Geography - Key Stage 3

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What pupils will learn

How it builds on learning

Earth’s Story

The purpose of this module is to stimulate an interest in and a sense of wonder about planet Earth by telling its story - from the ‘Big Bang’ to the present day. Pupils will be introduced to physical and human geography, and develop an understanding of our changing planet.

Pupils learn about the changing nature of the Earth and the development of life on our planet over the past few billion years, the evolution of life over a few hundred million years, and the increase in human capabilities and dispersal around the world over the past hundred thousand years.  In future topics pupils look at the progression of civilisation over the last ten thousand years, and the most recent trends of commercialisation, industrialisation and globalisation of the last millennium.

This topic harnesses the natural interest pupils have about Earth in space from primary school (Scoffham 2013 & 2018).  Pupils are introduced to geological timescales, human and natural processes evident throughout this time, and the three types of geography – physical, human, and environmental. 

The Best of the British Isles

In this unit pupils learn about the incredible physical and human geography of the British Isles.  They examine their perceptions of the British Isles and begin to search for thematic patterns and contrasts using different types of maps, e.g. weather, relief, settlement.  The unit concludes with a group challenge – pupils create a tour that gives a fair view of the British Isles.

Pupils will develop their geographical skills

by working with a range of geographical

resources e.g. maps, diagrams, photographs

and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).  OS maps are used to practice 4 and 6 figure grid references, distance, direction, and height using contour lines in familiar and unfamiliar locations.  Pupils apply their understanding of physical and human geography and begin to work with and interpret more complex geographical sources including aerial photographs and choropleth maps.

Frozen Planet

Pupils go back in time to study glacial environments, from the frozen land mass of Great Britain in the last Ice Age to the snow-covered plateau of Antarctica. Pupils will find out what it is like to explore and live in these places. They will also discover that ice moves and flows, which creates some spectacular landforms.

This topic further enhances pupils’ locational knowledge by considering the locations of Earth’s major glaciers.  Pupils are introduced to detailed physical geographical concepts (e.g. glaciation, erosion) that underpin future topics.

Climate & Weather

Pupils are introduced to Earth’s climate and weather systems. This unit begins with a global approach – focusing on climate zones and the factors that affect global climate. The UK’s climate and weather is then considered. Fieldwork around the school (microclimates) completes the topic.

This topic consolidates geographical and locational knowledge and understanding from previous topics and stretches this by getting pupils to apply climatic understanding to explain environmental variation between different countries and locations within the UK.

Pupils develop their understanding of the fieldwork enquiry process by collecting, analysing and communicating information gathered through fieldwork.

Africa – A Land of Contrasts

This topic is all about the second largest continent in the world - Africa. Any stereotypes pupils may hold or be aware of will be challenged as they learn about the differences that exist across the continent. Pupils will also learn about one region in detail - the Horn of Africa.

This is a synoptic unit which draws together key concepts in Year 7.  Pupils will cover human  geography relating to population and diversity, along with physical geography relating to climate and the natural environment.

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What pupils will learn

How it builds on learning

Cracking Coasts and a Town in Trouble: Walton-on-the-Naze    

7,000 properties in the UK will be lost to coastal erosion over the next century.  Pupils explore this issue, focusing on the key features and processes that work to shape our coastlines.  They focus on how coastlines can be managed and the conflicts between stakeholders, which makes this management a complicated task.

Increasingly detailed knowledge of physical processes introduced in Year 7 allows pupils to describe and explain different environments.

Once pupils are more secure in their understanding of physical processes, students complete a complex enquiry which supports the development of disciplinary knowledge.  It increases their capacity to recognise and ask geographical questions and to critique unfamiliar sources of information.

Why Do Borders Matter?

Governments manage borders, but humans live inside them.  Pupils consider how the lines we use to split up the planet play a decisive role in the past, present and future of billions of people.  Pupils also consider the issues surrounding migration using contemporary case studies including the Ukraine-Russia conflict and migrant workers in Qatar.

This topic primarily focuses on human geographical concepts introduced in the Best of the British Isles topic in Year 7, building pupils’ understanding of how borders are created, and why and how population structure changes.  This will enable pupils to begin to consider the impacts of this change on governmental systems and human populations.

Through a variety of unfamiliar place-based exemplars (Mexico, Qatar, Ukraine-Russia, Democratic Republic of Congo) pupils will begin to gain a greater understanding of the key differences and similarities between these locations.

Raging Rivers and Ferocious Floods                                  In this unit, pupils look at some of the world’s most spectacular rivers, how they shape the land, and how flooding can lead to disastrous impacts in places around the world.

This topic considers the interactions between human and physical activity.

Pupils will apply their previous knowledge and geographical skills gained in the Coasts topic to new and unfamiliar contexts.

Utilising the enquiry skills developed at the start of the year, pupils will become increasingly confident in working independently through the fieldwork process on the school site.  The topic finishes with climate change, which reinforces connections to prior topics (Coasts, Climate, Glaciers) and establishes the foundations for more sophisticated climate debates in Year 9.

Changing Cities

As the global population grows, towns and cities will be expected to cope with an extra 2.5 billion people by 2050.  In this unit, pupils begin to understand the opportunities and challenges that urbanisation presents.

This unit requires an existing understanding of population distribution and density (established in Year 7), and how processes interact to change this over time.

Pupils consider more substantive theories and ideas including urbanisation, urban growth, urban decline and regeneration using a range of examples (Hong Kong, Detroit, Mumbai).

How is Asia being transformed?

Asia is a diverse continent of 49 countries.  Dynamic changes have taken place here in the last 50 years.  India and China are now very important to the world’s economy, cities are growing rapidly, and no other continent in the world has seen greater levels of economic growth in the last twenty years than Asia.  This unit introduces pupils to some of these transformational changes – both positive and negative.

This is a synoptic unit which draws together key concepts in Year 8.  Pupils will cover human geography relating to population, urbanisation, development and economic activity and consider how these interact to create change.

Pupils will extend their locational and contextual knowledge of globally significant places through place-based exemplars.

This topic also builds upon pupils’ prior understanding of environmental change. Pupils will more extensively consider how environmental change can be brought about by human activity through globalisation including the role of trans-national corporations and an example of the fast fashion industry. Pupils become more confident with their geographical higher order skills.

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What pupils will learn

How it builds on learning

The Power of the Planet

We live in an amazing, ever-changing world full of natural wonders.  This topic focuses on great forces that have created and shaped the Earth and impacted on people all around the world.  Volcanoes are one of the most fundamental forces on our planet.  Students explore the impact of dramatic volcanic eruptions in contrasting places.

With a sound knowledge of physical and human processes developed in Year 7 and 8, pupils consider more extensively how physical

and human geographical processes interact at different scales to cause varied impacts.

Pupils build on their decision-making skills by considering a complex decision-making exercise about development on a volcanic island.  This helps students to

understand the natural challenges people face

across the globe and begin to utilise a problem- solving mentality to 'real world' issues.

Perceptions of the Planet – is our understanding of the world wrong?

The purpose of this module is to challenge our perceptions of the planet, change the way students see the world, and suggest things are probably better than they think.  This scheme of work reveals some instincts that distort our perspective ― from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of “us” and “them”) to the way we consume media (paying attention to the negative and dramatic stories) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).  Using positive stories and real, data-based information, this topic encourages a new thinking habit that will challenge the way students see the world and empower them to respond to challenges and opportunities of the future.

This topic consolidates prior learning,

requiring students to have an understanding of

population, natural resources, industrial

structure, as well as climatic and environmental conditions.  Students will apply this previous knowledge and consider how these factors enable and limit the development of countries around the world.

Pupils also learn about disciplinary knowledge and the practices of geographers by considering how views of development have changed over time.

Our Blue Planet – How can oceans be sustainably managed for the future?

Our ocean is the earth's defining feature. But the blue of our blue planet is so much more than just a colour. It is rich with life and plays an important role in keeping our planet stable and healthy. Worryingly, we are seeing our ocean change, for the worse.  Our Blue Planet introduces students to the value of the world’s oceans, why they’re under threat, the cutting-edge research science to protect species across the world, and clever technological solutions to manage our oceans sustainably.

Pupils build on their understanding of physical geography.  They consider complex changes (e.g. trophic cascades) and interconnections (food webs) and develop a more complex understanding of sustainability and sustainable management.

This topic also stretches pupils’ geographical higher order thinking skills with several opportunities to assess and evaluate geographical information.

Extreme Environments

This unit is all about harsh and challenging places on Earth including hot deserts and tropical rainforests.  Pupils learn about the characteristics of these places, understand how plants, animals and people survive, and consider the ways in which these places are under threat.

Pupils will build upon their previous experience of considering the interactions between physical and human processes.  Pupils will explore and analyse the complex relationships that exist within these biomes, and the effect that human interaction and intervention can have.  Pupils will more extensively consider how environmental change can be brought about by human activity by analysing local and global changes and an example of the palm oil industry.

Adventures in the Anthropocene

We live in epoch-making times. The changes humans have made in recent decades have altered our world beyond anything it has experienced in its 4.5 billion-year history – we have become a force on par with earth-shattering asteroids and planet-cloaking volcanoes.  This topic explores how humanity’s changes are reshaping our living planet, transforming our relationship with the natural world, and suggests how we might engineer Earth for the future.

This is a synoptic unit which draws together key concepts taught throughout Key Stage 3 including change, climate change, and human development.

Locational knowledge and concepts covered over the three-year course will be reconsolidated and embedded within this topic, encouraging students to actively retrieve previous knowledge.