Interpreting maps is fundamental to geographical literacy.
Mapwork is woven throughout the PKC in many different contexts, but it is explicitly taught in the Spatial Sense units at the start of each year.
The skills learnt in these units are applied later on in other units.
Let’s take a look at how these Spatial Sense units build geographical understanding through mapwork over time.
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Year 1:
- Understanding aerial views
- Understanding that maps tell us information about locations
- Using maps to describe locations on a map
- Using compass points to show direction
- Creating maps; using titles, labels, compass points and symbols on maps
Year 2:
- Using maps of the school site
- Drawing a map of the school site
- Using maps of the local area
- Use maps to plan a route
- Identifying locations on a globe and world map
Year 3:
- Understanding symbols and compasses (eight points) on maps, including Ordnance Survey maps
- Using grid references on maps to identify locations
- Comparing the features of two localities using maps
Year 4:
- Locating the equator and the tropics
- Understanding the concept of ‘scale’ on maps
- Exploring grid references in more depth in different contexts
- Using maps, including ordnance survey maps to see how an area has changed over time
Year 5:
- Understanding how maps divide the world into sections
- Identifying Eastern and Western hemispheres
- Using co-ordinates to locate places
- Interpreting maps drawn to different scales
- Understanding relief maps
Year 6:
- Understanding latitude and longitude
- Identifying and locating the Arctic and Antarctic Circles
- Understanding and identifying time zones
- Map projection – understanding map distortion
- Maps of the world and how they communicate data
We believe careful curriculum design supports children to learn, remember and be able to do more.
We have thought carefully about how children become skilled at using maps, ensuring that they are explicitly taught the necessary skills before applying them in a range of contexts.
We want children to get better at using maps so they can go out into a world that they can interpret, interact with and understand.
How can we scaffold and adapt to support pupils in accessing the curriculum?
Read time: 1 min 30 secs
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We need to consider a few things:
- Types of scaffold
- Knowing when to select which type of scaffold
- Reflecting on our current practice
At the heart of our practice, we consider how to ensure *all children* can access the curriculum. In order to do that, we need to know the types of scaffolds available to us.
How can we check for understanding during lessons?
Read time = 1 min 30 secs
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Eliciting understanding is essential to responsive teaching. It is important that we track student thinking so that we can adapt our teaching in the moment. This will enable us to provide students with better feedback to support their learning.
When applying Rosenshine’s Principles, checking for understanding and asking many questions are the threads that feed through every other principle. We know that expert teachers not only ask more questions, but they check for understanding on more occasions too.
How can we get better written outcomes in primary geography?
Read time = 1 min 40 secs
Includes scaffolds, examples of writing and structure strips!
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The National Curriculum requires children to, ‘communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length’.
When considering how to improve writing in geography, we have questions to ask:
•What is writing like in geography now?
•For what purposes are children writing in geography?
•What do children need to know and be able to do in order to write successfully in geography?
What are the benefits of using a consistent lesson structure?
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Here is an example of a lesson structure we use in the PKC curriculum for some subjects:
Our sequence is a guide to support teachers; it is not a strictly-timed lesson structure or a script. It is up to teachers to use their professional judgement to decide how to enact this for their pupils.