Intent- What is the vision?

At Manor Leas Junior Academy our intent is that every child has a secure understanding of the world around them. The curriculum at Manor Leas Junior Academy is carefully crafted and designed to develop a strong understanding of Geography and develop geographical skills. We challenge children to develop curiosity and questioning. We want to provide a knowledge rich curriculum with delivery and content that enables pupils to revisit prior knowledge and link this to newly acquired themes and ideas. 

Implementation- How does it work across school?

In order to deliver our intent across the school, we use a variety of strategies and resources that are outlined below:

Knowledge Organiser – Knowledge organisers contain the key information and vocabulary for each unit. They will be found in the pupils’ books and on display to support their learning.

Key Question – The key question sets out the main aims of the series of lessons being taught within the subject. They are developed in order to challenge geographical thinking of our pupils.

Key Vocabulary – Key vocabulary will be discussed regularly and displayed. It is expected that the children use the key vocabulary throughout the unit and during assessment.

Quizzing – Low stakes quizzing is used to review previous learning.

Knowledge Map – The knowledge map can be referred to during lessons and used to display key information. Teachers can show links across the curriculum to develop and build knowledge.

Assessment – End of unit multiple choice quizzes will be used to assess knowledge.

COWWS & HOTCLUB!

At Manor Leas Junior Academy, we use the acronyms COWWS & HOTCLUB when identifying and locating new places around the world.

COWWS:

• CONTINENT – Which continent is it in?
• OCEANS AND SEAS – Which oceans or seas are nearby?
• WEATHER – What is the weather like there? Is it hot or cold there? Is it near the equator or the poles?
• WHO AND WHAT – Who (people) and what (animals and plants) live there?
• SEE – What would we see there? What is natural? What has been made by humans?

HOTCLUB:

• HEMISPHERE - Which hemisphere(s) is it in?
• OTHER PLACES - Where is it in relation to other places we have studied or know about, including countries and continents (using 8 points of a compass)?
• TIMEZONE - Which timezone(s) is it in?
• CLIMATE - Which climate zone(s) is it in? (Tropical/Dry/Temperate/Continental/Polar)
• LATITUDE - Where is it in relationship to the main lines of latitude (using 8 points of a compass)? (Arctic Circle/Tropic of Cancer/Equator/Tropic of Capricorn/Antarctic Circle) What is its latitude and longitude?
• US - Where is it in relation to our village/town/city/county/country?
• BODIES OF WATER - Which bodies of water are nearby?