Geography

The Hilltop geography curriculum develops the concept of a sense of place. 

A sense of place describes the physical and human characteristics of any location on Earth. These characteristics make a place unique.

Through the study of locations within their local area, across the UK and Europe and the wider world, children study the physical and human characteristics of a place. Physical characteristics include the natural environment, such as landforms, elevation, water features, climate, soil, natural vegetation and animal life. Human characteristics include aspects of the culture and the built environment, such as houses, roads and other infrastructure.

The study of a place teaches the children how the physical and human aspects of a location interrelate and interact, and they use this knowledge to compare and contrast different locations.

Our curriculum balances building core knowledge (facts, names, locations, vocabulary) with a sense of place and context through enquiry into real places. Children learn about the big geographical ideas of Space (location), Place (human and physical characteristics) and Scale (changes in perspectives from local to global) through enquiry, first-hand and hands-on experiences, field work and map work. 

Our geography teaching meets the aims of the national curriculum and ensures that all Hilltop children are able to:

• build their knowledge of people and places around the world whilst comparing them to their own location

• understand the Earth’s key physical and human processes and how they interact

• understand how landscapes and environments are used by people 

• develop their fieldwork skills and communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including maps, symbols, diagrams and written observations 

• use their mapwork skills to interpret a range of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes and aerial photographs