Geography
INTRODUCTION
Geography at Wright Robinson College aims to develop globally aware and environmentally conscious students, through a process of geographical enquiry and collaborative working in order to critically evaluate the world around them.
KS3/4 Curriculum Map
Curriculum in Year 7
Students will begin by laying the geographical foundations of human and physical geography whilst learning and practicing a range of geographical skills. Students will study the following: Becoming a geographer, The UK and Europe (both physical and human geography) and Africa (both physical and human geography).
How we assess:
| Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term | |
| Overview | To understand the makeup of the British Isles and to be able to locate Manchester on a local, regional and international scale. To be able to identify areas of the UK that are densely and sparsely populated. To be able to understand why the UK is HIC. |
Students will be assessed on their ability to describe coastal processes, and their ability to explain and evaluate coastal management techniques and flood prevention methods.
They will also be assessed on their explanation of the causes and effects of the deindustrialisation of Manchester |
Students will be assessed on their ability to describe the location and characteristics of different environments within Africa. They will also be assessed on their ability to explain and evaluate challenges and opportunities within Kenya. |
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How can parents help?
- Look out for any relevant geography in the news and discuss it with your child.
- Encourage your child to revise for key assessments.
Curriculum in Year 8
Students will build on the foundations learnt in year 7 whilst studying the following topics: Journey across the USA, Asia and Russia and the Arctic Circle.
How we assess:
| Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term | |
| Overview |
Students will be assessed on their ability to use maps and graphs to describe locations and patterns. They will be assessed on their ability to describe, explain, and evaluate human and physical geographical issues from a variety of locations around Asia. |
Students will be assessed on using maps to describe the location and characteristics of the Tundra and Taiga, and to describe the population density of Russia. They will be assessed on their ability to describe and explain the effects of the Chernobyl disaster, and their ability to explain why Russia is an NEE. |
Students will be assessed on their description of physical geographical processes. Their explanation of geographical events and the evaluation of the impacts of migration. |
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How can parents help?
- Encourage students to revise for key assessments
- Encourage students to watch the news and discuss any relevant geographical issues with them.
Curriculum in Year 9
Students will continue the building blocks from year 7 and 8 and will study the following topics: the geography of health, the Middle East and conflict, global ecosystems and sustainability goals.
How we assess:
The causes and effects of the growth of Dubai
| Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term |
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Students will be assessed on their ability to use maps and graphs to describe variations of health around the UK, and to describe patterns in the spread of diseases such as Malria and Ebola. They will be assessed on the ability to explain why there is health inequality within the UK and around the world. |
Students will be assessed on their ability to explain the causes and consequences of the growth of Dubai, on their ability to explain the effects of the Afghanistan conflict and to evaluate the impacts of the Syrian refugee crisis. | Students will be assessed on their ability to use maps to locate the worlds ecosystems and their explanations of how people are impacting them. |
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How can parents help?
- Encourage them to revise for key assessments
- Encourage them to read about topical issues such as deforestation
Curriculum in year 10 and 11
At KS4 students will complete a 2 year GCSE following the AQA GCSE Geography A specification, studying geography 6 hours a fortnight.
The geography GCSE is assessed by 3 written examinations at the end of year 11, the examinations are weighted as follows.
- Paper 1 Living with the Physical environment - 35%
- Paper 2 Challenges with the Human environment - 35%
- Paper 3 Geographical Applications - 30%
In year 10 students will focus on physical geography. Students start the year by studying The Challenge of Natural Hazards as part of paper 1. This will include tectonic hazards, atmospheric hazards and climate change. They continue working towards Paper 1 by studying Physical Landscapes of the UK, where they will study coastal processes and landscapes, coastal management, river processes and landforms, as well as issues of flooding in the UK. They will also complete their physical fieldwork enquiry, studying longshore drift along the north west coastline. Finally they will study The living world, where they will focus on rainforests and desert environments.
In year 11 students work towards paper 2, challenges of the human environment. They start by studying Urban change, where they look at 2 contrasting cities, Manchester and Lagos, Nigeria, during this SOW they also complete their second piece of fieldwork where they investigate varying levels of quality of life around Manchester. Students then study Economic Change where they gain an understanding of development within the UK and Nigeria. Finally students study the challenge of resource management, where they focus on the challenge of meeting the worlds increasing demand for energy.
How we assess:
| Autumn Term Year 10 | Spring Term Year 10 | Summer Term Year 10 | |
| Overview |
Students will study the causes, effects and responses of tectonic and atmospheric hazards and climate change. They will be assessed on the following skills; describing locations, patterns and processes, and explaining and evaluating the causes, effects and responses to examples of natural hazards. |
Students will study the processes of erosion, transportation and deposition and be able to use these to explain how coastal and fluvial landforms occur. They will study coastal and river management techniques and will be assessed on their understanding and ability to evaluate these techniques. |
Students will complete their first piece of fieldwork, this is based on coasts.
They will also study The Challenge of Resource Management, with a focus on energy. |
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They will be assessed on the following skills;
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They will be assessed on the following skills;
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They will be assessed on the following skills;
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Autumn Term Year 11 |
Spring Term Year 11 |
Summer Term Year 11 |
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| Overview |
Students will study the impacts of growth of both Manchester and Lagos, and will gain an understanding of the opportunities and challenges of living in both cities.
Students will also complete their second piece of fieldwork on Manchester. |
Students will study Economic change, looking at the development of the UK and Nigeria.
Students will also study The Living World.
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Decision making paper. A booklet is released by AQA at the end of March. Students will them spend 6 lessons studying the contents. |
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Using maps and graphs to describe locations and patterns
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Students are assessed on their ability to take knowledge from the 6 core units, and apply it to a new case study. |
How can parents help?
- Ensure students are interacting with the geography PiXL app
- Encourage students to use BBC Bitesize and revision guides
- Encourage students to revise for key assessments.