Ebook teaching primary geography part 1

Teaching Primary Geography Teaching Primary Geography Simon Catling and Tessa Willy First published in 2009 by Learning Matters Ltd All rights reserved No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, st[.]

Teaching Primary

Geography

Teaching Primary

Geography

Simon Catling and Tessa Willy

First published in 2009 by Learning Matters Ltd.

All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from

Learning Matters

2009 Simon Catling and Tessa Willy

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84445 192 0

The right of Simon Catling and Tessa Willy to be identified as the Authors of this Work has been asserted by them in accordance with Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988

Cover design byTopics ^ The Creative Partnership

Text design by Code 5 Design Associates Ltd

Project management by Deer Park Productions,Tavistock

Typeset by PDQ Typesetting Ltd, Newcastle-under-Lyme

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell& Bain Ltd, Glasgow

Learning Matters Ltd

33 Southernhay East

Exeter EX11NX

Tel: 01392 215560

info@learningmatters.co.uk

www.learningmatters.co.uk

2 Valuing geography: the importance and nature of geography 9

3 Children’s geographies: experience, awareness and understanding 22

4 Exploring places: key ideas in understanding places 38

5 Exploring sustainability: environmental impact, sustainability and

7 Experiencing and visualising geography: fieldwork, photographs

8 In the beginning: geographical learning in the Early Years

11 Exploring global dimensions and non-UK localities 125

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13 Assessing geographical learning 156

14 Conclusion: developing learning in geographical education 170

Appendix 1: Some examples of geographical picture storybooks 184

Appendix 2: Examples of ICT in virtual fieldwork, mapwork and 186 communication

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The authors

Simon Catling taught in several primary schools in London before moving to Oxford

Brookes University, where he is Professor of Education and tutor in primary geography in

the Westminster Institute of Education Widely experienced in primary initial teacher

educa-tion, he has been Assistant Dean for programmes and research development In 1992–3 he

was President of the Geographical Association With more than 200 publications, he has

written for children, students, teachers and researchers on geographical education,

presented at national and international conferences, and contributed to developments in

primary geography and to teachers’ continuing professional development programmes His

interests include children’s geographies, sustainability education, and citizenship and social

justice in primary geography Currently, he is research leader in the Department of Early

Childhood and Primary Education

Tessa Willy is senior lecturer in primary geography initial teacher education at Roehampton

University Prior to this she was a primary teacher in a variety of different settings across the

country and a secondary school geography teacher in the UK as well as in Africa Her areas

of particular interest are in issues around the ethics of geography, notably climate change,

sustainability, social justice and global citizenship Currently she is developing an outdoor

environmental area at Roehampton University to be used as a model in initial teacher

education and continuing professional development for teachers

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The authors and publisher wish to acknowledge the sources of illustrations used in the book

Wendy North for the original of the diagram in Figure 2.1 on page 12

Paula Richardson and the Geographical Association for the idea for the fieldwork sites diagram in Figure 7.1 on page 75

QCA for the global dimension teaching opportunities in Figure 11.2 on page 129

Daphne Gunn, St Paul’s Church of England Primary School, Winchmore Hill, London for the example of children’s writing in Figure 13.1 on page 162

Diane Ramsey, National Junior School, Grantham for the peer-assessment example in Figure 13.2 on page 163

Paula Owens and the Geographical Association for the self-assessment chart in Table 13.1

on page 163

Sam Woodhouse and QCA for the level descriptions chart in Table 13.3 on pages 167

Other photographs were taken by the authors

The authors acknowledge the support of and offer our thanks to the children, teachers, students, teacher educators and others who have inspired our views on primary geography There are too many to name individually, but we must mention the stimulation and debate provided by members of the Geographical Association’s Early Years and Primary Committee and all those who have attended the Charney Manor Primary Geography Conferences over the years

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List of figures and tables

Figures

1.1 Ofsted perspectives on stimulating primary geography 2

5.4 Nine examples of approaches to environmental impact and sustainability 60

6.1 An enquiry sequence about a place or geographical issue 66

6.5 Effective geographical questions based in a school environment 71

7.5 A handmade trail for children to follow looking for clues in the local area 86

8.1 Examples of activities to develop geographical awareness in the Early Years 89

10.1 Aspects of localities to study across Early Years and primary geography 117

10.2 An example of core questions structuring a local geography topic 118

11.3 Distinctions between distant-place studies, the global dimension and global

11.4 Some possible teaching activities to use in a distant locality study 134

12.1 Planning for development in geographical studies of the school site 142

12.2 Expected progression in understanding of the global dimension 143

12.3 A Year 4 class-based lesson plan incorporating fieldwork – investigating

13.2 Children assessing their own work with support of the teacher 163

14.1 Key geographical outcomes for younger children by the end of Year 6 173

14.2 Possible core elements for the Foundation Stage and primary geography

14.3 Some areas in need of classroom research in primary geography 178

Tables

2.1 Questions to use in considering geographical significance 16

5.1 The key concepts of education for sustainable development 53

5.2 The ‘eight doorways’ of the Sustainable Schools Strategy 54

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7.1 Example of risk assessment 77

8.2 Five aspects of place play that support young children’s geographical learning 94 10.1 Possible links between geography and other curriculum subjects 120

11.1 The key ideas of the global dimension, sustainable development education

11.2 Activities to raise levels of local and global awareness 133

12.2 The rationale for a geography medium-term plan on mobility and access 144 12.3 The unit of work plan for an enquiry into mobility and access locally 146 13.1 Self-assessment criteria for a locality study in Year 4 163 13.2 Examples of geographical activities enabling teaching and assessment 164 13.3 The level descriptions and four main aspects of statutory content 167 14.1 An example of a Year 6 geography self-evaluation form 174 14.2 Five research methods to use in geographical education research 180

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We wish to dedicate this book to our patient and long-suffering partners,

Lesley and Terry, and especially to Tessa’s mum, Gilly, for her support and

encouragement, who sadly died during the writing of the book.

Simon Catling and Tessa Willy

xi

Teaching Primary Geography is part of the Achieving QTS series It has been written to

support the needs of Early Years and Primary initial trainee and newly qualified teachers, to

help you meet the Professional Standards for Teachers (TDA, 2007a, 2007b) These are

noted at the start of each chapter It provides a secure base for understanding and teaching

geography to younger children, as part of your preparation to achieve Qualified Teacher

Status (QTS)

Teaching Primary Geography covers the development of geography subject understanding

and of geography teaching capability, with attention given to how these two key aspects of

subject understanding and teaching support children’s progress in learning geography To

provide the best teaching for learning for children, you need a secure understanding of the

nature of geography, its curriculum requirements, how its teaching may be planned and

undertaken, a variety of the ways in which children’s geographical learning can be addressed

and assessed, and the variety of resources that can be used This book explores these

aspects of geography teaching

Teaching Primary Geography is organised in 14 chapters The first half of the book explores

what geography is and children’s geographical experience In the second half the focus is on

approaches to geography teaching, planning and assessment Chapter 1 outlines the state of

primary geography and notes some of the current influences on its future for children and

schools Chapter 2 examines geography as a subject and considers its role and value for us

all Understanding and appreciating its centrality to our lives is vital for our futures Chapter 3

examines the variety of children’s geographical experience, emphasising that children bring

geographical awareness and engagement into the classroom throughout their schooling

Chapters 4 and 5 look in greater detail at the ideas of place and environmental impact and

sustainability These are considered separately here but are brought together in later

chap-ters Chapter 6 explores geographical enquiry, while Chapter 7 considers fieldwork,

photographs and mapwork as key to geographical learning

Chapter 8 introduces the teaching and learning of geography in the Early Years Foundation

Stage key area ‘knowledge and understanding of the world’ Chapters 9, 10 and 11 look at

contexts for geographical learning and teaching to connect studies of place and

sustain-ability Chapters 12 and 13 provide advice about the planning and assessment of geography

teaching and learning Chapter 14 draws together aspects of children’s geographical

learn-ing, offers a basis for constructing the primary geography curriculum, and concludes on

matters related to researching primary geography

Throughout the book you will find, at different points, examples of geography teaching and

learning from across the primary age range, references to relevant research and guidance

and suggestions for geography topics Other elements include practical and reflective tasks

and examples of classroom practice

A key element of the Standards for QTS and the Core Standards is for you to keep up to date

with developments in the subjects you teach Geography sessions in your ITT course will

help you become aware of the subject in primary education For the sake of the children’s

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learning and development, you are responsible for developing your practice in teaching geography, just as in your other subject and cross-subject teaching Teaching Primary Geography can be used to help meet your early development needs for teaching geography, supporting you in the early years of your teaching career, as will the Geographical Association’s Early Years and Primary website and the Geography Teaching Today website (see the ends of the chapters and book)

Whether you already enjoy geography and have studied it in some depth or you come to it needing to be convinced of its relevance for primary children, we hope that you will find this book opens your eyes to a wider sense of what geography is about, how it can deepen children’s inherent geographical awareness and understanding, and how you can contribute confidently, effectively and excitedly, to their learning

Simon Catling Tessa Willy

xiv

Geography in primary schools

Chapter objectives

By the end of this chapter you should:

have developed an understanding of the situation of geography in primary schools;

be aware how geography’s teaching and learning can be enjoyed;

have reflected on your own experiences in learning geography;

be aware of various initiatives supporting primary geography’s future

This chapter addresses the following Professional Standards for QTS:

Q7(a), Q14, Q15

Introduction

Geography is a fascinating, invigorating and exciting subject It is fundamental to our under-standing and appreciation of the world in which we live, through our daily interactions and through the ways it impacts on us, though the causes may be far away This chapter begins

by considering the state of geography in our primary schools and what makes for stimulating and enjoyable teaching and learning It concludes by noting that various government initia-tives provide opportunities for geography’s role and development A variety of sources for you to use to follow up and develop your understanding are given at the end of this chapter

Geography in the primary curriculum

Following the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1989 (HMG, 1988) and geography’s first programmes of study in 1991 (DES, 1990, 1991), geography teaching was developed or reintroduced in primary schools Though primary teachers did not necessarily feel very confident about teaching geography at this time, considerable efforts were made by schools

to introduce and develop geography teaching While in the 1980s it had been a ‘Cinderella’ subject (DES, 1989), by the mid-1990s geography was a secure subject in the primary curriculum and teachers had made considerable progress from a very low base Real improvements in the quality of geography teaching and in children’s learning then levelled off towards the end of the 1990s (Ofsted, 1999) and remained static until the latter part of the first decade of the twenty-first century (Ofsted, 2008a)

Characteristics of good quality geography teaching

Well-taught geography is exciting and enjoyable, uses a variety of approaches to teaching, engages the children through topical matters and issues of interest which often relate to their experience, challenges their thinking, introduces them to new themes and ideas, and has high expectations of them A vital motivating factor for primary children is gathering material

at first hand, through learning outside the classroom This means undertaking fieldwork in the school grounds, in the local area and further afield The first quotation in Figure 1.1 reinforces this This practical approach is emphasised in the second quotation, where the children’s knowledge of their area is drawn out and enhanced through the use of the

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photographs and the floor map The third quotation, from the Ofsted lead geography inspec-tor, reinforces these points and notes the value of examining topical issues with primary children, such as concern about climate change and its possible impact Ofsted has noted various positive attitudes to the learning of geography that emerge from such studies

Children examine local planning issues and put forward development plans of their own

The initiation and use of links with schools elsewhere in the UK and in other countries involves children in exchanging local information and gaining insight into each other’s lives and communities

The investigation of topical events, as and when they occur (perhaps suspending the planned topic of study) – Hurricane Katrina in 2006, the various floods in the UK, Bangladesh and elsewhere in 2007, and the earthquake in China in 2008 – enables children to explore the natural processes involved, their impacts on people, and how people locally and elsewhere responded to and dealt with them

In successful schools, fieldwork, both local and beyond the locality, is an integral part of the teaching programme and so adds a practical element to the development of pupils’ geographical skills, knowledge and understanding Pupils are very enthusiastic about fieldwork (Ofsted, 2005, p 5)

in (a) Reception class pupils sat around a floor map of the locality around the school: Initially, the teacher used photographs she had taken to enable the pupils to recognise buildings they were familiar with, such as the doctor’s surgery, the local church, the pub and a range of different shops The pupils began to build up a vocabulary and were able to identify a range of buildings The teachers then transferred to the floor map, and pupils applied what they knew about the location of the buildings, recognis-ing their position in the high street Pupils identified the buildrecognis-ing, for example usrecognis-ing crosses for churches and books for the library This proved to be a very effective introduction to maps and plans which was further reinforced through independent

group work where pupils used a range of media including LEGOT, sand and building

bricks to produce imaginary places with a range of different buildings Throughout the activity, pupils were building up a sense of place and those specific features which constitute that place (Ofsted, 2004, pp6–7)

I recently visited a school where Year 6 pupils were discussing the impact of climatic factors on Britain in preparation for producing a weather report for their area Their ability

to understand and articulate the effects of altitude, latitude, continentality and the Gulf Stream was worthy of GCSE pupils In an inner-city school, a charismatic young teacher inspired her Reception class through song, rhyme and a floor map to identify locations they had visited on holiday These young pupils were able to identify and name the major continents as well as specific countries visited

Elsewhere teachers have made good use of topics and fieldwork to develop literacy One teacher used photographs taken during a fieldwalk to support a discussion on environ-mentalism in literacy This was used to develop persuasive writing to influence the local council to improve transport More recently I watched a class role play at being trainee travel agents This involved passing an exam on their knowledge of places Once ‘quali-fied’, the pupils used wireless-linked laptops to search websites for the best travel and hotel alternatives for clients This made excellent use of practical geography These are magic moments which make the subject come alive

(Iwaskov, 2004)

Figure 1.1 Ofsted perspectives on stimulating primary geography 2