St Catherine's Catholic School

Geography

Head of Department (HOD): Miss L McDonagh

Teacher names: Miss C Holland, Miss J Rice & Miss Lopez

Geography is the study of the Earth’s landscapes, people, places and environments. It is quite simply about the world in which we live. Geography is an education for life, it helps us to be more socially and environmentally sensitive and aware of our surroundings. When you read a news article about a natural disaster or why a new housing development is causing problems in your local area, Geography can help you to understand why this might be happening, and what you can do to help. 

KS3

Geography should inspire a pupil’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We aim to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. We consider case study locations and look at the human impact upon these. We look at statistical data and interpret what it shows about our world. We conduct fieldwork locally and carry out Geographical investigations.

Geography should inspire a pupil’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We aim to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. We consider case study locations and look at the human impact upon these. We look at statistical data and interpret what it shows about our world. We conduct fieldwork locally and carry out Geographical investigations.

Topics covered in KS3

Yr7

  • Unit 1: Where are we?
  • Unit 2: Is Rochester a tourist destination?
  • Unit 3: Fair trade
  • Unit 4: Weather watch. A local area fieldwork task on microclimates

Yr8

  • Unit 1: Africa and Asia compared – what landscapes can be found?
  • Unit 2: Tropical and desert landscapes
  • Unit 3 – Natural hazards
  • Unit 4: India – population boom

Yr9

  • Unit 1 – the development gap – why are some places poor?
  • Unit 2 – Nigeria as a rapidly emerging economy
  • Unit 3 – river landscapes.

Main skills developed in Years 7, 8 and 9:

Place and scale – Pupils need a secure sense of place. They should be comfortable with the idea of continents, countries and cities. They should be able to root their knowledge to a place.

Patterns and relationships – Pupils need to be able to understand geographical patterns globally. These could be human or physical but are built upon their sense of place. Pupils should be able to explain the cause and effect of people with the environment.

Decision making for sustainability – Pupils need to make informed decisions about the future of our planet. They need to be secure in identifying the local and international impacts of issues on a wide range of people. Their decisions should be grounded by a strong understanding of the sustainable approach, which serves the world in accordance to gospel values.

Geographical investigations – As a Geographer pupils need to be able to handle a range of data and present this accurately. They need to be able to draw conclusions from data, and yet be critical of the bias that is found within data. Pupils should understand how to conduct accurate fieldwork investigations.

KS4

Exam board and full GCSE course name: AQA GCSE Geography

Brief breakdown of the course:

Paper 1: Physical Geography – This paper looks at the relationship between people and the natural environment. It looks at issues such as climate change, natural disasters and the destruction of natural habitats. 

The units students will study are:

  1. Natural hazards
  2. Rivers and coasts
  3. Natural ecosystems.

Paper 2: Human Geography – This paper looks at how the human race is growing and the implications that this has on the natural resources available to us. It looks at the issues of poverty and international aid and how money is divided globally. This unit has a strong political aspect and allows pupils to be critical of current global trends.

The units students will study are:

  1. World and population growth
  2. Global development and industry
  3. Resource management for a sustainable future.

Paper 3: Geographical Applications

  1. Problem solving task – Pupils are given a pre released selection of resources on a current UK Geographical issue. Pupils then have to use the evidence to justify their decision on how the issue should be dealt with.
  2. Geographical enquiries – Pupils use the fieldwork that they have completed to write up their findings on the research they carried out. Pupils demonstrate that they can handle data, draw graphs and evaluate findings.

The final exam/practical/coursework components broken down by paper and brief content.

How to Support your daughter in this Subject

Atlases – having access to an atlas will allow them to build a more detailed knowledge of the world around them and help to piece together the places used as case studies within class.

Google Earth and GE Graph – These are both Free to download and can be accessed online. These tools are vital to help pupils build a sense of place and knowledge of scale.

Essentials Revision Guides –These can be used for revision and also include exam practice questions. They can be purchased from Miss McDonagh for £3.

Current Case Studies – Geography is about current events and affairs. Try to have discussions about events that have occurred or places that have been in the news. This knowledge is vital at GCSE. Pupils should be able to comment on the most recent natural disaster or human crisis facing a place.

Further Reading & Careers

Any newspaper articles on world current affairs.

National Geographic magazine – available in the library or at most news agents.

Wide World magazine - available in the school library.

Fiction – with a focus on other cultures.

Elizabeth Laird - The Garbage King

Yen Mah Adeline – The Chinese Cinderella

Geraldine McCaughrean – The Kite Rider

Diane Matcheck -The Sacrifice

Geography recommended website list. 

 

 

humanities literacy policy.pdf

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