Geography
At Pilgrims’ Way, we aim for a quality geography curriculum which fosters in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. Geography is taught in termly blocks three times a year and cross curricular links are made to a broad range of other subjects including art, music, English, ICT and science. Our teaching covers all aspects of the geography national curriculum and equips pupils with knowledge about places and people; resources in the environment; physical and human processes; formation and use of landscapes.
We also want children to develop geographical skills: collecting and analysing data; using maps, globes, aerial photographs and mapping to name and identify countries, continents and oceans; and communicating information in a variety of ways.
We want our children to enjoy and love learning about geography by gaining this knowledge and skills, not just through experiences in the classroom, but also with the use of fieldwork and educational visits which is why our children will attend many exciting trips out of school during their time at Pilgrims’ Way.
Here are some of the trips and fieldwork opportunities that your child can look forward to during their time at Pilgrim's Way:
Term 2
In Term 2, Year 1 complete fieldwork based on the weather as part of their learning on 'How does the weather affect our lives?'. They collect data on the wind direction and the amount of rainfall. They even create their own weather reports using a map of the UK!
Year 2 learn about the climate, animals and environment of Antarctica as part of their learning on 'Why don't penguins need to fly?'. We look forward to meeting Darcy, who is a real life Antarctic explorer!
Year 6 go on a field trip to the river to support their learning on 'What is a river?'. They measure the depth of the river and look at what creatures are living in the water to identify whether the river is a healthy habitat or not.
Term 4
In Term 4, Year 6 answer the enquiry question 'Why are mountains so important?'. They have a visit from a mountaineer who shares his knowledge of mountains and shows them his mountain climbing equipment.
Year 2 compare houses in Canterbury with those in the water village, Kampong Ayer as part of their learning on 'How does the geography of Kampong Ayer compare with where I live?'. They complete a survey of different housing types found in our local area and compare this with the types of houses found in Kampong Ayer.
Term 6
In Term 6, Year 2 go on a trip to Whitstable as part of their geography learning on 'Why do we like being beside the sea so much?'. The children identify and name seaside features such as harbour, beach, sea and promenade. They complete a fieldwork survey to identify the impact of humans on the seaside by creating a tally of items that should not be found on the beach. They also have lots of fun taking part in activities that people often do at the seaside such as crabbing and eating ice cream!
Year 5 go on a trip to Waitrose to find out more about where in the world our food comes from and, in particular, about fair trade products linking with their learning about 'How do you make trade fair?'