Geography
“Geography underpins a lifelong ‘conversation’ about the earth as the home of humankind.”
Geographical Association
The study of geography stimulates an interest in, and a sense of wonder about, places. It helps young people make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world. It explains where places are, how places and landscapes are formed, how people and their environment interact and how a diverse range of economies, societies and environments are interconnected. It builds on pupils' own experiences to investigate places at all scales; from the personal to the global.
“Geography encourages questioning, investigation and critical thinking about issues affecting the world and people's lives, now and in the future. Fieldwork is an essential element of this. Pupils learn to think spatially and use maps, visual images and new technologies to obtain, present and analyse information. Geography inspires pupils to become global citizens by exploring their own place in the world, their values and their responsibilities to other people, to the environment and to the sustainability of the planet” - Geographical Association
Geography underpins a lifelong ‘conversation’ about the earth as the home of humankind. Geography therefore contributes to a balanced education for all our students at Bordesley Green Girls’ School.
Geography is challenging, motivating, extremely topical and engaging. In our diverse society students need, more than ever before, to understand other people and cultures.
The Geography Department at Bordesley Green Girls' School and Sixth Form believes that geographical knowledge, concepts and skills are essential components of a broad and balanced curriculum. Geography makes a major contribution to students’ physical, intellectual, social and emotional development, what other subject tells us so much about the great issues of our age?
Geography must be a rigorous study of the real world. It must seek explanations about how the world works and help us think about alternative futures.
Students who study Geography at B.G.G.S will be well-rounded individuals, developing many transferable skills from across the curriculum. They display empathy towards others and can critically think about issues facing the world and apply them across a range of geographical scales. The students will perceive their place in the world and take the knowledge and understanding gained into their future.
‘Geography is concerned with the study of places, the human and physical processes which shape them and the people who live in them. It helps students to make sense of their surroundings and to gain a better appreciation and understanding of the variety of physical and human conditions on the earth’s surface.’ KS3 to KS5 Geography at BGGS will engage and develop students’ skills and knowledge and provide an excellent platform for their future education and careers.
KS3 Geography Year 7
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Term |
Topic/ Key Enquiry Question |
Type of Assessment |
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Autumn |
What is Geography? 1. What skills do Geographers need? 2. Longitude and Latitude 3. Grid References 4. Scatter graphs 5. Bar Charts 6. Climate Graphs 7. Pie Charts 8. Choropleth maps 9. Mean, Median and Mode 10. Inter Quartile Range 11. Isoline Maps 12. Rose Diagrams 13. Geographical Information Systems 14. Litter Investigation-Introduction to Fieldwork Skills 15. Revision |
Exam Style Assessment- 1-hour duration Percentage mark given and marks aligned to KS3 Grading-Emerging, Developing, Secure, Excellence. |
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Spring |
Geography Rocks? The Rock Cycle. What are the essential ingredients to our world? 1. Overview of the Rock Cycle 2 What are Igneous Rocks? 3. What is Weathering? 4. What is Transport and Erosion 5. What are Sedimentary Rocks? 6. What are Metamorphic Rocks? 7. What do we mean by Geological time?
8. Volcanic Eruption-Case Study impacts and responses. Settlement 1. What is a Settlement? 2. What is the function of a settlement? 3. What is the Burgess Model? 4. Where do People live in the UK? 5. Challenges in Urban areas in the UK? 6. Challenges in Urban areas elsewhere in the World? Case Study-Kibera, Kenya? 7. Challenges in Urban areas elsewhere in the World? Case Study-Dubai? 8. Urban Regeneration? UK case study. 9. Revision
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Exam Style Assessment- 1-hour duration Percentage mark given and marks aligned to Ks3 Grading-Emerging, Developing, Secure, Excellence. |
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Summer |
Globalisation 1. What is Globalisation? 2. What are TNCs? 3. Local v Global, What ids better? 4. Is Globalisation a good thing? 5. What is really in a cup of coffee? 6. Where does our food come from? 7. Case Study-India, has India profited from Globalisation or not? Economic Activity 1. What kinds of work do people do in the UK? 2. How has the UK’s employment structure changed since 1800? 3. How does the UK’s employment structure differ to that of other countries in the world? 4. Why did some of the UK’s factory jobs go overseas over time? 5. Where did Toyota choose for the location of their car factory in the late 1980’s? 6. How important is tourism to a country’s economy? 7. 7. Do the benefits brought by tourism outweigh the disadvantages? 8. Is industrialisation a good thing for Bangladesh? 9. Should HS2 (High Speed 2) have been given the go-ahead 10. Revision |
Assessment: ‘Globalisation is a good thing’ Discuss the reasons for and against globalisation. Levelled marking criteria to credit explanation of globalisation, use of examples, range of positive and negative effects, use of own opinion, justifications for own opinion and use of key terms. Assessment- End of Year assessment module will consist of a mixture of extended written questions with higher order command words such as ‘Explain’ ‘Evaluate’ ‘Discuss’ ‘Justify’ Skills questions to test students ability to read OS maps Completing graphs and charts to develop skills Numeracy based questions to develop statistical skills. |
KS3 Geography Year 8
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Term |
Topic/ Key Enquiry Question |
Type of Assessment |
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Autumn |
Population and Resources? 1. Where do People Live? 2. Population Structure 3. Controlling Population, (two lessons) 4. What is an Ageing Population? 5. Migration 6. Water, water everywhere. 7. Water wars! 8. Why is Oil so important? 9. Is Fracking good for the UK?-3 lessons including project assessment. Rivers and Flooding? 1. What is the Water Cycle and how does it work? 2. River profiles, upper, middle and lower course? 3. What is Erosion? 4. Erosional landforms? 5. Transportation and Deposition 6. Meanders? 7. Extreme weather events-flooding UK 8. Extreme weather events-flooding-World 9. Flood Management 10. Revision 11. Assessment |
Project assessment, where students have set questions which they have to research. Percentage mark given and marks aligned to KS3 Grading-Emerging, Developing, Secure, Excellence. |
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Spring |
Russia 1. Introduction to Russia 2. Physical Geography of Russia 3. Climate of Russia 4. Population of Russia. 5. Rural v Urban population. 6. Russia and the environment. 7. Chernobyl-a Nuclear disaster. 8. Russia and conflict in the Ukraine. 9. Russia in our lives 10. Tourism in Russia. 11. Assessment Tectonics 1. Structure of the earth 2. Where do earthquakes and volcanoes occur? 3. Destructive plate boundaries 4. Effects of volcanoes-destructive plates 5. Constructive Plate boundaries 6. Effects of volcanoes-constructive plates 7. Conservative plate boundaries 8. Effects of earthquakes-conservative plates 9. Managing Tectonic hazards 10. Revision 11. Assessment |
Exam Style Assessment- 1-hour duration Percentage mark given and marks aligned to Ks3 Grading-Emerging, Developing, Secure, Excellence. |
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Summer |
Uneven Development 1. What are our perceptions of rich and poor places? 2. What does Uneven Development mean? 3. What is the evidence for Uneven Development? 4. Why does Uneven Development exist today? 5. What needs to be done to reduce Uneven Development? 6. What are the MDGs? 7. What is effective aid? 8. Is the Development gap widening or narrowing? 9. How fair are trading terms? 10. How am I and where I live linked to global development? Weather and Climate 1 .What are tropical storms? 2. What are climate zones? 3. What is Britain’s climate like? 4. Extreme weather in the UK? 5. Why does it rain so much in Britain? 6. Where doesn’t it rain? 7. The Thar Desert. 8. What is global warming? 9. What are the impacts of Global Warming? 10. Revision 11. Assessment |
Assessment- End of Year assessment module will consist of a mixture of extended written questions with higher order command words such as ‘Explain’ ‘Evaluate’ ‘Discuss’ ‘Justify’ Skills questions to test students ability to read OS maps Completing graphs and charts to develop skills Numeracy based questions to develop statistical skills. |
KS3 Geography Year 9
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Term |
Topic/ Key Enquiry Question |
Type of Assessment |
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Autumn |
China and Japan 1. What are China and Japan like? 2. What are the effects of Tectonic events in China?. 3. What are the effects of Tectonic events in Japan? 4. How does flooding threaten lives in China and Japan? 5. What are the challenges and opportunities in Japan? 6. What are the challenges and opportunities in China? 7. What is Japan doing to tackle climate change? 8. What is the environmental impact of China's rapid industrialisation? 9. Revision 10. Assessment 11. DIRT Coasts 1. How do waves and tides work? 2. How is the coast shaped by a number of different physical processes? 3. What factors influence the rate of coastal erosion? 4. How does coastal erosion create distinctive landforms? 5. How does deposition create distinctive coastal landforms? 6. How can we identify coastal landforms from Ordnance survey maps? 7. Why do coasts need managing and what are the options available? 8. To what extent have the management schemes at a named stretch of UK coast been a success? 9. Revision & Assessment |
Project assessment, where students have set questions which they have to research. Percentage mark given and marks aligned to KS3 Grading-Emerging, Developing, Secure, Excellence. |
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Spring |
Extreme Environments 1. What are extreme environments? 2. Why is it so cold? 3. The coldest place on Earth? Discovering Antarctica? ICT Case Study 4. Formation of a glacier? 5.. Processes of Glaciation 6. Glaciers formed by Deposition 7. Hot Deserts. 8. The Sahara Desert 9. The hottest place on earth - Death Valley 10. Water in extreme environments. 11. UK and extreme environments. 12. Revision 13. Assessment. 14. DIRT India 1. What is India like? 2. What is India’s climate like? 3. How does flooding threaten lives in India? 4. Deforestation in Nepal 5. How is urbanisation changing lives in Karnataka in India? 2 lessons 6. TNCs in India? 7. Tourism in India 8. How has development affected the environment of India? 9. Revision 10. Assessment |
Exam Style Assessment- 1-hour duration Percentage mark given and marks aligned to Ks3 Grading-Emerging, Developing, Secure, Excellence. |
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Summer |
Climate Change 1. Why is our climate changing? 2. Greenhouse Gases 3. What is the evidence for Climate Change? 4. What are the human causes of Climate Change? 5. How will Climate Change affect our planet? 6. How will Climate Change affect our planet 2? 7. Somerset ICT Enquiry 8. Why does flooding occur? Impacts of Climate Change World - Bangladesh 9. How can we manage Climate Change? 10. How can we become more sustainable in our energy use? 11. End of Unit Assessment GCSE preparation - Tectonic Hazards 1. What are our perceptions of rich and poor places? 2. What does Uneven Development mean? 3. What is the evidence for Uneven Development? 4. Why does Uneven Development exist today? 5. What needs to be done to reduce Uneven Development? 6. What are the MDGs? 7. What is effective aid? 8. Is the Development gap widening or narrowing? 9. How fair are trading terms? 10. How am I and where I live linked to global development? |
Assessment- End of Year assessment module will consist of a mixture of extended written questions with higher order command words such as ‘Explain’ ‘Evaluate’ ‘Discuss’ ‘Justify’ Skills questions to test students ability to read OS maps Completing graphs and charts to develop skills Numeracy based questions to develop statistical skills. |
KS4 Geography Year 10 - Year 1
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Spring |
Resource Management 1. Global distribution of resources 2. Provision of food in the UK 3. Provision of water in the UK. 4. Provision of energy in the UK 5. Supplying enough water in UK-case study 6. Global water supply 7. Water insecurity. 8. How can global water be increased? 9. World Case Study 10. Tropical Storms case Study-HIC 11. Sustainable water supply 12. World Case Study? 13. Two visions for the future 14. Revision 15. Assessment
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Assessment- End of Term assessment module will consist of a mixture of extended written questions with higher order command words such as ‘Explain’ ‘Evaluate’ ‘Discuss’ ‘Justify’ Skills questions to test student’s ability |
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Summer |
Living World 1. Introduction to the Living World. 2. How does change affect eco-systems 3. Global Eco-systems. 4. Rainforests 5. Deforestation in Malaysia (world case study) 6. The impact of deforestation. 7. ICT Managing Tropical Rainforests 8. Sustainable management of Tropical rainforests 9. Hot Deserts 10. Opportunities in Hot Deserts 11. Challenges of Living in Hot Deserts 12. Desertification 13. Reducing Desertification 14. Strategies to reduce Desertification 15. Planet earth-Deserts 16. Revision & Assessment |
Assessment- End of Year assessment module will consist of a mixture of extended written questions with higher order command words such as ‘Explain’ ‘Evaluate’ ‘Discuss’ ‘Justify’ Skills questions to test student’s ability |
KS5 Geography Year 12 - Year 1
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Term |
Topic/ Key Enquiry Question |
Type of Assessment |
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Autumn-Year 1 |
Tectonic processes and Hazards Players and Attitudes and Actions 1. Natural Hazards and Disasters. 2. Plate Tectonics 3. Understanding earthquakes. 4. Understanding Volcanic eruptions. 5. Understanding tsunami 6. Why do some natural hazards become disasters? 7. Governance and natural disasters 8. Geophysical disaster trends and hazard profiles 9. Multiple hazard zones 10. Hazard Management Theoretical models 11. Managing the impacts of tectonic hazards. 12. Futures and Uncertainties 13. Revision 14. Assessment Coastal Landscapes and Change Players and Attitudes and Actions 1. Coastal Landscapes and systems. 2. Geology and the coast 3. Waves and Beaches. 4. Coastal erosion-processes and landforms. 5. Coastal Transport and Deposition. 6. Weathering and mass Movement at the Coast 7. Sea Level Change 8. Holderness and coastal erosion 9. Coastal Flooding 10. Managing coastal erosion and flooding 11. Managing coasts in a holistic way 12. Futures and Uncertainties 13. Revision and Assessment |
A Level exam style assessment |
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Spring-Year 1 |
The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity Players and Attitudes and Actions 1. Global Water Budget 2. The Drainage Basin 3. Water budget and River regimes 4. Storm Hydrographs 5. Causes of Drought. 6. Human Impact on drought 7. Water Cycle Surpluses. 8. Impacts of flooding 9. Climate Change and the Hydrological cycle 10. Future Climate change 11. Global Water Insecurity 12. What are the causes of Global Water Insecurity 13. Demand and Insecurity 14. Risks of Insecurity 15. Water Conflicts 16. Hard Engineering 17. Water Management 18. Revision 19. Assessment Globalisation Players and Attitudes and Actions 1. What is Globalisation & the Acceleration of Globalisation 2. Transport, trade, ICT and mobile phones 3. International Organisations and Governments 4. SEZs, FDIs and Subsidies 5. Measuring Globalisation 6. TNCs 7. Switched Off Places 8. Global Interconnections 9. Global Shift Winners and Losers 10. Leicester 11. Impact on Urbanisation 12. International Migration 13. Cultural Diffusion 14. Impacts of Cultural Diffusion 15. Measuring Globalisation 16. Globalisation Winners and losers 17. Tensions over Globalisation 18. Resistance to Globalisation and Jumble Wild-p1 19. Resistance to Globalisation and Jumble Wild-p2 20. Exam Practice Lesson 21. Assessment Physical and Human Geography Fieldwork Trip 4 days Human and Physical Fieldwork and the Independent Investigation 1. Introducing the Independent Investigation 2. Devising a focus and title 3. Planning and writing the introduction 4. Planning your fieldwork methodology 5. Presenting your data 6. Analysing data 7. Analysing qualitative data 8. Writing your conclusion 9. Writing your evaluation and finalising your enquiry |
A Level exam style assessment |
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Summer-Year 1 |
KS5 Geography Year 13-Year 2 Content Regenerating Places Players Attitudes and Actions 1. Thinking about Places 2. Understanding your Place 3. Changing Places-London’s East End 4. Investigating places 5. Successful places? 6. Engaging with Places 7. Investigating the need for Regeneration 8. The role of government in regeneration 9. Regenerating rural places 10. Regenerating urban places 11. Regeneration-how successful 12. Urban regeneration the players 13. Rural regeneration the players 14. Revision 15. Assessment 16. Physical/Human geography Fieldwork visit 17. Physical/Human Geography Fieldwork study write up 18. Fieldwork NEA Proposals |
A Level exam style assessment
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Autumn-Year 2 |
Carbon Cycle and Energy Security Players and Attitudes and Actions 1. 2015 - the year it all changed. 2. The Carbon Cycle 3. Carbon sequestration. 4. A balanced carbon cycle. 5. Energy security 6. Fossil fuels-still the norm 7. Alternatives to fossil fuels. 8. Threats to the Carbon and Water cycles. 9. Degrading the Carbon and Water Cycles 10. Responding to climate change 11. Revisiting the Enquiry Questions 12. Books, music and films 13. Revision 14. Assessment 15. Re-visit NEA fieldwork |
Assessment- End of term assessment module will consist of a mixture of extended written questions with higher order command words such as ‘Explain’ ‘Evaluate’ ‘Discuss’ ‘Justify’ Skills questions to test student’s ability |
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Spring Year 2 |
Migration, Identity and Sovereignty Players, Attitudes and Actions. 1. A National game? 2. Globalisation and Migration 3. The causes of Migration 4. The consequences of international migration. 5. Nation states and borders 6. Nationalism in the modern world 7. Globalisation and the growth of new types of states 8. The role and importance of the United nations 9. The role of IGOs in trade and finance 10. The role of IGOs in managing global environmental problems 11. The concept of national identity 12. Challenges to national identity 13. Disunity within nations 14. Revisiting the Enquiry Questions 15. Books, music, and films 16. Revision and Assessment Superpowers) Players Attitudes and Actions 1. Making an impact 2. What is a Superpower? 3. Changing patterns of power. 4. Emerging Superpowers 5. Global Networking 6. Players in international decision making. 7. Superpowers and the environment 8. Contested places. 9. Contesting global influence 10. Challenges for the future. 11. Revisiting the Enquiry Questions 12. Revision 13. Assessment Completed NEA Fieldwork handed in from Students. |
Assessment- End of term assessment module will consist of a mixture of extended written questions with higher order command words such as ‘Explain’ ‘Evaluate’ ‘Discuss’ ‘Justify’ Skills questions to test student’s ability. |
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Summer |
A Level Examinations |
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How we assess the impact of what your child is taught:
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GEOGRAPHY |
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How will classwork be marked/ monitored/ graded/ self-assessed? |
KS3 |
Tick marked/self-assessed every 3 weeks. WWW (What Worked Well) & EBI (Even Better If…) used. |
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KS4 |
Tick marked/self-assessed every 3 weeks. Tick marked/self-assessed every 3 weeks minimum. WWW (What Worked Well) & EBI (Even Better If…) used. |
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KS5 |
Exam questions and spot check of notes completion. Marked questions will receive feedback. Tick marked/self-assessed every 3 weeks minimum. WWW (What Worked Well) & EBI (Even Better If…) used. |
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What classwork will be marked? |
KS3 |
All content and homework tick marked with Geography stamp or stickers and/or marking codes. WWW (What Worked Well) & EBI (Even Better If…) used and students asked to respond to EBI accordingly. |
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KS4 |
All content and homework tick marked with Geography stamp or stickers and/or marking codes |
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KS5 |
Exam questions only and spot check of notes completion. |
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How will students ‘reflect’ on marking/ feedback? |
KS3 |
Complete DIRT sheets in green pen following assessments & correct mistakes in green pen Peer and self-assessment used. Students will respond to EBI comments in exercise books. |
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KS4 |
Complete DIRT sheets in green pen following assessments Correct mistakes in green pen Peer and self-assessment used. Students will respond to EBI (Even Better If…) comments in exercise books. |
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KS5 |
After longer style exam questions /essays, students will receive feedback and/or be given opportunity to reflect and change content at least once every half term. |
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How will Homework be marked/ monitored/ graded? |
KS3: |
Regular homework will be checked weekly for completion and accuracy. Homework will be marked with WWW (What Worked Well) & EBI (Even Better If…) and students encouraged to respond to EBI. |
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KS4: |
Regular homework will be checked weekly for completion and accuracy. Exam questions will be commented on and graded/scored. |
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KS5: |
Essays will be graded/scored and commented on |
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What are the formal Assessments? When are they marked? |
All assessment completed will be marked and students given DIRT time to reflect on feedback, mark schemes to improve their answers. This applies to KS3, KS4 and KS5. Formal assessment includes KS3-end of unit tests. Past GCSE exam paper for KS4/mock exams in December for KS4 and January for KS5. KS5: End of unit tests, graded and teacher comments given, self -assessment and peer assessment as necessary. |
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