Geography
Sixes (year 4) Our
aim in the Sixes is to introduce the boys to Geography and help them to form an
appreciation of the breadth of this subject.
We hope to engender an appreciation of their local area and a wider understanding
of geographical issues and concerns. We
will be encouraging the development of good study skills by using a variety of
resources and learning situations. Michaelmas Term This
term we will introduce the boys to the 3 strands of Geography – human
geography, physical geography and environmental geography. This will be followed by an investigation of
our local area where we will mainly focus on the physical aspects of the school
environs. The boys will be introduced to
map skills at this stage and will have a chance to create their own land-use
maps. Easter Term This
term we will be looking more closely at a human geography theme and will be
investigating a variety of jobs, the location of local businesses and will also
look at our local community in a little more detail. This will lead onto our first mini-fieldtrip
where we will take the boys into Wokingham to investigate local transport
issues. Summer Term This
term we will be investigating the management of our local environment with
particular reference to Gorick Wood. We
aim to give the boys an understanding of the resources available in our local
environment, how these resources are used and how they might best be protected. This will be a more issues-based topic giving
the boys an opportunity for some debate about how we manage our environment. Field Trips School
grounds Wokingham
traffic survey Visit
to Gorrick Wood Fours (year 5) This
year we aim to broaden our horizons and begin to investigate geographical
issues on a more global scale. We will
be continuing to develop the mapping and investigative skills introduced in the
first year and hope that the boys begin to develop their geographical enquiry
skills. Mapwork will continue to be an
integral part of our studies this year. Michaelmas Term This
term we will be introducing the boys to the global environment. We will be investigating the characteristics
of various climate zones, accounting for their distribution and, with
particular reference to the desert environment, investigating the adaptations
made by plants, animals and people. We
will follow on from this with a more detailed weather study of our own climate
zone where we will look at weather patterns and forecasting in the UK, and use
the school weather station to complete a weather diary for the term. Easter Term We
will start this term with a unit of work on settlements. We will investigate reasons for settlement
locations, patterns of settlements and the growth of settlements. Included in this unit will be a decision
making exercise where the boys will be asked to investigate the growth of
Wokingham in more detail and decide where to put extra housing and a new
by-pass (both hot local topics!). Following
on from this we will be comparing and contrasting a local village with a
village in Kenya. This study will tie
together strands from both the climate work and the settlement work carried out
earlier in the year. Summer Term This
term we will be studying industry – the boys will look at a range of jobs and
be taught to categorize them. This will
lead into a more detailed study of a primary industry. We will learn about the factors that affect
the location of different types of farming and what these different types of
farming are. The boys will be taken on a
fieldtrip to Gray’s Farm to see market gardening in action. Field Trips Wokingham Virtual
fieldtrip to Kenya via Google Earth Gray’s
Farm
Threes (year 6) The
programme of study this year is more issues based and we hope to get the boys
thinking in more depth about some of the differences between the rich world and
the poor world. We also hope that by
introducing some more in-depth investigations this year that the boys will
begin to become more independent in their learning. They should be able to ask geographical
questions, identify and explain different views that people hold about topical
geographical issues and communicate this in an appropriate way. This year we also spend some time developing
their OS map skills. Michaelmas Term The
first half of this term will be focussed on map skills. We will introduce the boys in more detail to
OS maps and teach them to read scales, grid references and to identify key
features in both rural and urban areas.
These skills are vital for Common Entrance and we will be laying the
foundations for the course which starts next year. In the second half of the term we will teach
a unit on natural hazards. We will look
at the differences between natural and man-made hazards, compare the impact of
hazards on LEDC’s and MEDC’s and discuss how the consequences can be
managed. This will lead into a decision
making exercise where the boys will decide how best to protect an alpine
village from an avalanche hazard. Easter Term This
term we will investigate settlement on a more global scale and look at the
development and growth of cities, particularly in the developing world. We will look at the reasons for rapid urban
growth, and the consequences. For the
second half of this term we will be linking the developing world with the
developed world by tracking the production of chocolate from source to shop. Summer Term This
term we re-visit the environmental strand of this subject and investigate the
exploitation of natural resources for tourism.
We will look at the reasons why certain areas attract tourists, the
problems they create and how the environment can be managed. We will be visiting Lulworth Cove in Dorset
to provide the boys with a real life example of these issues.
Field Trips Avalanche
day – mock up of an avalanche and how to protect against its effects Lulworth
Cove
Shell/Remove/II (Year 7) Until
now the boys have been given a grounding in the subject and developing an
interest in the world around them at local and international scale. Now we
begin the actual Common Entrance syllabus and train the boys to achieve a high
grade in the examination. We aim to encourage the boys to use a range of
geographical enquiry skills to develop their knowledge and understanding of
places, patterns, processes, environmental change and sustainable development. Michaelmas Term Geomorphological Processes a)
An elementary knowledge of physical,
chemical and biological weathering, the distinction between weathering and
erosion, and the role of rock type in weathering. b)
The processes of river erosion,
transportation, deposition; the development of associated landforms such as
valleys, floodplains, meanders, waterfalls and gorges. c)
The causes and effects of river
flooding, and how people respond to and seek to control the flood hazard. d)
Coastal landforms and the processes
that form them; the role of rock type and structure in the formation of coastal
landforms. e)
The causes and effects of either cliff
collapse or coastal flooding, and how people respond to and try to control the
hazard. Easter Term Tectonic Processes a)
The global distribution of earthquakes
and volcanoes and how these are related to the boundaries of crustal plates b)
The nature and causes of volcanoes and volcanic landforms (
the formation of craters, cones and lava flows) c)
The effects of volcanoes and how humans
respond to the volcanic hazard. d)
The nature and causes of earthquakes. The
effects of earthquakes and how humans respond to the hazard Summer Term Weather and Climate a)
How weather and climate differs. b)
The effects of relief, convection and
fronts on rainfall. c)
How site conditions can influence
surface temperatures and effect wind speed and direction d)
Seasonal variation in weather and
climate, to be studied with reference to a humid temperate climate( British
Isles) and a humid tropical climate (equatorial rain forests) e)
The components and links within the
hydrological cycle including evaporation, condensation, transpiration,
precipitation and run-off. Case Studies Mt
Etna, Japanese earthquake, Haiti, Nevada del Ruiz Hurricane
Katrina
Top Year (Year 8) We
begin the year by making an extended fieldtrip to Dartmoor, to study the river
Dart and other environmental issues. On returning to school the boys complete
their individual project with makes up 20% of their final mark. We then
complete the syllabus and then concentrate on revision and examination
technique in the build up to their final exam early in June. Michaelmas Term Fieldwork Investigation Boys
should demonstrate: a)
a planned enquiry b)
First hand data collection c)
Use of secondary sources where appropriate. Economic Activities a)
The differences between primary,
secondary and tertiary industries. b)
The factors that effect the development
and distribution of one type of farming and one type of industry. (Sheep
farming, car industry) c)
Changes in the distribution of the
selected economic activities and the effects such changes have had on people.
Easter Term Environmental Issues a)
Areas of great scenic attraction; the
conflicting demands that are made on such areas and the issues that arise.
Examples should be selected at different scales and from different countries
(protecting a nature reserve, an historic house, a stretch of coastline, a
national park). b)
The attempts made to plan and manage
such environments and how these may have unintended affects (footpath erosion). c)
How considerations of sustainable
development, stewardship and conservation may affect environmental planning and
management. Summer Term Revision Complete
a revision of the five themes of the syllabus and also global location and map work,
giving practice C.E. papers and going through best possible answers.
Field Trips Dartmoor
Case Studies – Toyota; sheep farming; Dartmeet Useful websites – GCSE Bitesize; S-cool revision
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