Geography

Here you will find some useful information, links & resources that parents/carers can use at home, if your child is absent from school, wants to access extra work or it is a holiday period.

Curriculum Overviews

Knowledge Organisers

You can find Knowledge Organisers inside children’s planners, which detail the key facts, vocabulary and events in the topic they are learning.

Ways to use a Knowledge Organiser at home

Self-testing with the Knowledge Organiser

The Knowledge Organisers are designed to help students learn a wide range of knowledge. To get the most out of the Knowledge Organiser, sections should be learnt and then self-tested. Here are some tips on how students can successfully self-test. Work should always checked and corrected by the children themselves.

 

Read, cover, write, check, correct

• Read the key word and definition three times over with the intention of memorising them. Only do one keyword at a time.
• When you think you have memorised it, cover the page so you can no longer see the definitions.
• Write keyword and definition in your work book from memory.
• Uncover the definitions to check how close you were to the definition.
• Use a different colour pen to correct your work, including spellings.

This technique can also be used to recreate and label diagrams.

Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping is a process that maps out your thoughts using keywords that trigger associations in the brain to spark further ideas. Children can create mind maps using the knowledge on their knowledge organiser, enabling them to draw on the information and visualise it in a different way. Once you have made your map, you can cover it and test yourself on different strands.

Example mind map:

 

Clock Learning

For this technique you draw a basic clock.

Take a subject or topic and break it down into 12 subcategories. Make notes in each chunk of the clock. Revise each slot for 5 minutes. Turn the clock over and then try to write out as much information as you can from one of the segments, e.g. All the information in the 2-3pm segment.

Flash Cards

To make your own, take some card and cut into rectangles/use ready-made revision cards. Write the keyword or question on one side and the definition or answer on the other. Use diagrams, mnemonics, or pictures to help you remember the answer. Then go through your cards looking at one side and seeing if you can remember the keyword/definition on the other side.

Mnemonics

Make up a sentence where each word starts with the same letter as the words you need to remember.

 

Resources

BBC Bitesize - BBC Bitesize is home to key information, games and video clips on a range of topics.

 

Fact Monster - Provides key facts, figures and dates.

 

Nat Geo Kids - Access to child-friendly articles on a range of global issues, a range of quizzes, and lots of key geographical facts.

 

The School Run - A website which provides useful research material.

 

Geography Activity - Where Am I - Locate yourself on the map both from a local and international point of view.

Geography Idea - Look at a map of the world. Choose a country that you would like to visit. Research this country to complete a fact file or leaflet, holiday brochure style booklet about this country. Include details such as climate, landscape, traditions, foods, currency, key landmarks.

Geography Idea - Imagine that you are going to this destination – complete a suitcase drawing the items that you would pack if you were to go here – relate to your research.

Geography Idea - Imagine that you are at a chosen destination - write a postcard home - relate to your research to include details about the weather, what you have done there, what foods you have tried, etc.

Geography Activity - Postcard - Use this template to write your post card.

Kids World Travel Guide - Facts about the world's continents, countries and people.

 

Global Trek - Imagine yourself taking a holiday and learn facts about your chosen destination.

 

World Geography Games - Hundreds of online games about geography that will really test your knowledge.

 

Ducksters - Games about geography (& history)  including crosswords, hangman and many others, that can reinforce learning about countries, capitals, etc.

 

Zoomtastic - An interesting games where a player has thirty seconds to name a country that is shown on the map. Google Maps shows the location zooming out as you try to work out where you are.

Searching for Carmen Sandiego - A visit to the classic game and TV show, try and track down the jewel thief in Where on Google Maps is Carmen Sandiego?

Trivia Plaza - List of quizzes from landmark locations to airport codes. A great way to test your knowledge.