Geography: Comparing C2000 & C2014 – KS 2

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On analysis it is clear the emphasis in the primary Geography curriculum has shifted noticeably from developing enquiry skills to acquiring geographical knowledge. Although students are still required to develop practical skills in fieldwork, compass reading and map reading, they are no longer explicitly required to ask geographical questions, analyse evidence or draw conclusions.

However, in the subject’s ‘Purpose of Study’ it is stated a high-quality geographical education should, “inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination… together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes”. It does not require or suggest any specific pedagogy, leaving teaching and learning approaches for schools to decide.

Changes at KS.2:

• Geographical enquiry skills now termed as Geographical skills and fieldwork
• No longer requirement for students to ask geographical questions or express their own views, analyse evidence & draw conclusions
• Introduction of developing compass skills and map reading skills – use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key

• New requirements:
  • locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe 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 UK, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features & land-use patterns; & understand how some of these aspects have changed over time
  • identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night)
• Note: C2000 provided a list of examples of significant places & the environment to be learnt in KS2 which closely resembles the required list in the new curriculum.

• The section in the old curriculum on Environmental change and sustainable development has been dropped

KS.2 Programmes of Study

Curriculum 2000	New Curriculum	Changes
Geographical enquiry and skillsIn undertaking geographical enquiry, pupils should be taught to: ask geographical questions collect and record evidence analyse evidence and draw conclusions identify and explain different views that people, including themselves, hold about topical geographical issues communicate in ways appropriate to the task and audience In developing geographical skills, pupils should be taught: to use appropriate geographical vocabulary to use appropriate fieldwork techniques to use atlases and globes, and maps and plans at a range of scales to use secondary sources of information, including aerial photographs to draw plans and maps at a range of scales to use ICT to help in geographical investigations decision-making skills	Geographical skills and fieldwork 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. Geographical enquiry skills now termed as Geographical skills and fieldwork No longer requirement for students to ask geographical questions or express their own views, analyse evidence & draw conclusions	Geographical enquiry skills now termed as Geographical skills and fieldwork No longer requirement for students to ask geographical questions or express their own views, analyse evidence & draw conclusions New curriculum requires: Developing compass skills and map reading skills – use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key
PlacesPupils should be taught to: to identify and describe what places are like the location of places and environments they study and other significant places and environments to describe where places are to explain why places are like they are to identify how and why places change and how they may change in the future to describe and explain how and why places are similar to and different from other places in the same country and elsewhere in the world how places fit within a wider geographical context and are interdependent	Location knowledge locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe 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 UK, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features & land-use patterns; & understand how some of these aspects have changed over time identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night) Place knowledge understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America	New requirements: locate the world’s countries, using maps name and locate counties and cities identify the position and significance of latitude
Patterns and processesPupils should be taught to: recognise and explain patterns made by individual physical and human features in the environment recognise some physical and human processes and explain how these can cause changes in places and environments.		Although this unit has been dropped from the new curriculum as an explicit study, patterns & processes do appear in the other units in the new curriculum.
Environmental change and sustainable developmentPupils should be taught to: recognise how people can improve the environment or damage it and how decisions about places and environments affect the future quality of people’s lives recognise how and why people may seek to manage environments sustainably, and to identify opportunities for their own involvement		The section in the old curriculum on Environmental change and sustainable development has been dropped
	Human and physical geography describe and understand key aspects of: physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, & 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	This is a new unit, however, much of the content in this unit appeared in different places in the old curriculum.
Breadth of studythe study of two localities:Localities a locality in the United Kingdom a locality in a country that is less economically developed Themes water and its effects on landscapes and people, including the physical features of rivers or coasts and the processes of erosion and deposition that affect them how settlements differ and change, including why they differ in size and character and an issue arising from changes in land use an environmental issue, caused by change in an environment and attempts to manage the environment sustainably In their study of localities and themes, pupils should: study at a range of scales – local, regional and national study a range of places and environments in different parts of the world, including the United Kingdom and the European Union carry out fieldwork investigations outside the classroom.		The new curriculum does not contain guidance on breadth of study.

 

 

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