Getting Started
At this time of curriculum change and innovation, as many schools reflect on their curriculum and consider a more integrated approach to learning, why might anyone want to focus on the distinct and separate discipline we call geography?
The Geographical Association's manifesto for school geography, A Different View, promotes a vision for geography as an important, relevant and dynamic subject. You can download A Different View and view some related activities on the GA website. Whether you teach it separately or as part of an integrated curriculum experience we believe that there are key geographical ideas and skills that are every child's entitlement. As a former HMI, David Bell, wrote in the Spring 2005 edition of Primary Geographer, '... there is no more relevant subject than geography'. (Bell, 2005)
We hope you agree and will want to use this CPD unit to enhance your own understanding of what primary geography has to offer children.
A Different View
This slideshow forms a lively introduction to A Different View and the themes within it. You can also view the video directly on the Animoto website or the longer version which features more detailed captions.
Music credit: 'Release It' performed by Afro Celt Sound System, written by Emmerson/McNally/Russell/O'Lionaird, appears courtesy of Real World Records Ltd www.realworldrecords.com
Activity: Geography for the 21st Century
Think about the content and form of geography in your school. How might you want to reshape this to make a curriculum fit for the 21st Century? Having viewed the Animoto slideshow above, choose two or three ideas from the video to share with colleagues in order to persuade them that geography has an important part to play in your school curriculum.
Quality Geography
This course has been been written to link with the Primary Geography Quality Mark. This has been developed by The Geographical Association as a tool for geography subject leaders who need to evaluate and develop the curriculum. The award also provides a way for schools to gain recognition for developing 'quality geography'.
Find out more about the Primary Geography Quality Mark
Throughout the course we have used photographs and examples of work that have been submitted by PGQM schools as evidence for the award. We believe that this showcases the high standard of work that some primary
schools achieve in geography. We hope you will want to join them.
Activity: First steps
It is likely that you are embarking upon this course because you wish to implement the development of quality geography in your school.
Decide what you are trying to achieve first. Keep it simple and set yourself clear goals.
Look for additional support. There might be a 'Primary Geography Champion Group' meeting near you. Have a look at the Geography Champions Ning. It is possible that this may be blocked on your school system as it may have classed this as a social networking site. We have produced a letter which can be downloaded and sent as an attachment on requests for unblocking at school level. The person to contact will vary between local authorities. If in doubt, ring your County Hall. If all else fails try accessing it from home instead.
Reference
Bell, D. (2005) 'The Value and Importance of geography', Primary Geographer, 56. GA members with a subscription to Primary Geographer can download this article for free.
Course units
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