical and human geography. Through carefully planned learning opportunities, pupils acquire knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and environments whilst developing a deeper understanding of the Earth's key physical and human processes.

As children progress through the school, they develop an increasingly secure understanding of how physical and human processes interact, how landscapes are formed and used and how environments change over time. They learn that places and people are interconnected and that actions taken in one part of the world can have consequences elsewhere.

Our Geography Curriculum

At St. Gilbert's, children are taught to:

• Develop contextual knowledge of globally significant places and environments, both on land and at sea;
• Understand the physical and human features that shape places around the world;
• Explore how geographical processes create change over time;
• Understand how natural and human environments are interconnected;
• Develop knowledge of local, national and global geography;
• Appreciate the diversity of cultures, communities and environments across the world.

Children learn about a wide variety of geographical themes and topics, helping them to understand the similarities and differences between places and the challenges faced by people and environments around the world.

Geographical Skills and Fieldwork

A key feature of Geography at St. Gilbert's is the development of practical geographical skills through first-hand experiences.

Children are encouraged to participate in outdoor learning and fieldwork activities, allowing them to learn about their local area and develop a greater understanding of the world around them. Through fieldwork investigations, pupils learn how to observe, measure, record and analyse geographical information whilst developing teamwork and communication skills.

Children are taught to:

• Collect, analyse and communicate geographical data;
• Interpret maps, atlases, globes and aerial photographs;
• Conduct fieldwork investigations;
• Present findings using maps, diagrams, written reports and numerical data;
• Ask geographical questions and draw conclusions from evidence.
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By exploring the school grounds, local community and wider environment, pupils gain valuable first-hand experiences that make Geography meaningful, memorable and relevant.

Through these experiences, children become increasingly confident in explaining geographical processes and understanding the relationships between people, places and environments.

Geography and Our Catholic Ethos

As a Catholic school, our Geography curriculum is firmly rooted in our Catholic ethos and Gospel Values. We believe that Geography provides a unique opportunity for children to develop an appreciation of God's creation and understand their responsibility to care for the world around them.

Through their studies, pupils are encouraged to recognise the beauty and diversity of the Earth and to reflect upon how they can contribute to creating a more just, sustainable and compassionate world. Geography helps children understand the challenges faced by different communities and encourages them to consider how they can respond with care, empathy and respect.

Within our Geography curriculum we consider the teaching of Pope Francis' Laudato Si', which calls us to care for our common home and act as responsible stewards of God's creation. Through a range of topics and themes, children explore environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, sustainability, conservation, biodiversity and the responsible use of natural resources.

Pupils learn that caring for the environment is both a global responsibility and an expression of their faith. Through classroom learning, outdoor education and environmental projects, children develop an understanding of how their choices can positively impact the world around them.

Geography and Our Gospel Values

The teaching of Geography at St. Gilbert's is underpinned by our Gospel Values:

Compassion

Children develop compassion through learning about the lives and experiences of people across the world. They explore global issues and consider how inequality, natural disasters and environmental challenges affect communities.

Resilience

Through investigating environmental challenges and learning how communities adapt to change, pupils develop an understanding of resilience and perseverance in the face of difficulty.

Courage

Children are encouraged to think critically about environmental and social issues and to make informed choices that help protect and improve the world around them.

Forgiveness

By studying human actions and their impact on the environment, pupils learn that mistakes can be acknowledged and positive changes can be made to create a more sustainable future.

Faith

Geography develops an appreciation of God's creation and helps children recognise their role as stewards of the Earth. Pupils learn that caring for the environment is an important part of living out their faith.

Fullness of Life

Through exploring diverse cultures, landscapes and environments, children develop a deeper understanding of the world and their place within it. Geography encourages curiosity, wonder and respect for others whilst helping pupils grow into informed and responsible global citizens.

By combining high-quality geographical learning with our Catholic values, we aim to nurture curious, knowledgeable and compassionate young people who appreciate the beauty of God's world and are committed to caring for our common home, both now and in the future.

Geographical Association 

St Gilbert's is part of the Geographical Association. They are an organisation that connect teachers and inspire the learning of Geography. 

Useful Websites 

Below are some useful websites to use and become familiar with the world around you. Have fun !

Eco Warriors

EYFS  CELEBRATING LUNAR DAY - The Year of the Snake. Its great to celebrate with other cultures.  

KS2 GEOGRAPHY  CLUB 

This club took place in Autumn 2. The children researched about countries that were not in Europe. These included Japan, Nigeria, Jamaica, Surinam, Ghana, Korea as well as others. They presented these as fact files and drew flags. We also spent a session doing orienteering which helped with map reading. We planted spinach seeds in our polytunnel, did some food tasting of foods from around the world and made weather equipment for setting up a weather station.

Year 2 have been studying the local area of Eccles. As part of their work, they explored the great transport links that Eccles has: the motorways, canals, trains, trams and buses. Walking to the main road, they carried out a traffic survey to find out which modes of transport were used around their school. They discovered that it was mostly cars and vans but they did spot two trains passing on the bridge.  

Year 2 looked at the globe and atlases to find mountains in the UK and across the world.

Earth Day

Forest School

Year 5 are enjoying being outdoor and close to nature. They have been busy den building this week.

_{Eco Warriors of 2023 to 2024} 

Year 3

Year 3 have been exploring where different Volcanoes can be found all over the world. We used atlas’ to get a closer look at different continents too!

Today we labeled the features of our completed model of a Volcano! We have drawn a cross sections to explain what is going on inside a volcano and used paper mache to build the outside. Painting them was fun too

Year 2

Year 2 have been looking at local landmarks and tried to design their own floor plans and put together a Trafford Centre floor plan too.

RECEPTION 

The Reception children were trying to understand the world and worked on activities related to a book they had read called The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch. They were very engrossed with their learning especially when they found a bottle with a note inside.

Nursery

Nursery children have been learning about hot and cold countries and talked about what they might take with them on holiday. 

                                       Bikeability

 GARDENING AT ST GILBERT'S 

St Gilbert's children are privileged to have a polytunnel to grow their own foods. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) says that there are great benefits to gardening and they are the 3 Rs : 

• Ready to learn
• Resilient 
• Responsible

Here are some  plants that were planted last year .

Can you name the plant?

WOW 

St Gilberts are in involved in WOW - for another year round walk to school challenge !!!

Every class records and tracks how each pupil comes to school and at the end of each half term the pupil can earn a badge if they have walked, cycled, scootered or parked and stride to school.

Reception

We went on a nature walk to Winton Park today. We collected our own natural treasures in egg boxes and completed some bark rubbings too!

FOREST SCHOOL

Year 3 have been involved in taster sessions in Forest School - Winton. This is learning outside the classroom. 

YEAR 3's WORK ON EARTHQUAKES:

During Spring 2, Year 3 have been working really hard on learning all about Earthquakes! They are especially proud of our newspaper articles about the earthquake in Haiti 🇭🇹 

Ask your child what they would of an earthquake happened? 

Year 3 looked at the effects the earthquakes have had on both the land and people. We have explored ‘Shelter Box’ and how they help people across the world. Finally, we were set a challenge of creating a building that could withstand an earthquake. The team that had the tallest ‘earthquake safe’ building were the winners. These geography models aim to look at how sturdy different buildings are during earthquakes. The Jelly represents the soft, shaking ground and the buildings are made from toothpicks and mini marshmallows. A little shaking of the tray enabled us to see how strong our homes are.

YEAR 3's PROJECT WORK ON THE UK.

Fabulous effort this term learning about the United Kingdom. The children have been exploring their home with their atlas’s too!
 

Do you know what the difference is between the British Isles and the UK? 
 

                             COP26

COP26 is the  all important climate change conference taking place  in Glasgow from 6th Nov to 12th Nov. The world leaders who are meeting to discuss environmental issues have a very difficult job to try and restore the earth. 

So lets pray for them.