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The GA has led a number of innovative projects and this section contains materials from many of our current and past activities. Browse through the different project sections to uncover a wealth of teacher-created resources for primary and secondary geography.
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Hundreds of primary and secondary geography teaching resources covering a range of topics plus directories of geography blogs and weblinks, photo galleries, base maps, careers guidance and our NQT survival guide. Use the Resource Finder tool if you're after something specific.
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You can get involved with the Geographical Association in lots of ways, including writing a journal article, authoring a book, joining a Committee or Special Interest Group, contributing to consultations, taking part in funded project work or registering to become a GA Consultant.
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Advice and resources to help teachers and geography co-ordinators in the early years and primary phases. Teaching ideas, subject leadership tips, information about curriculum changes, Tocuaro, Barnaby Bear, primary fieldwork, cross-curricular materials and much more!
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Advice and resources for geography teachers in secondary and post-16 education. Controlled assessment, diplomas, fieldwork, Worldwise, information about curriculum changes, updates on exam results, how to promote geography at option time and much more!
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The latest professional development courses for teachers and comprehensive information about the popular GA Annual Conference & Exhibition. You can also take part in online CPD courses, read about GA Study Tours, learn about becoming a GA Consultant and much more.
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Formerly the Geography Trainer Induction Programme (GTIP) this area supports geography teacher educators through detailed Think Pieces, Geog-Ed e-journal, resources, reading lists, weblinks and news items. It also includes materials from the annual GTE Conference.
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Online access to the GA's journals Geography, Teaching Geography and Primary Geography and accompanying resources going back to 2004. Access is free for subscribers and non-members are able to purchase PDFs of individual articles and whole issues.
Use our online shop to browse and buy Geographical Association publications and selected products from other suppliers. Primary, secondary and post-16 resources, Barnaby Bear, guides, atlases, posters and more. GA members get up to 30% discount on all shop items!
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Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all.
Sustainable communities are:
Sustainable communities embody the principles of sustainable development. They:
Sustainable communities are diverse, reflecting their local circumstances. There is no standard template to fit them all.
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
The text of this page, more details and a full reference can be found in the Word document 'What is a Sustainable Community?'. (This is intended as general information and not as learner's material.)
These characteristics of sustainable communities are also presented in the 'Egan wheel' named after Sir John Egan who chaired the review into skills for sustainable communities. The eight components have a high level of language sophistication in both of the forms in which they are given.
Imagine you can move the spokes of the wheel to demonstrate in a pie-chart the notional importance given to each component in the conventional teaching of the geography of settlement.
Eight components are difficult to juggle. How would you scaffold learning by introducing them in turn? Could you conflate this framework to six without losing the overall conceptual integrity? Can you identify specific terms or vocabulary to introduce or reinforce for subsequent geographical learning?
Look at this version of the eight components with more complete descriptions and examples.
Source: ASC (2006) Making Places: creating sustainable communities. A teachers guide to sustainable communities, Leeds: Academy for Sustainable Communities
It is not suggested here that the eight components should be taught. It is probably best thought of as a framework for looking at communities which can to be explored and tested by geographical thinking.
Now watch the video Where do you want to live? (2003). This is an eight-minute video explaining sustainable communities with professional viewpoints and glimpses of Basingstoke, Greenwich Millennium Village and Newark.
You might like to consider the pros and cons of using this video with learners. There is a transcript downloadable from the same page. To what extent does it succeed in conveying the bigger picture? Or does it really come down to people wanting 'good design and facilities on their doorstep'? How does it take into account multiple perspectives?
In the active sense, considering sustainable communities is sometimes referred to as place-making and we will look at it again later in this unit.
Now do Activity 2 >>>
This project was run in partnership with the Academy for Sustainable Communities which has since become the Skills and Knowledge team at the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
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This issue of Primary Geography looks ahead to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games and features a wealth of geographical activities linked to the event for primary pupils of all ages
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The Spring 2012 issue of Teaching Geography focuses on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It includes a range of teaching ideas for using this global sporting event in the geography classroom.
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The Spring 2012 issue of Geography features articles on postcolonialism, indigenous knowledge for disaster risk reduction, new geographies of migrant settlement in the UK, and much more.
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