Enrichment Activities

Here is a selection of photos that shows a range of activities we do to enrich our provision of geography

Regular litter picking in the area surrounding our school helping children to develop a sense of their local area and an understanding of the impact humans can have on what a place is like.    

Early Years

Geography Work in the EYFS comes under Understanding the World. It is mostly practical in nature and revolves around our school and local area. The EYFS children go on local walks; where they looked at street furniture and discussed direction. They look at and talk about similarities and differences in different environments around the school such as the nature area. The children have access to maps on play mats, in puzzles, inflatable globes etc. They are taught about other countries through stories and festivals e.g. Chinese New Year, the book Handa’s surprise. They have lots of opportunities to discuss and explore different weather and seasons in a practical way. They enjoy finding out about lots of different people who help us. In the Early Years children build up a vocabulary of direction and positional language. This type of vocabulary is used as standard practise throughout our EYFS. Giving children a great start to their geographical journey

Year 1

Our Local Area:

Enjoying a local walk. Observing human features of our local area.

Observing seasonal change and weather patterns at the local Park. Using simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment.

Year 1: Bright Lights, Big City:

Visit to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge – Looking at London Landmarks, helping develop their contextual knowledge of London including some of its defining physical and human characteristics.

Year 1: Rio de Vida

Comparing Rio to London

Celebrating Carnival, learning and performing the poem ‘Samba Street’

Road Safety local Walk – looking for Human Features that keep us safe from traffic.  

Using directional language to help describe the location of features on their journey and looking for routes on a map while on their zoo trip.

Year 1: Enchanted woodland

Identifying the park and woodland on an aerial photograph before travelling to the Park to explore.

Year 2

Our Local Area:

On a local walk to Cedars Park. Observing human and physical features of our local area and learning about the Cedars Estate.

Year 2: Land Ahoy!

RNLI visit – Helping to develop key vocabulary relating to physical features of the coast.

Year 2: Magnificent Monarchs

Windsor Castle visit to a royal residency. Developing contextual knowledge of the location of a significant place and developing understanding of different types of royal residency.

Year 2: Wiggle and Crawl

Visit to Headstone Manor. Using a simple map. Helping to answer questions about the local environment by observing classifying and recording minibeasts.

Year 2: Coastline

The Children in Year 2 enjoyed spending time at West Wittering beach as part of their coastline topic. Also revisiting some of the knowledge they learnt during their Land Ahoy topic.

Identifying key physical features of the coastline include headlands, caves, arches, stacks, bays, beaches, cliffs, sandbanks and sand dunes;

Identifying human features of the coastline include hotels, castles, sea walls, lifeboat stations, harbours, piers, amusement arcades, lighthouses, shops and cafes; Locational language; Compass directions; Physical processes – erosion; Changes over time; Tourism.

Year 3

Local Area:

Local walk to Roger Bannisters Sports Ground.

Tribal Tales:

Stone Age Day - Gathering evidence to answer a geographical question or enquiry.

Year 3: Rocks, Relics and Rumbles:

Visit to the Natural History Museum – taking part in a volcanoes and earthquakes workshop and exploring the galleries. Finding out more about layers of the Earth; Rocks; Plate tectonics; Ring of Fire; Features of volcanoes; Lines of latitude and longitude; Volcanic eruptions; Earthquakes and tsunamis.

Year 4

I am Warrior!

Visit to Verulamium Museum and park to learn more about the Romans. Helping the children to describe and understand key aspects of 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.

Year 4 : Road Trip USA!

Group Work exploring and comparing aspects of the physical features of the USA.

Year 4 have been exploring the Native American Iroquois tribes and how their lifestyle was supported by the local environment and how they adapted to make the most of their surroundings. The Iroquois depended on the natural resources around them to meet all of their basic needs. The woodlands provided shelter, food and protection, as well as the materials for making their weapons, tools and communication.

Year 5

Local Area:

Exploring the local high street. Discovering what Harrow Weald has to offer and surveying the residents. Drawing sketch maps.

Year 5: South Africa

Lion King trip to begin topic. Giving children a feel for the geographical differences and similarities of England and Africa.

Year 5 celebrated South African Day – to explore further some of it’s human geography.

Year 5: Scream Machine

Trip to Thorpe Park.

Locate the most popular theme and adventure parks on a map of the UK and find out where they are in relation to urban and rural features and transport links. Work out which theme park is nearest and plan a trip

Year 5: Pharaohs

A trip to the British Museum Egyptian exhibition looking at How the characteristic of a settlement changes as it gets bigger (settlement hierarchy)

Year 6

A Child’s War

Visit to Bentley Priory Museum – learning about the battle of Britain and geographical change over time. Thinking about human population growth and movement, economic activities, space, land use and human settlement patterns.

Year 6: Hola Mexico   - Mexican Festival

Cooking Mexican dishes, making pinatas, painting day of the dead masks, learning Mexican songs and Mexican Hat Dance. To celebrate our knowledge of the Human and physical geography of Mexico and explore cultural influences

Year 6: Road Safety walk collecting data about traffic and road Safety.

Year 6: Frozen Kingdom

This is some children’s work looking at the features of the polar region.