Geographical Association

Creativity is often simply associated with art and music, but in fact, it is very much broader than this. Creativity permeates the curriculum and is a vital aspect of every academic discipline. Geography, because it synthesises material and ideas from different areas, has the potential to be a highly creative subject. It is important to recognise this and to allow time and space for creativity in lesson planning.

This area of the website gathers together examples of creativity in geography, from writing stories about real or imagined places, to constructing models of the local area. We've provided some free articles to get you thinking about creativity and geography, then you can browse the linked project pages to find out how other teachers have introduced creative activities into their geography lessons.

Creativity is traditionally associated with the expressive arts but in his article 'Geography and Creativity: an overview', Stephen Scoffham shows how we are in fact always being creative throughout our daily lives. The article then goes on to consider how creativity and geography are related.

The January 2003 issue of Primary Geographer was a special edition focusing on creativity. We've provided two of the articles here as free downloads, and if you like what you read, you can purchase the whole issue from our online shop.

In 'Creating the space to think' Colin Bridge discusses ideas for encouraging reflection, developing analytical skills, reasoning with confidence, understanding children's thinking and evaluating the quality of outcomes.

Landscape unites geography and the arts, inspiring paintings, photographs, literature and poetry, and, of course, maps and fieldwork. It touches the emotions and provides opportunities for both teachers and children to be creative.

Changing Places - During 2005, primary schools in Castleford and Airedale were invited to take part in a local geography project part-funded by the GA/DfES and Wakefield District Council. The GA's objective for the project was to work in a way that was geographically innovative for the teachers concerned in order to provide ideas and resources which could be shared with teachers nationally. The project was closely linked to Kevin McCloud's Big Town Plan, a Channel 4 documentary series about the regeneration Castleford.

View Changing Places >>>


Geography and Literacy - 2008 was the National Year of Reading (NYR), a year-long celebration of reading in all its forms. It aimed to help build a greater national passion for reading in England - for children, families and adult learners alike. Inspired by the NYR, the GA created a page of activities, book reviews and useful links which can now be found within the 'Geography and Literacy' section. This area also contains information about our popular Geography and Story Competition including the winning entries.

View Geography and Literacy >>>


Young Geographers - The Young Geographers project was a three-month pilot project funded by the TDA, which aimed to support teachers in planning for and carrying out a short unit of work with a focus on Living Geography. Teachers were asked to design some locality fieldwork, thinking about aspects of ESD and personalising planning to suit their school context. The resulting projects were incredibly varied and creative, and several participating schools have made their work available in the Young Geographers project area.

View Young Geographers >>>


Valuing Places - Valuing Places was one of the GA's biggest projects which explored how teaching about places in Key Stages 2 and 3 can develop students' understanding of global interconnections. Valuing Places included the development of three CPD units which aimed to share tasters of the 'big ideas' featured in the project - Geographical Imaginations, Think Maps and Place & Interconnectedness - plus suggestions for further activities.

View Valuing Places CPD Units >>>