Issue 4

Geography
By Mr R Bloomfield

Introduction

This edition of the TLC features the first of several departments within the school. Each article will aim to provide an interesting insight into aspects of teaching and learning throughout the school.

Mr P Fowler

Geography at Polesworth

I cannot believe that its been a year since I took the post of Head of Geography at Polesworth. The past year has gone so quickly and has personally seen so many changes including the birth of my son and the absence of a good night’s sleep in months. It has also been a very important year not just for me but for my subject. Geography has always been a relevant and important subject and the past twelve months have illustrated this point significantly.

Natural disasters have devastated the planet with the scenes of Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistani Earthquake still fresh in our minds, the devastation of HIV and the effects on the population in many African countries. Possibly most significant are the new warnings about climate change and how this will effect the planet for our children.

In our own country we have seen debates re-emerge about migration policy, car-sharing on the M62, the European Union and nuclear power to name just a few.

Many people who have a traditional view of geography are not aware that we look at a wide range of issues and do not just focus on grid references and oxbow lakes. It is also the dynamic and relevant nature of the subject that makes it so much fun to teach. This also makes Geography one of the most important subjects that all students study. Whether it is understanding the devastating effects of a Tsunami or the constant impact of weather upon our lives, Geography is extremely important for our children to understand.

Geography is extremely adaptable and can be taught effectively using a number of different strategies. Drama, music, essays, drawing, modelling, ICT, numeracy, are just a number of different strategies that we employ to deliver good teaching (see results box for the proof!!). It is also one of the few subjects that contributes so dramatically to the rest of the curriculum. Geography contributes greatly to ICT, Maths, English and Science as well as other subjects such as Citizenship.
 

So what does go on in Geography lessons? As I am writing this I can see Mrs Part’s year 8 group making a rainforest. Mrs Lowe’s Year 9 group are completing group presentations by starting up businesses to show the advantages of living in volcanic areas. While Mrs Hockridge’s Year 12 group are doing independent research in the study centre.

So what do all the different year’s do in Geography? After completing a unit that brings all Year 7 students up to speed with their geographical skills, they are now doing investigation work while completing fieldwork in the local area. My year 7 group are currently completing fieldwork where they are looking at traffic problems in Polesworth giving students an important sense of what issues arise in their local environment.

Year 8 have just finished a unit on Rivers and have been on a fieldtrip to Dovedale and Carsington Reservoir (Perhaps even more important this year with the renewed threats of hosepipe bans and compulsory water meters). Now we are looking at Brazil and are focusing on the life and destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Year 9 are producing work on Volcanoes and Earthquakes with a huge variety of activities taking part at the moment. The work that has been produced has been truly outstanding. A couple of examples are shown in these pictures which highlight Charlie Day’s excellent storyboard of the Mt St Helens Eruption (1980) and Bobby Grayson and Jack Sweet’s mighty volcano that they produced for Mrs Hockridge.

As well as getting ready to start their coursework and going on a residential fieldtrip to Wales next term, Year 10 students are completing work on flooding and seeing how human activity has influenced rivers. While Year 11, after just finishing farming, are looking at Natural Hazards.

Year 12 have just been on a weeks residential to Dorset to help them with the skills module for the A-Level exam. while year 13 are finishing off work before their crucial exams in June.

It has been a busy but productive year and I’m looking forward to the challenges that the future will bring. Miss Elphick, a new Geographer will start in September and we will be changing our fieldwork opportunities at Key Stage 3. The department has also organised a trip to Iceland in 2007.

If you have any questions about the Geography department or its aims for the future then feel free to contact me.  I would appreciate any feedback to make it more useful to both parents and students.
 

Back to Top