What does the course cover? The programme of study and National Curriculum links

  Course introduction

Read the Course Guide and video call with your tutor

Content:

• An introduction to geography, its key strands and themes.
• The resources students will use throughout the course and how they will use these to become good geographers.
• An investigation into changes in Ironbridge Gorge, to exemplify some of the key geographical strands, themes and command words.

Topics:

• 1.1 Welcome to Geography
• 1.2 What’s in Your Geography Kit?
• 1.3 How to Get Good at Geography
• 1.4 Change in the Ironbridge Gorge
• 1.5 How to Answer Questions – Part 1
• 1.6 How to Answer Questions – Part 2
• 1.7 How to Answer Questions – Part 3

• ‘A high-quality geography education should inspire in students a fascination and curiosity about the world and its people’.
• A broad introduction to what geography is and the skills needed through the rest of the course.

Page 5-20

ASSIGNMENT ONE

Content:

• A look at how mapping has changed over the years.
• The use of plans, mental maps, simple maps with grids and OS maps.
• The use of globes, atlases and world maps.

Topics:

• 2.1 Mapping Through the Ages
• 2.2 Plans and Scales
• 2.3 The Maps in Your Head
• 2.4 From an Aerial Photo to a Map
• 2.5 Using Grid References
• 2.6 How Far?
• 2.7 Ordnance Survey Maps
• 2.8 How High?
• 2.9 Where on Earth?

• Interpret a range of geographical information sources, including maps, globes and aerial photos.
• Communicate geographical information through maps.
• Interpret Ordnance Survey maps including using grid references and scale, and aerial photographs.

Pages 21–40

ASSIGNMENT TWO

Content:

• How the UK has changed over the last 12,000 years, particularly in relation to migration.
• An understanding of the countries and regions that make up the UK.
• Contrasts within the UK in terms of physical (relief, climate, natural features) and human (population density) geography.
• Key information about the capital city, London.
• The links that the UK has with the rest of the world.

Topics:

• 3.1 Your Island Home
• 3.2 It’s a Jigsaw!
• 3.3 What’s Our Weather Like?
• 3.4 Who Are We?
• 3.5 Where Do We Live?
• 3.6 How Are We Doing?
• 3.7 London, Our Capital City
• 3.8 Our Links to the Wider world.

• Develop knowledge of the UK, its physical and human characteristics, environmental regions, countries and cities.
• For those students who have studied KS2 Geography, much of this topic will be consolidation and extension of their KS2 studies.

Pages 41-58

ASSIGNMENT THREE

Content:

• An understanding of how glacial processes have affected the UK since the last Ice Age.
• Using the Lake District as an exemplar, through OS maps and photos, to illustrate geographical processes and landforms.

Topics:

• 4.1 Your Place… 20,000 Years Ago!
• 4.2 Glaciers: What and Where?
• 4.3 How Do Glaciers Shape the Land?
• 4.4 Landforms Shaped by Erosion (Part 1)
• 4.5 Landforms Shaped by Erosion (Part 2)
• 4.6 Landforms Created by Deposition
• 4.7 More About the Lake District
• 4.8 Do Glaciers Matter?

• Understand how geographical processes interact to create distinctive physical landscapes that change over time.
• Understand, through the use of detailed place-based exemplars, the key processes relating to glaciation.
• Interpret Ordnance Survey maps including grid references and scale, thematic mapping, and aerial and satellite photos.

Pages 59-76

ASSIGNMENT FOUR

Content:

• The River Thames is used as an exemplar to illustrate physical and human processes associated with rivers, as well as how rivers can change over time.
• Flooding is an increasing feature of modern life, and we look at causes, impacts and possible solutions.

Topics:

• 5.1 Meet the River Thames
• 5.2 It’s the Water Cycle at Work
• 5.3 A Closer Look at a River
• 5.4 How Do Rivers Shape the Land?
• 5.5 Six Landforms Created by Rivers
• 5.6 How Do We Use Rivers?
• 5.7 What’s the Thames Estuary Like?
• 5.8 Floods!
• 5.9 Flooding on the River Thames
• 5.10 Can We Protect Ourselves From Floods?

• Understand how geographical processes interact to create distinctive physical landscapes that change over time.
• Understand, through the use of detailed place-based exemplars, the key processes relating to hydrology.
• Understand how human activity relies on effective functioning of natural systems.
• Interpret a range of geographical information sources, including maps and diagrams.
• Interpret Ordnance Survey maps, including grid references.

Pages 77-98

ASSIGNMENT FIVE

Content:

• Africa in its world context, before focusing down on its countries and main regions.
• Africa’s history up to the end of the colonial period, including background on the human geography of Africa today.

Topics:

• 6.1 What and Where is Africa?
• 6.2 A Little History
• 6.3 What’s Africa Like Today?
• 6.4 The Countries in Africa
• 6.5 Population Distribution in Africa
• 6.6 What Are Africa’s Main Physical Features?
• 6.7 Africa’s Biomes 

• Extend locational knowledge and deepen spatial awareness of the world’s countries, using maps of the world to focus on Africa, its environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries and major cities.

Pages 99-114

ASSIGNMENT SIX

Content:

• The history of Kenya from Portuguese colonisation in the 15^th century, through British rule in the 1920s, to independence in 1963.
• Kenya’s physical and human geography, and some of its links with the rest of the world through its cut flower business, tourism and China’s investment.

Topics:

• 7.1 Hello Kenya
• 7.2 What Are Kenya’s Main Physical Features?
• 7.3 What’s Kenya’s Climate Like?
• 7.4 A Short History of Kenya
• 7.5 Kenya’s Population
• 7.6 What’s Nairobi Like?
• 7.7 What Does Everyone Do?
• 7.8 How Kenya Earns Money From Flowers
• 7.9 On Safari!
• 7.10 So How is Kenya Doing? 

• Understand geographical similarities, differences and links between places through the study of the human and physical geography of a region in Africa.

Pages 115-136

ASSIGNMENT SEVEN