History and Geography

During their time at St Margaret Mary’s RC Primary School children are taught History and Geography through an integrated creative curriculum, where possible. This means that they will learn the skills and knowledge and understanding set out in the National Curriculum and Early Years Progress Model through an engaging and exiting approach.

During the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), History and Geography are taught through the area of learning known as “Understanding of the World” as set out in the Early Years Progress Model, in which the children are taught skills and knowledge through areas such as: “Our Natural world”, “Communities and Cultures”. ‘personal experiences’, ‘ past and present’  and ‘people and society’. This is delivered through motivating and exciting themes and is part of the creative curriculum.

In  EYFS – St Margaret Mary's Progress Model

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.

Purpose

A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

In Key Stage 1 children should be taught about:

• changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life.
• events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally.
• the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods.
• significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.

In Key Stage 2, children should be taught about:

• changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
• the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain.
• Britain's settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots.
• the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor.
• a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils' chronological knowledge beyond 1066AD.
• the achievements of the earliest civilizations - an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China.
• Ancient Greece - a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world.
• a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900: Mayan civilizations c.AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.

In  EYFS – St Margaret Mary's Progress Model

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.

Purpose 

A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

In Key Stage 1 children should be taught to:

• name and locate the world's seven continents and five oceans.
• name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas.
• understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country.
• identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South poles.
• use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to:
• key physical features, including: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather.
• key human features, including: city, town, village, factory farm, house, office, port, harbour, and shop.
• use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage.
• use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language(for example, near and far; left and right), to describe the location of features and routes on a map.
• use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features; devise a simple map; and use and construct basic symbols in a key.
• use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surround environment.

In Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to:

• locate the world's countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities.
• name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time.
• identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Artic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime / Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night).
• understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human an physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America.
• describe and understand key aspects of:

Physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle.

Human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water.

• use maps, atlases, globes and digital / computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied.
• use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world.
• use fieldwork to observe, measure and record the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.

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