Geography

Children learn Geography at Calton through first hand experiences with links to real life settings and situations. We prepare the children for a world full of change but also full of opportunity.

Geography is vital in today’s ever-changing world. It helps children to understand the diverse society they live in as well as other people and cultures around the world. Geography can make a difference to children’s emotional, intellectual and social development. It can challenge children’s thinking and motivate them to ask questions about the world they live in. We actively encourage and nurture inquisitive minds.

HOW CAN I SUPPORT MY CHILD IN GEOGRAPHY?

Geography can come naturally: we all make sense of the news, our home and neighbourhood, the weather. This is what being a geographer is.

When you take your child for a walk or go to the shops, ask them questions about what they see. Anything made by nature is a physical feature e.g., woodland, hills, anything man-made is a human feature e.g., houses. Encourage your child to ask you questions about the area or talk to family that live in different parts of the country so your child can understand similarities and differences between locations.

When you visit other people or go on holiday, share a map of the route with your child. Point out the distance, towns or cities and county borders you pass. You could even get them to help you plot the best route to your destination.

If you don’t get a chance to travel then use magazines, the internet or tv. With all this technology at our fingertips we can instantly find out about other places. You could research the weather, the population, famous landmarks etc in other countries.

FURTHER SUPPORT AND USEFUL LINKS

The BBC Bitesize websites link to videos, games and information a wide range of geographical knowledge:

The Geographical Association is the leading organisation supporting geographical teacher in the UK. Their resources are available at:

Geography.org.uk

The Royal Geographical Society has also published a wealth of resources to help teachers and parents:

RGS.org

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey general maps.

Street Maps Great Britain - A project to represent photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland.
Explore the World - Explore the World - A journey that takes you all over the world.
Maps - Loads of free maps of the world
National Geographic - Provides free maps, photos , videos and daily news stories, as well as articles and features about animals, the environment, cultures, history etc.
Games and more information - https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/
Nat Geo Kids Games - https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/games/