Curriculum Making
Primary Handbook Extension Project
On these pages you will find material created by teachers which builds on the excellent resources and ideas in the Primary Geography Handbook - a must have book for all subject leaders and teachers from Foundation to KS2.
Buy the book - £32.99 (£22.99 GA members)
Each section contains ideas and examples for different age groups - click on the links below to find out more...
Fieldwork
Carolyn Thomas and Martin Saffery
(4-7) Exploring the School Grounds
(6-9) The Wider Locality - A Trip to Town
(8-11) A Trip to France
Distant Places
Jen Russell and Stephen Scoffham
(4-7) USA
(6-9) India
(8-11) China
Maps and Stories
Rachel Bowles
(4-7) Everyday Lives - Grandfather and I
(6-9) Changing Environments - Belonging and Window
(8-11) Mapping Landscapes - Stig of the Dump
Curriculum Making
Secondary Strategy
Talk for Learning in Geography
How talk can engage understanding of place
Talk is an essential part of any effective lesson, dialogue between teacher and pupil and from pupil to pupil enables classrooms to buzz with discussion and debate around geographical issues, to challenge misconceptions and stereotypes and to enable pupils to plan their own progression through their learning pathway. So, where do we begin when planning to incorporate effective talk into our geography lessons?
Many geographers have engaged with the Secondary National Strategy through the foundation subjects materials and consultant support, and more recently through the Whole School Initiative materials. Within all of the publications and professional development opportunities offered by the Strategy the focus has been in the classroom, creating engaging and challenging lessons which are clearly focussed and involve learners in their own learning.
The Secondary Strategy offers a wealth of resources to support talk for learning in classrooms - these are listed in publication order below. All are downloadable from the standards site and should be available in hard copy in every secondary school.
Literacy across the curriculum
DfEE 0235/2001
A generic set of training materials for whole school development of literacy priorities.
Literacy and Learning in Geography
DfES 0048/2002
Now part of the Literacy and Learning materials, this original pack provided a selection of training units for departmental development of literacy.
Training materials for the Foundation Subjects
DfES 0350/2002
A set of 14 training units for foundation subject departments to develop a number of aspects of classroom practice in foundations subjects and RE.
Assessment for Learning whole school training materials
DfES 0043-2004
A whole school pack of training materials designed to develop all aspects of AfL, which includes subject development materials.
Literacy and Learning whole school materials
DfES 0672-2004
A comprehensive package of materials designed to develop literacy through clear cross curricular literacy objectives for Years 7,8,9 linked to geography activities through a subject specific booklet.
Pedagogy and Practice: Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools
DfES 0433-2004
The 'Ped Pack' of self study units which focuses on research evidence, uses video clips and suggests practical tasks to try in your own classroom on a number of aspects of pedagogy.
Leading in Learning WSI whole school training materials
DfES 0034 -2005
Whole school training materials for developing thinking skills through the use of ten strategies using a three cycle lesson approach.
In addition, materials to support speaking and listening through the English strand of the strategy may provide a deeper insight into the development of talk in classrooms - we suggest that you seek out a friendly English teacher!
Curriculum Making
Teaching Ideas
The resources in this section have been created by teachers attending our Curriculum Making courses during 2007. We are passionate about Living Geography and localised curriculum making and this area of the website shows what it begins to look like.
We have chosen examples of teachers' work which, we believe, demonstrate how teachers have localised the activities and underpinned what has been done with careful, purposeful thought. The chosen examples are NOT intended to be held up as exemplary or 'perfect' but as examples of curriculum development which teachers have been willing to share.
We hope they will inspire in different ways, but they are not supposed to be 'copied'. Interrogate them and see where they work for you (for your school and for your students). The resources can be used at different key stages - think how you might adapt or 'improve' them to suit your purposes.
A-Z
A Journey Down the River Ouse (KS2-3) View
Approach: Hide & Reveal activity, photos, maps
Concepts: Scale, interdependence, place, space
Keywords: River Ouse, assessment, map reading
A postcard from Japan (Year 9) View
Approach: Investigating and selecting images, Movie Maker
Concepts: Place, cultural understanding and diversity
Keywords: Global connections, Japan, culture, diversity, peer assessment
An Island Home (Year 2) View
Approach: Use of story, maps, plans and ICT to find out about a distant locality; use of Roamer (floor turtle)
Concepts: Place, space, environment
Keywords: Island, village, Coll, Scotland, local area, map, key, journey
Chembakolli: A village in India (KS2, Y3-6) View
Approach: Using photographs, maps, Local Studies digital mapping software
Concepts: Place, space, scale, culture & diversity
Keywords: Chembakolli, village, India, city, contrast, map, homes, weather, food, shopping
Does your shopping measure up? (KS3-4) View
Approach: Questioning, enquiry, problem solving, mysteries, identification of bias, map-reading, ICT
Concepts: Environmental interactions, space, scale, interdependence
Keywords: Sustainable development, location, sphere of influence
Environmental problems in your local area (Year 8) View
Approach: Fieldwork, investigation & enquiry, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Movie Maker
Concepts: Environmental interactions, place
Keywords: Environmental quality, pollution, concerns, local, fieldwork, out of classroom learning, investigation, analysis
Globalisation - Winners or Losers? (KS3-4) View
Approach: Questioning, thinking and reasoning skills, kinaesthetic learning
Concepts: Globalisation, interdependence, ethics
Keywords: Globalisation
Investigating our Local Area (KS2, Y3) View
Approach: Cross-curricular learning, fieldwork, creating maps and plans, using Local Studies software and online mapping
Concepts: Space, place, local scale
Keywords: Investigating, maps, locality, fieldwork, journey-sticks, country park, changing places
Me and My Mobile (KS3) View
Approach: Questioning, enquiry, problem solving, ICT
Concepts: Interconnectedness, environmental interactions, sustainability, responsibility
Keywords: Consumer behaviour, commodities, sustainability, technology, e-waste, interconnectedness
Music - an Indian journey (KS2, Y4) View
Approach: Unit based upon a story, developed to combine ICT, Music, Geography, Literacy and Art
Concepts: place, space, culture & diversity
Keywords: sketch-map, Local Studies, map, story, India
Rivers and Wildlife (KS2) View
Approach: Interdisciplinary (through use of literacy texts), fieldwork, mapwork skills
Concepts: Place, changing human and physical processes, environmental interaction
Keywords: Human impacts, maps, rivers, imaginary settings, fieldwork, water
Using our Playground (Year 2) View
Approach: Familiarisation walk, observation, using a digital camera, Hide & Reveal activity, PowerPoint
Concepts: Place, space, location
Keywords: Local, environment, place, space, location, senses, map, symbol, key
Water and Life (KS2 - Year 6) View
Approach: Interdisciplinary, enquiry approach, linking global to local, action orientated
Concepts: Scale, changing human and physical processes, environmental interaction
Keywords: Active citizenship, enquiry, visual literacy, water
Water around us (KS2) View
Approach: Interdisciplinary, active fieldwork, using the locality
Concepts: Interdependence, place, environmental interaction
Keywords: Fieldwork, locality study, active citizenship, water
Curriculum Making
Secondary Handbook Extension Project
Balderstone, D (2006) ed. Secondary Geography Handbook. The Geographical Association. Sheffield
" We want all young people to grow into informed citizens with a sound understanding of the human and natural processes that shape the globe and its people. Geography has a critical role in giving them an understanding of their place in the world.
Teaching such a dynamic and relevant subject can be challenging, but also richly rewarding for both students and teachers. This handbook is an excellent tool that will help bring teaching and learning to life for students of all ages and abilities. It offers useful insights into all aspects of secondary geography, from mapping to the media and from field work to ICT. It brings together an impressive list of contributions from many different backgrounds, including classroom teachers, heads of geography, and teachers in higher education.
I thoroughly recommend this handbook to all secondary teachers of geography."
Andrew Adonis
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for school
My first recollection of my PGCE course was being informed by my tutor, before he welcomed the group to the course, that we should all join our subject associations, and purchase a copy of The Geographical Association's Secondary Geography Handbook within the week. Dutifully, as the good students we were, off we trudged in our dinner break to investigate becoming members of our subject association and ordered our copy of the handbook.
In many ways it was the biggest favour that we could have been given, as over the coming months of our teaching placements, and university assignments, it was the Handbook that we referred to the most.
The edition of the handbook I purchased 6 years ago has now been revised into the current version, edited by David Balderstone. Of course it is a very powerful tool to help with ideas for planning and delivery within the classroom but also a link to furthering personal professional development and remaining engaged with the subject, and current thinking.
Current teachers have taken the time to develop and share these resources here, to stimulate professional development and the sharing of good practice.
On these pages you will find practical examples of how the messages from the chapters have been, developed practically within schools and departments. It should be noted that the examples highlight the way in which the Secondary Geography Handbook can be used within school. The resources can be used as they stand or taken as a tool adapted and developed to suit the needs and demands of your own students and your own school community.
- Chapter 7 & 10 have been extended by David Mitchell at the IoE to highlight how it is possible to evaluate the ways GIS helps students to learn.
- Chapter 27 has been developed further, by Alan Parkinson, showing practical approaches to be considered in school with provision for EAL students.
- Chapter 32 looks towards assessment for learning, and has been extended into a practical example that works in school by Anna Avanessian.
- Chapter 42 looks at sustaining school geography. In a very practical and highly resourced example Peter Fox extends this message into the reality of the classroom.
Curriculum Making
Glossary
Curriculum Making with Geography :
A Professional Glossary
This glossary provides key distinctions and some explanations. Its purpose is to clarify the professional language in the field of geography curriculum development.
It is neither definitive nor inclusive. It doesn't tackle all the professional language in teaching and learning - just the key ideas in relation to the geography curriculum. The list below is just a beginning and the glossary could grow to be more inclusive in the future. Let us know what you think...
Click on the term(s) you want to know more about:
Aims
Concepts
Cultural Understanding and Diversity
Curriculum
Curriculum planning
Curriculum making
Curriculum development
Cross-cutting themes
Elements of learning
Enquiry
Environmental Interaction and Sustainable Development
Everyday Geography
Interdependence
Key Concepts
Levels
Living Geography
LOtC
Objectives
Physical and Human Processes
Place
Programme of Study
Scale
Scheme of Work
Space
A Word version of the Glossary is available to download from the grey panel on the right.
Curriculum Making
Using Himalaya
Michael Palin's Himalaya is a travel book. It is a potentially rich resource to use to support geography teaching and learning. It celebrates the uniqueness of people and places. Written through a western traveller's eyes, the text brings together different cultural perspectives. It is fun, sharing both the excitement and challenge of travel. It celebrates geography - literally, writing about the world - as a resource for education.
Michael Palin who is supporting the Action Plan for Geography has said:
"You can travel the seas, poles, and deserts and see nothing. To really understand the world you need to get under the skin of the people and places. In other words, learn about geography. I can't imagine a subject more relevant in schools. We'd all be lost without it."His support for the APG is welcome. This initiative reinforces geography's distinctive contribution to the curriculum which is summarised in the launch leaflet. Schools Minister Andrew Adonis said,
"We strongly recommend that all teachers of geography join the organisations because we see membership as critical for subject specialist professional development and for maximising the impact of this significant push on geography."
Find out about joining the GA and RGS-IBG here.
More about the free CPD activities that the GA is offering through the Action Plan for Geography can be found in the Key Stage 1-3 Courses area. By participating in these courses you also get a free resource pack for your school as well as the time and support to develop your curriculum plans.
Copies of Himalaya can be purchased very cheaply via a variety of high street and online book stores. Additionally the website that accompanies the book is a rich resource, and provides a fascinating insight to the Himalaya region: http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/.
Teaching and Learning Ideas
Download a selection of materials from the grey box to the right of this page.
- Some ideas on how to use the Himalaya website in the primary geography curriculum (Word)
- Using the Himalaya website in Key Stage 2 Geography and with your Interactive Whiteboard (Word, SMART, PowerPoint)
- Using Himalaya with Key Stage 3 students (Word)
- Using Himalaya to develop the concept of place (Word x2)
If you have some ideas and activities that you have developed using Himalaya or a similar resource, or if you have visited the Himalaya region and have photos and/or experiences that you would be happy to share with other teachers of geography, then we would love to hear from you. Please email jbeattie@geography.org.uk - we will share as many of your resources as we can via these pages.
Curriculum Making
Quality Geography
Recently we have been exploring what Quality Geography might look like within both the Primary phase and at Key Stage 3.
We have been sharing some of our thinking that underpins both the Primary Geography Quality Mark and the Secondary Geography Quality Mark at a number of face-to-face events.
Our Keynote explores the difference between 'performance' and 'quality'. At the event we have been sharing some of the work that Quality Mark schools have developed underpinned by the GA's ambitions for geography education.
Curriculum Making
Introduction
Have you seen our three online curriculum making courses?
Subject Leadership: This unit lets you consider what it means to be a subject leader, explores how concepts help frame geography and how we can use geographical significance in curriculum making.
Geography as a Resource: This unit asks what it means to 'think geographically', explores the importance of enquiry and looks at the role of textbooks in the classroom.
Curriculum Making: In this unit you will think about curriculum making, bringing together what you have learnt about concepts, content and enquiry to consider how we might ensure progression in geography.
In the classroom, there are three bundles of energy – or ‘resources’: the teacher, the learners and the subject. Each brings something different.
We use these three in combination literally to ‘make the curriculum’ experience. Each of our own circumstances is unique in certain ways, so we often create our own local solutions to the curriculum.
Here you can learn about some of the materials and approaches to topics that teachers have developed by joining us, either at face to face or online events.
We hope that you find something here to inspire you. All we ask is that if you take an idea further, please get in touch so that we can share your curriculum making too.
Talk Curriculum Making
Discussions: 2