The Divine Mercy RC Primary School - Geography Curriculum Intent

 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1)

At The Divine Mercy we reflect the National Curriculum aims:

• Inspire children to be curious about the world around them and that helps them to develop a sense of belonging, this in turn will create individuals ready to have a transformative affect on society in general.
• Teaching Geography gives children knowledge of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments
• As children develop through school their awareness of physical and human processes will be deepened which then expands their knowledge of the world as interconnected and ever changeable

In tIn this subject:

At The Divine Mercy, through the teaching of geography, children will use their understanding of the world that we live in to develop aspirations to be future world changers.  In looking at Geography from a local perspective, the children understand the world around them and their place within it.  As they move through the school, they begin to understand the impact of humans on society and develop their own sense of awareness on a larger scale, revealing Christ and developing in the children the want to make change for the better.

Through Catholic Social Teaching, each subject matter carefully develops a child’s knowledge to deepen their understanding and create critical thinkers.  The children will be self-aware of the world around them and the impact of change and advocate for greater social justice where there is inequality or negative change.  Through the use of high quality texts, and the use of abstract Geographic terms, the children will develop their vocabulary ranges which will be transferable across all subjects.  Their understanding of geography will lend itself to highly confident and independent learners who can infer and deduce a greater deal of information and disseminate it in a range of ways.

Children will critically analyse the geography they see around them and the diversity of natural and human environments.  Their understanding of processes and conditions, and its impact on the world develops critical thinking and analysis which can be used in a range of subjects to boost independence and confidence across the curriculum.  Geography is taught as a discrete lesson within a topic, thus ensuring that there is no dilution of the learning.  Children can explore the importance of learning about the environment around them, the skills used for navigation and the importance of understanding it in a rapidly changing world.  This develops strengths and interests of the children and gives a relevance to the subject as they move through their learning.  In looking at the conditions and processes of human and physical geography, children will develop an understanding of the environment and learn to respect it as their common home.  Children will come across cultural diversity and become aware of the lives of others in a diverse world, developing tolerance and respect for people of different countries and communities and understanding we are all united as one human race.

Jesus I Trust in You