Geographical Skills

Enquiry Question: What is a geographer?

Students will:

Investigate what it takes to be a good geographer and develop key geographical skills and knowledge including: the seven continents and five oceans, three types of scale, latitude and longitude, grid references and how our knowledge of geography has changed.

Skills studied:

Four and six figure grid references, latitude and longitude, measuring height on OS maps, drawing bar charts.

Geographical concepts: Place, space, scale, physical and human processes. 

Russia

Enquiry Question: Is the geography of Russia a curse or a benefit?

Students will:

Investigate if the geography of Russia benefits it or if it affects its development. Students will focus on the key physical features, the climate, which biomes are found there, how the population in distributed, the current state of the economy and why Russia planted their flag on the seabed of the North Pole.

Skills studied:

Drawing bar charts, creating relief maps, understanding isotherm maps, drawing climate graphs, calculating population distribution, creating choropleth maps, drawing pie charts, understanding population pyramids and completing an issue evaluation.

Geographical concepts: Place, scale, physical and human processes, environmental interaction and cultural understanding and diversity.

Fantastic Places

Enquiry Question: Where are our world’s fantastic places?

Students will:

Learn where the ancient and modern wonders of the world are. Students will identify how terrorism impacted New York, understand why so many tourists visit Rome, learn about the different cultures and religions in Alaska and how the northern lights happen. Identify how Peru is being managed sustainably, explain how New Zealand was impacted by the 2011 earthquake and evaluate how the Galápagos are being impacted by tourists.

Skills studied:

Four and six figure grid references, creating choropleth maps, group presentations, evaluating sustainability goals, drawing bar charts, drawing climate graphs.

Geographical concepts: Place, space, cultural understanding and diversity and interdependence.

Resources

Enquiry Question: Is Earth running out of natural resources?

Students will:

Identify what natural resources and which are renewable and non-renewable sources. Identify why rocks, soils, the hydrosphere and the biosphere all provide vital resources for our world. Understand and interpret why we depend so much on oil resources and how we can use other resources to create energy. Explain how we can use natural resources more sustainably.

Skills studied:

Categorising information, drawing and annotating field sketches, six figure grid references, latitude and longitude, interpreting photographs and drawing pie chars.

Geographical concepts: Place, interdependence, physical and human processes, environmental interaction and sustainable development.

Development

Enquiry Question: What is development?

Students will:

Understand what development is, how it can change over time and how it can be measured. Explain how money is spread around the world and why some people live in poverty. Evaluate how gender equality can increase development and how different countries and organisations will support it. Explain what the sustainable development goals are.

Skills studied:

Creating choropleth maps, ranking data, evaluating the reliability of data, describing distribution, drawing bar charts.

Geographical concepts: Place, space, physical and human processes, cultural understanding and diversity.

Population and Urbanisation

Enquiry Question: How are populations changing?

Students will:

Understand how populations are changing and how this links to the demographic transition model. Understand if and how population can be controlled and how urbanisation links to migration and disease. Explain how urbanisation has impacted high income and low income countries.

Skills studied:

Calculating natural increase, creating choropleth maps, drawing population pyramids, categorising information, using GIS to interpret data and understanding the Burgess model.

Geographical concepts: Place, interdependence, physical and human processes and cultural understanding and diversity.

Water

Enquiry Question: How do rivers, coasts and glaciers change the world?

Students will:

Understand where the main coastal towns are in the UK and what we use the sea for. Explain what the main types of coastal erosion and waves are and how they shape the coast. Explain how glaciers are formed, the key types of glacial erosion and deposition and how major landforms are formed. Understand how glaciers can be both a hazard and a resource and how river floods can have a profound impact. Understand the key river processes and how they shape the land.

Skills studied:

Field sketches, interpreting hydrographs, using GIS to evaluate flood likeliness, categorising information, four and six figure grid references, interpreting and understanding OS maps. 

Geographical concepts: Space, place, interdependence and physical and human processes.

Extreme Weather

Enquiry Question: What is weather and climate?

Students will:

Understand how monsoons impact the Himalayan region, evaluate how wind impacts the earth through hurricanes and tornadoes. Explain how both Russia and the UK are impacted by cold spells, understand what depressions are and how they impact the UK. Understand what heatwaves are and why Africa gets so many droughts.

Skills studied:

Weather enquiry, categorising impacts, group presentation, field sketches, using GIS to monitor weather, interpreting isotherm maps and drawing climate graphs. 

Geographical concepts: Space, Interdependence, Physical and human processes and environmental interaction and sustainable development.

Climate Change

Enquiry Question: What is the future for our planet?

Students will:

Understand how Earth’s temperatures have changed over time and reasons why, identify the different between climate change and global warming. Evaluate who will be impacted most due to climate change and who is being impacted right now. Understand what we can do about climate change and how Kiribati is trying to manage climate change sustainably.

Skills studied:

Interpreting climate graphs, asking geographical questions, latitude and longitude and categorising impacts and responses. 

Geographical concepts: Place, scale, physical and human processes, environmental interaction and sustainable development and cultural understanding and diversity.

Africa

Enquiry Question: What are the challenges and opportunities facing Africa?

Students will:

Identify what the primary biomes and climates are in Africa and what the physical landscape is like. Understand how Africa’s past has shaped its future and how developed African countries are. Evaluate if there is a future for the Sahel and what the challenges of population and urbanisation are in Africa. Explain what opportunities for tourism there are and why Africa is so important to the rest of the world. 

Skills studied:

Issue evaluation, latitude and longitude, grid references, reading climate graphs, asking geographical questions, understanding population pyramids and bar charts.

Geographical concepts: Place, space, scale, physical and human processes and cultural understanding and diversity.

Asia

Enquiry Question: How is Asia being transformed?

Students will:

Identify why Asia is important to the rest of the world. Understand where Asia’s main countries and regions are and their key features. Identify the key physical landforms in Asia and why Mount Everest is so deadly. Explain how Asia’s population is distributed and why some areas are densely populated in Japan.

Skills studied:

Describing distribution, drawing bar charts, 0S map skills, categorising information, field sketches, creating choropleth maps, drawing population pyramids and describing trends.

Geographical concepts: Place, scale, interdependence, physical and human processes and cultural understanding and diversity.

The Middle East

Enquiry Question: How is Asia being transformed?

Students will:

Explain why the Middle East is an important world region, the key physical features and how they are linked to the climate and influence the population distribution. Understand why the Middle East is a major economic reason and how the United Arab Emirates have developed due to this. Evaluate why Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East and how the area is being impacted by conflict.

Skills studied:

Interpreting satellite images, understanding and drawing climate graphs, drawing bar charts, interpreting choropleth maps, completing an enquiry grid, field sketches and creating economic reports.

Geographical concepts: Place, space, physical and human processes and cultural understanding and diversity.

Disasters

Enquiry Question: How do people respond to disasters?

Students will:

Understand what disasters are and what the primary responses to them are. Study key examples of disasters including Chernobyl, the Australian forest fires and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Evaluate why the Yellow River disaster is considered the deadliest disaster ever and why the 2010 Haiti earthquake was so devastating. Predict what could happen if Yellowstone erupted.

Skills studied:

Interpret various graphs and charts including pictograms, histograms, scatter graphs and dot maps, statistical skills and comparing satellite photos and maps.

Geographical concepts: Place, physical and human processes, environmental interaction and sustainable development.

Globalisation

Enquiry Question: How are the world’s countries connected?

Students will:

Understand what global connections there are between countries, understand how TNC’s and world trade work and what impacts they have. Explain where global products come from and how fashion connects us to other parts of the world. Evaluate if the UK needs the EU, if fair trade actually helps low income countries and if we can help other countries through aid.

Skills studied:

Categorising information, asking geographical questions, describing trends, drawing divided bar charts and creating choropleth maps.

Geographical concepts: Space, interdependence, environmental interaction and sustainable development.

Superpowers

Enquiry Question: Who are the superpowers?

Students will:

Understand who the world’s superpowers are and how their power has developed over time. Evaluate why there was a scramble for Africa and why the USSR broke up. Understand what challenges and opportunities the world faced during the breakup of the British Empire and why China is a rising superpower. Identify which countries are likely to be superpowers in the future.

Skills studied:

Ranking and organising data, latitude and longitude, reading choropleth maps, studying dot maps and issue evaluation.

Geographical concepts: Place, space, scale, environmental interaction and sustainable development and cultural understanding and diversity.

Natural Hazards

Key Themes: Tectonic and weather hazards

Students will:

Identify what natural hazards are, the distribution, causes, effects and responses of earthquakes. Understand how the risks of hazards are reduced. Explain the features, causes, distribution and effects of tropical storms. Identify how the weather in the UK is worsening.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: Chile earthquake 2010, Nepal earthquake 2015, Typhoon Haiyan 2013 and Somerset Levels floods 2014.

Physical Landscapes in the UK

Key Themes: Rivers

Students will:

Identify what long and cross profiles are and which river features are found where. Learn the main fluvial processes of erosion, deposition and transportation and how these form different landforms. Identify what increases flood risk and how floods can be managed through hard and soft engineering.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: River Tees and flood management in Banbury.

Physical Landscapes in the UK and Natural Hazards

Key Themes: Coasts and Climate Change

Students will:

Identify the main types of wave, weathering and mass movement and how these shape the landscape. Learn the key coastal processes including erosion, deposition and transportation and how these shape the landscape. Evaluate how successful hard and soft engineering techniques are. Study what evidence we have for climate change and what the causes are. Explain what the impacts of climate change are and how they can be managed.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: Lyme Regis and Medmerry

The Living World

Key Themes: Ecosystems, Tropical Rainforests and Hot Deserts

Students will:

Understand the key features of an ecosystem and how these can be changed. Explain where global ecosystems are distributed. Identify the key features of tropical rainforests and hot deserts. Learn why rainforests are being deforested and how this is being sustainably managed. Identify what opportunities and challenges for development there are in hot deserts and how desertification can be reduced.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: Epping forest, Malaysian rainforest and Thar desert.

The Challenge of Resource Management

Key Themes: Resource Management and Water Management

Students will:

Explain how resources are distributed globally and how food, water and energy are provided in the UK. The impacts of water insecurity and how supplies can be increased. Evaluate if and how water can be provided sustainably by studying specific examples.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: Lesotho highland water project and Wakel river basin project.

Geographical Applications and Skills

Key Themes: Fieldwork Preparation and Write Up

Students will:

Learn how to develop a fieldwork enquiry question and how to formulate an enquiry. Understand the main types of data collection and practice these out in the field. Understand how to process and present data they have collected and how to analyse this data. Practice writing up their fieldwork enquiry and evaluate it effectively, being critical of their work.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Fieldwork: Clapham Beck in the Yorkshire Dales.

The Changing Economic World

Key Themes: The Development Gap

Students will:

Identify what development is and how it can be measured. Identify what causes development to be uneven including wealth and migration and how this links to the demographic transition model. Explain how the development gap can be reduced through tourism, debt relief and fair trade.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: Jamaica tourism

The Changing Economic World

Key Themes: Nigeria: A Newly Emerging Economy and The Changing UK Economy

Students will:

Identify where Nigeria is located and how it impacts the wider world. Understand how TNC’s and international aid have impacted the country. Explain how Nigeria has managed environmental issues and what quality of life is like. Identify how the UK economy has changed over time and how industry has impacted the environment. Explain how rural landscapes and transport in the UK have changed. Identify how the UK is important to the wider world.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: Nigeria

Urban Issues and Challenges

Key Themes: The Urban World and Sustainable Urban Development

Students will:

Identify how and why our world is becoming more urban and what makes cities grow. Explain what Rio is like, the different challenges the city faces and how they manage these challenges. Understand how to plan an urban area sustainably and what strategies have been put in place to manage sustainability in Freiburg, including water supply and traffic management.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: Rio de Janeiro and Freiburg

Urban Issues and Challenges

Key Themes: Urban Change in the UK

Students will:

Describe where people live in the UK and how urban change has created social and economic opportunities in Manchester. Explain what the environmental challenges are in Manchester and how these are being addressed. Understand what social inequalities there are in Manchester and how these are being addressed through regeneration and development.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Case studies: Manchester

Geographical Applications and Skills

Key Themes: Issue Evaluation

Students will:

Develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills by looking at an issue derived from the geography specification. A resource booklet will be available twelve weeks before the exam, so students have the opportunity to work through the resources and familiarise themselves with the material. Students will develop a critical perspective on the issue studied.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.

Revision and Exam 

Key Themes: Geographical Skills

Students will:

Develop and demonstrate a range of geographical skills, including cartographic, graphical, numerical and statistical skills. Prepare for exams by practising these skills alongside subject content that will be relevant for their assessment.

Skills studied:

Cartographic including OS maps, scale, relief, drawing cross-sections and drawing sketches. Graphical including histograms, bar and pie charts, scatter graphs and flow line maps. Statistical including range, mode, median, central tendency and calculating percentages.