Geography

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The UK and its surrounding seas

The countries and capital cities of the UK

Geographical features in Scotland

Geographical features in England

Geographical features in Wales

Geographical features in Northern Ireland

This unit links to 'Life in a capital city: London/Cardiff', in which a capital city of the UK is explored as a significant place in our country.

The unit extends understanding about the local area and the characteristics and features of place explored in units 'Local area: Where do we go to school?', 'Local area: Where do we live?', 'Seasons: How does the weather change through the year?' and 'Local area: Routes and maps where we play' to a national scale.

This unit introduces the United Kingdom as a country made up of four nations. Pupils learn to name and locate the nations, capital cities and surrounding seas, and explore distinctive geographical features across the UK using maps and images.

The UK: what kind of place is it?

Locating Cardiff

Cardiff as a capital city

Cardiff travel and transport

The River Taff

Cardiff parks and green spaces

Planning a day out in Cardiff

This unit supports pupils' enquiry about the uniqueness of place when they investigate their own locality through fieldwork in 'Local area: Why is (our place) special?' and compare this with a locality overseas in 'Contrasting locality: what is it like to live in Jamaica?'.

This unit deepens pupils' understanding of the UK in 'The UK: What kind of place is it?' by zooming in to explore its capital city, London, and how it is linked to other parts of the UK and the wider world.

This unit explores the capital cities of London and Cardiff through their landmarks, transport, rivers and green spaces. Pupils describe key physical and human features and plan a day out using maps, images and simple route planning.

Life in a capital city: London/Cardiff

Locating London

London as a capital city

London travel and transport

London parks and green spaces

The River Thames

Planning a day out in London

The world's cold places

Locating the North and South Poles

The North Pole and the Arctic

The South Pole and the Antarctic

Arctic wildlife

Antarctic wildlife

Living in the Arctic

Living in the Antarctic

It then leads on to examine this same scale but by investigating hot places in 'Hot places: What is it like near the Equator?'. This unit also links to future understanding of land use and settlement, and builds on Earth Geometry by establishing familiarity with the Polar Circles here and with the Equator in 'Hot places: What is it like near the Equator?'.

links to work done in and around the school ground on weather and develops the idea of temperature variations and extreme cold on a global scale. 

This unit explores the North and South Poles through their locations, climates, landscapes, wildlife and ways of life. Pupils learn to compare the Arctic and Antarctic using maps, images and geographical vocabulary to describe features of cold environments.

Cold places: what is it like at the North and South Poles?

The world's hottest places

Tropical rainforests: climate and location

Hot deserts: climate and location

Visiting the hot places of the world

This unit links to 'Contrasting locality: What is it like to live in (location in) in Jamaica?', as pupils draw on their knowledge of places that are hot and wet, and also to 'The water cycle: why does it matter?'. Pupils apply their beginning thinking about locational differences in rainfall and temperature.

This unit builds on 'Cold places: What is it like at the North and South Poles?', which pupils should have done first. Pupils draw on their knowledge of cold areas of the world to help them consider the location of hot places and what they are like, making comparisons. 

This unit explores the world’s hottest places, focusing on tropical rainforests and hot deserts. Pupils use maps and images to locate these environments, describe their climates and features, and compare contrasting hot places around the world.

Hot places: where are they and what are they like?

Locating our place with an address and directions

Key features of our local area

Mapping places to visit in our local area

The weather where I live and in the UK

Local and national landmarks

Fieldwork: our locality

This unit is a foundation for the more abstract contrasting locality units, enabling pupils to build on their understanding of the uniqueness of place through other cultural lenses and apply the learnt process of enquiry when finding out about places and people.

This builds on the Local to global unit which explored the local area and what made places special to enable pupils to be selective and communicate the most essential elements of their place in the form of a local area guide.

This unit explores what makes the local area special by identifying key features, landmarks and places of interest. Pupils use maps, address and direction language, local climate knowledge and fieldwork to describe and represent their locality.

Local area: why is (our place) special?

The location of Africa and UK connections

Tanzania's climate and landscapes

Physical and human features of Tanzania

Similarities and differences: Arusha in Tanzania

Jobs in Arusha, Tanzania

Daily life near Arusha

This unit provides a foundation for 'Europe: How diverse are its landscapes and places' and 'Europe: What is it like to live in northern Italy', which further extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding of distant places and how to investigate them at continental and regional scales.

This unit builds on 'The UK: What kind of place is is?' and 'Local area: Why is (our place) special', extending and deepening pupils’ place knowledge and understanding through the study of Jamaica and a specific small Jamaican locality. It develops geographical vocabulary and skills, enabling pupils to identify similarities and differences.

This unit explores what it is like to live in a contrasting locality by studying Jamaica and Tanzania. Pupils investigate location, climate, and key physical and human features, and compare each place with their own through maps, images and geographical vocabulary.

Geography

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These lessons will be removed by the end of the Spring Term 2026.