Geography in Action
Children in Year 4 practiced their geographical enquiry skills to produce
Year 4 carried out fieldwork and measured the temperature at different points during the day. The children then presented their results and used their mathematical skills to present their results in a graph.
Geography
Calendar of geography visits and visitors
We believe that welcoming visitors into school and going on trips to support our learning is really important. The children always speak highly of visits and visitors to enhance the geography curriculum. What children learn through these visits and visitor contributions supports in making learning memorable and providing first hand experiences for our children to draw upon.
Educational Visits Term/Date | Year group(s)/class(es) or year groups involved | Visit to… | Curriculum links | Impact of visit |
Autumn 14th November 2019 | Maple and Oak | Chester Zoo | Maple: Science-living things in their habitats; animals including humans Geography-map reading, features of different places
Oak: Science-evolution and inheritance
English and Geography – changing world Non-fiction report writing on the use of palm oil (Chester is a palm oil free city, with the zoo leading the campaign) | Engagement, first hand experiences for children to support their work in science to ensure all children can fully access the curriculum as they have all had the same first hand experiences.
Children could see the animals that we were going to be looking at throughout our unit. We discussed the adaptations of the animals. The trip also led the children to talk about palm oil and this drove our non-fiction unit linking with our geography as well as DT and science units. |
Autumn 28th November 2019 | Beech and Sycamore | Chester Zoo | Beech: Science-teeth, diet and digestion
Sycamore: Science-animals and their habitats Geography-conservation of habitats | Children were able to gain first hand experiences to support their work in science, ensuring that all children could fully access the curriculum linked to the visit. Children were able to walk around the zoo and observe the animals in their natural habitats to gain an understanding of how different animals have different needs and as such need different environments. Whilst walking around the zoo, children also found the feeding/menu boards that were placed near animals’ enclosures detailing how often and what animals were fed, allowing children to consolidate their understanding of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Children also completed a workshop led by zoo staff where they investigated animal skulls and discussed how this linked to their diets. This workshop also included an introduction to the digestive system and how this can differ in humans and animals. Sycamore class participated in a conservation workshop which explained the impact of habitat loss and how it is causing species to become endangered and extinct which links to our science unit about animals and their habitats. This then linked to our English unit about debates. The children wrote a balanced argument about whether they think zoos are cruel and whether the animals be released into the wild.
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Spring 10th February | Willow | Chill Factor (Antarctic explorer workshop) | Geography: Contrasting locality: Antarctica Science: Animals and Their Habitats | The children’s day began with an Antarctic themed workshop run by an external company called Commando Joes. They focused on 3 areas: communication, teamwork and resilience and used these to participate in a number of team games. Following this the children got kitted up for the snow and headed out to Mini Mooseland. Still with the Commando Joe team, the children searched for Commando Teds (teddy bears) following an avalanche and worked together to build an igloo. Finally, we were handed over to the Chill Factore team who took us onto the Snow Park. Here the children rotated around 4 activities: sledging, ice slinging, snow sliding and donutting. The children had an absolutely amazing day and it gave them a truly memorable snow experience to make their learning about Antarctica more real. The organsisation from the Commando Joe team was amazing and the morning ran perfectly. The Chill Factore staff were much less organised so staff team and volunteers had to take the lead. We took 8 adults but lost one when a child was taken ill. If the trip is repeated next year additional adults should be taken in case of situations like this. |
Spring 4th March | Acorn | Clitheroe Castle | History: Castles Geography: Contrasting area, study of Clitheroe | The children were able to see a castle first hand and explore the different parts including the keep, motte and bailey. The children learnt a little about the invasion of 1066 and how this affected Clitheroe Castle. All children were given the opportunity to create their own motte and baily castle adding the correct features they had been taught in previous lessons. Children were fully engaged with this trip and enjoyed seeing the weapons and armour first hand. The children used their geographical knowledge to locate places of interest in Clitheroe which were used in later Geography sessions to compare Clitheroe and Clayton-le-Moors. |
Visitors to School Term/Date | Year group(s) /class(es) involved | Visitor | Curriculum links | Impact of visitor |
Autumn 18th November | Acorn and Willow | Zoo2You | Science-Living things and their habitats Geography-where do our favourite animals live? | This visit consolidated children’s learning from their science topic and allowed them to see and touch a range of unusual animals. This made learning animal classification more relatable for the children. The children used this learning in their following science lessons and continue to refer back to the animals they met on the day.
This visit provided staff with the opportunity to broaden their own subject knowledge.
Staff believed this was a much more beneficial experience for the children than a visit to the zoo and would like to repeat next year. |
Autumn 25th November | Whole school | MAF: launch Advent | RE: Christianity in action and Christianity Around the World Geography: using a world map | The launch assembly and subsequent use of MAF materials throughout Advent supported children in developing a wider understanding of the world in which they live, the lives of others around the world and the importance of charities raising money to be able to support those in need around the world |
Autumn 27th November | Whole School Year 5/6 | Bethany Project | RE-Christianity around the world PSHE-exploring other cultures Geography-world continents-people and places | The staff and children were so moved by this performance and visit. The visit helped our children to understand how other people’s lives are so very different from our own and to understand some of the ways in which this is the case. The children could engage with seeing where money they raised is going and in what ways it helps, as well as developing an understanding that even when people have had such troubled lives, and have so little, they still have their faith and aspirations to achieve in the future. |
- All Saints’ CE Primary School
- Church Street, Clayton-Le-Moors,
- Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 5HT,
- E-Mail: head@allsaints-clm.lancs.sch.uk
- Telephone: 01254 234562