KS3 Geography
Aim
The main aim of our geography curriculum is to create ‘lifelong geographers’. Our curriculum is intended to create well-rounded, resilient, liberal geographers through direct teacher instruction that allows pupils to be open, and seeks to develop a sense of place to help students make sense of their surroundings. Pupils will also gain a greater appreciation of the variety of physical and human conditions on the Earth’s surface.
Year | What will I learn? | What will I do? |
7 | Term 1
What does a geographer do? · Atlases, World Maps, Map Skills, Continents, Oceans and seas, Geography of the UK
How does the geography of Wigan impact the population? · Human and physical Features, Coal Mining, Job opportunities – Employment structure – Primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary
Term 2 Can we ever know enough about plate tectonics to live safely? · Geological timescales, theory of continental drift, plate boundaries, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, recent examples of each, surviving earthquakes
How is India being transformed? · Global Population growth and change, Focus on India, Physical Geography of India, Level of development, Slums, Challenges and Opportunities, Sustainable solutions to growth
Term 3 What happens where the land meets the sea?
|
· Map skills.
· Learn to speak like a geographer · Drawing maps including choropleth maps. · Creating line graphs, bar graphs, scatter graphs, pie charts. · Learn to deeper, more meaningful questions · Explore a brief history of Wigan and how it has shaped the present day · Annotating graphs and photos. · Establish how India has developed to become a global superpower and the challenges and opportunities it experiences · Understand the complexities of coastal processes and how the shape physical features along the coast |
8 | Term 1
Is Deanery High School Sustainable? · What is sustainability? Sustainable aspect of Wigan Town, School Based Fieldwork and Data collection, Environmental quality survey, land use maps, data presentation and analysis
What is the difference between Weather and Climate? · Historic Changes in climate from Ice Age to present. Climate Zones, Factors of influence, Types of weather. How to measure the weather. Forecasting,
Term 2 How does Ice change the world? · Types of Glacial Erosion · Processes, Glaciers under threat · Impacts of melting glaciers, National Parks, Conflict at the glacier
Term 3 Why is the Middle East important? · Physical Geography of the Middle East, Biomes, Ecosystems, · Life under the Taliban, Conflict in the Middle East (focus on Afghanistan) leading to uneven development in the region, Past and Future refugee crisis’
What are the challenges and opportunities in Africa? · Focus on Africa, Diversity, Culture, People in extreme environments, Blood Diamonds, International development, Employment structures, Country Focus: Nigeria |
· Site based fieldwork to determine how sustainable our school site is
· Map skills. · A full fieldwork investigation where you will risk assess and plan your own investigation. · You will collect and present your own data and draw conclusions about how sustainable we are as a school. · Understand the differences between weather and climate and how extreme weather impacts people · You will explore glacial areas all over the world from Switzerland, New Zealand and the Lake District and how they came to be · You will establish why the Middle East is such an important world region focusing on the physical geography of the area and also human aspects such as Life under the Taliban, the Afghan War and the resulting refugee crisis |
9 | Term 1
Is the geography of Asia a curse or benefit? · Biomes, Ecosystems, Food Webs/Chains · Focus – Rainforest – Borneo, Soil Features, Resources – Timber/Wood, Deforestation, Causes/Impacts, Polar landscape – Siberia, Russia, Desert, Mongolia
Why is South America becoming more significant? · Location, Diversity, Culture · Favela improvements · Biodiversity in the Galapagos, Venezuela food crisis, Journey through the Andes Mountains, Importance of the South American Drugs trade
Term 2 Can we ever know enough about the geography of disease? · How diseases spread, where diseases spread and why? Is it linked to inequality? · Disease Case Study, Responses to widespread disease
Why are Rivers important? · Water Cycle, Drainage Basin, River Valleys, River Features, Upper/Middle/Lower Course, Landforms, Flooding – India and Wigan example
Term 3 Does Deanery High School have its own Micro Climate? · What is a Micro Climate? School Based Fieldwork, Linking and comparing to a distant place using images and secondary data, data presentation and analysis |
· You will explore the human and physical geographies of Asia and how humans are using and often destroying the fragile ecosystems here and discover whether its rich biodiversity is more of a curse or benefit.
· You will understand the significance of countries and areas in South American and look at long established cultures and traditions and how they came to be · You will study the South American drugs trade and the impacts it has had in South America, positive and negative · You will learn how rivers are becoming more important and we become more aware of their power of destruction and why the frequency of major flood events is increasing. You will also look at the awesome power of river and the landforms that they create · You will explore why it is important to study the geography of disease and how and why diseases spread around the world. You will focus on the impacts of the Ebola epidemic in Africa and global responses to widespread disease · A fieldwork investigation where you will risk assess and plan your own investigation. · You will collect and present your own data and draw conclusions as to whether our school has a micro climate |
Co-Curricular Opportunities
At KS3 there is a Geo Club where we explore key geographical issues. This club is hands on, practical, and creative!
Every geography pupil at KS3 will be offered a day trip to a place that aligns with the topics we are studying.
After pupils choose Geography as an option they will be offered a trip to Italy.
How you can support your child’s progress
As well as ensuring your child completes their set homework, we encourage you to talk to your child as much as possible about what they are studying in their geography lessons and current events that are happening around the world.