History & Geography

History/Geography

At Bishop Wilson C of E Primary School we use Cornerstones Maestro Curriculum to support the delivery of the history and geography curriculum.  Cornerstones begins with a memorable experience which will spark the children’s engagement in the topic.  Cornerstones ensures that the children undertake a broad and balanced programme that takes account of abilities, aptitudes and physical, emotional and intellectual development.

 

History

Our aims for history at Bishop Wilson C of E Primary School:

• To instil in the children a curiosity and understanding of events, places and people in a variety of times and environments.
• To develop an interest in the past and an appreciation of human achievements and aspirations
• To understand the values of our society
• To learn about the major issues and events in the history of our own country and of the world and how these events may have influenced one another
• To develop a knowledge of chronology within which the children can organise their understanding of the past
• To understand how the past was different from the present and that people of other times and places may have had different values and attitudes from ours
• To understand the nature of evidence by emphasising the process of enquiry and by developing the range of skills required to interpret primary and secondary source materials
• To distinguish between historical facts and the interpretation of those facts
• To understand that events may many causes and that historical explanation is provisional, debatable and sometimes controversial

Geography

EYFS

Children explore Geography through the EYFS goals within: Understanding the World.

These objectives include:

• To comment and ask questions about aspects of their familiar world, such as the place where they live or the natural world.
• To talk about some of the things they have observed, such as plants, animals, natural and found objects.
• To talk about why things happen and how things work.
• To develop an understanding of growth, decay and changes over time.
• To show care and concern for living things and the environment.
• To look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change.
• To know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.
• To know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another.

Key Stage 1

Pupils should be taught about:

Location knowledge

• name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans
• name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas

Place knowledge

• understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country
• identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles
• use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to:
• key physical features, including: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather
• key human features, including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop

Geographical skills and fieldwork

• use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage
• use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language (e.g. near and far; left and right) to describe the location of features and routes on a map
• use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features; devise a simple map; and use and construct basic symbols in a key
• use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment.

Key Stage 2

Pupils are taught about:

Location knowledge

• locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities
• name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time
• identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night)

Place knowledge

• understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America

Human and physical geography

• describe and understand key aspects of:
• physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
• human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water

• Geographical skills and fieldwork
• use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
• use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world
• use fieldwork to observe, measure and record the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.