Geography

Coping with change in professional learning

scameron — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 10:44:00 +0100

‘Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.’
King Whitney Jr

Community cohesion in schools

scameron — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:09:22 +0100

If only for a half hour a day, a child should do something serviceable to the community.
George Bernard Shaw

The duty to promote community cohesion has been with us for a couple of years now. It’s a critical part of school life, but how much does it feature in your school’s plans for professional learning? .

Living Geography: mystery cards

scameron — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:16:15 +0000

Living Geography is a resource designed for geography teachers which draws from recent school-focused research, and supports teachers in developing a concept-based curriculum that is relevant, purposeful and exciting for young people.

Edited by David Mitchell

David acknowledges thanks to the teachers of Wycombe High School, St Ivo School and all involved in GA's Geography of Disease project who have developed these activity ideas.

Your positive moments in geography

scameron — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:09:02 +0000

“I took the 6th form Geographers to the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. After complaining about the dorms, the weather and the walking they absolutely fell in love with the beauty of their surroundings and were eager to find out how it was created. Inner city pupils’ perceptions of the UK and its environment changed in the space of an afternoon.”
- AHT

Add your positive geography stories below

Living Geography

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:58:43 +0000

Edited by David Mitchell

It contains 12 chapters that each focus on a theme relating to current UK policy, both in the national curriculum for geography and other overarching policy guidelines (including QCA and Every Child Matters 2007). These include;

Lessons on China

scameron — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:44:45 +0100

With the Olympic flame already making its momentous journey through the world, eyes are now turning towards Beijing in China for this year’s Olympic Games. Newspapers, television news reports and magazines are full of information on the games and China – and with all this stimuli flying about now is the perfect time to look at the topic of China as a source of cross-curricular teaching and learning. Many curriculum subjects can be incorporated into a study of China, with a study of Chinese history and geography offering a wealth of inspiring lesson ideas.

Lesson sequences: The Amazon rainforest

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:28 +0100

These lesson plans for geography teachers are taken from our 2005 Geographical Association Gold Award winner, Re-presenting Geography. The pack includes an essay planner, diagram cards and wall display plans, and could be used as part of a geography project on de-forestation. Written by Liz Taylor

Geography lesson plan: Disposal of different kinds of waste

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:26 +0100

This exciting and constructive game will help you to successfully implement the geography curriculum in your school.

Pupils are encouraged to think about the implications waste disposal has on the environment and people. Pupils are also encouraged to decide how they would dispose of different kinds of waste. Cut-out cards are included with this resource for geography teachers.

Written by Rex Walford

Geography lesson activity: Should the rainforest be developed?

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:26 +0100

This is a geography lesson activity that is available to download, and has been tried and tested by Tividale High School in Sandwell and will help you to achieve these learning objectives:

Reading landscapes of economic power and success

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:26 +0100

This resource will help your pupils gain a solid understanding of the study of landscapes – and particularly how and why landscapes change. It provides valuable information, photographs to aid comparisons and maps to visually represent development over the years.

This resource is the answer to all geography teachers' concerns on cementing the position of geography at the centre of the school curriculum.

Written by Charles Rawding - "Silver Award Winner 2008, The Geographical Association"

Geography lesson plan: Improving a shanty town

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:26 +0100

This tried and tested geography exercise is stuctured to help pupils to develop their decision-making skills. This award-winning teaching resource contains ready-to-use slides and worksheets to stimulate thinking and discussion.

Geography lesson plan: Caribbean fishermen

scameron — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:28:24 +0100

This game is a simulation activity for all key stages, based around the lives of fishermen on a small Caribbean island.

The game can be used with as few or as many students as desired, and can be managed by a teacher or self-operated by pupils.

Written by Rex Walford

Dilemma-based learning in the humanities: integrating social, emotional and thinking skills

julia — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:27:10 +0100

Written by Phil Wood, Barry Hymer and Deb Michel

Dilemma-based learning in the humanities will help to develop understanding of how the dilemma-based learning framework can be applied to the secondary humanities classroom.

Using Games in School Geography

julia — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:27:10 +0100

A portfolio of tried and tested games and simulations

Reading Our Landscapes: Understanding Changing Geographies

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:27:09 +0100

Charles Rawding offers a narrative that will provide a stimulating discussion of current developments in geography while also providing an effective framework for developing a dynamic approach to the delivery of geography in the classroom.

Re-presenting Geography

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:27:04 +0100

The approach of Re-presenting Geography incorporates many ideas from cultural geography which are now central to the main thrust of secondary school geography and are as relevant at Key Stages 3 and 4 as at Advanced level.

Teaching Geography in Primary Schools

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:27:03 +0100

Fran Martin introduces Teaching Geography in Primary Schools in such a way that prior knowledge in the subject is not essential to becoming a successful teacher of geography — yet the outcome is a rich geographical education. Teaching Geography in Primary Schools helps you to:

Thinking Through Geography 2nd edition

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:27:03 +0100

This book is about geography with a difference. Geography is a brilliant, exciting subject - at least it should be. However, our main concern is not with geography, it is with children's learning and that is the difference. Geography should assist learning, not just be a load of content to be delivered, and it is this fresh approach that has attracted so much acclaim. This book is as much about professional development as it is about providing direct teaching resources.

More Thinking Through Geography

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:27:03 +0100

Thinking skills are now firmly on the national educational agenda. As the straight-jacket of the National Curriculum is loosened step-by-step, there is more open debate about what the school curriculum is for. Geographers now increasingly recognise that the subject's position at the curricular 'cross-roads' is of increasing value in the achievement of broader educational goals than simply the acquisition of subject knowledge.

Lesson plans for key stage 2: Olympic Island

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:47 +0100

In 2008 there was a great deal in the media about Beijing and the accompanying human rights issues. Closer to home, the 2012 London Olympics are generating lots of debate on sustainable regeneration v capitalist exploitation. Sport has always been a great vehicle to engage the interest of young people and the Games have the added bonus of a background that goes beyond athletic achievement, encouraging the development of a sense of social justice and moral responsibility, as enshrined in the citizenship curriculum.

Sports world: South Africa

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:44 +0100

In 1992 I met an African National Congress sports spokesman exiled in London to discuss how the changing political situation might end South Africa’s isolation from world sport.

For a young boy who grew up in the English Midlands city of Worcester in the 1960s and whose first sporting hero was Worcestershire and England cricketer Basil D’Oliveira, I had always been dismayed by apartheid and the need for sporting sanctions against South Africa.

What does 'my space' look like?

ewtemp — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:20 +0100

From the places where they live to remote online spaces, young people are constantly working out the best way to navigate their worlds. They learn not only about their relationship with physical space but also the communities of which they are part and how they fit into them. PSHE and citizenship both address these needs by exploring a wide range of contemporary issues from local crime to global warming, but coordinators of these subjects might do well to consider how geographical thinking can support people in making sense of their complex existence.

Geography in the early years

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:04 +0100

Foundation Stage Curriculum

Knowledge and understanding of the world
A sense of place:
Observe, find out about, and identify features in the place they live and the natural world.
Find out about their environment, and talk about those features they like and dislike.

Exploration and investigation
Look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change.
Ask questions about why things happen and how things work.

Without geography, you are nowhere

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:52 +0100

I bumped into an old friend the other day, an assistant head at a local secondary school. ‘Got to tell you John – I put my head out of the office today and was almost mown down by Year 8! Of course I asked what was going on: “We’ve got geography!” they cried and rushed off down the corridor’.

Primary geography: is it falling off the map?

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:51 +0100

The name ‘geography’ is to some degree one of the problems besetting this subject. We hold environment weeks, look at habitats (science), develop recycling schemes and pick up litter (PSHE) and possibly run a citizenship programme, all of which involve geographical thinking and skills but are often recorded under another name. It may well be that geography as a subject holds bad memories for teachers: who amongst the older generation managed to solve the problem of what a packet station was or how many frost-free days were needed in Canada to grow wheat?

How can citizenship update geography?

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:46 +0100

Modern geography teaching presents an ideal opportunity for delivering citizenship at KS3 through studies of personal geographies and national identity. This article considers the role that geography can play in enabling pupils to learn about citizenship, first by assessing the ability of the geography curriculum to incorporate new objectives for citizenship learning, and then by outlining practical lesson activities through which these objectives can be met.

A role for geography?

Questions in geography

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:43 +0100

Questions are the backbone of communication between students and teachers in any classroom. We use questions to develop ideas, to challenge students, to quickly assess the level of understanding of a topic and to steer and ignite interest and thinking.

Geography intro

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:57:55 +0100

Geography teaching and learning is an area of innovation and exciting developments – from the everyday context of pupils' lives to global citizenship. As well as our award-winning geography resources from Chris Kington Publishing, we have free articles, materials and case studies to inform, update and inspire your school's experience of geography.