At Fairisle Junior School, we are aspiring to nurture and encourage all of our pupils to become enthusiastic and inquisitive geographers.  We want our children to be inspired by their curiosity and fascination about the world.  

By the end of their time at Fairisle Junior School children will:

• Understand where they live in relation to the rest of the world
• Have opinions that they can justify through their understanding of human and physical features
• Be able to use research and present what they have learned in different ways
• Have a passion and a curiosity for the world and the people who live in it
• Be able to use geographical skills through fieldwork

What will children learn?

Children will learn all about the world around them, from their doorstep to the furthest corners of the Earth.  They will explore both the physical and human features; discover what this looks like in different places and inquire how one impacts the other. 

Throughout their learning, children will explore their local area, extreme weathers, tropical rainforests and so much more.  Each year they will build upon their previous learning and make links through new discoveries.

There are many opportunities across their time at Fairisle where children will be able to get hands-on experience of fieldwork. In Year 3, children go on a tour of Southampton and the surrounding area, giving them the opportunity to see the differences between cities and villages for themselves. In Year 6, the children visit Southampton Docks to explore globalisation and the part Southampton plays in this.

Here is our Geography Curriculum Overview:

Year 3

Children explore 'Villages, Towns and Cities' and identify the features associated with the different types of settlements. 

Children have the chance to create their own settlements and decide on the features they think would be best to have.

Children find out about natural disasters and the risks and benefits of living in specific locations around the world.

Year 3 deepen their understanding of the Earth by exploring the hemispheres and seasons. They learn about air masses and how these impact the weather around the world.

Year 4

All about rivers! In Year 4, children dive into rivers, learning about all the different sections and the impact rivers can have on settlements and the surrounding land.

The children learn about migration, building upon their learning on the different types of settlements. They learn about the different types of migration, reasons why people migrate and the impact it has on the local areas. 

Year 5

Children explore slums around the world, learning about the general features of slums before giving deeper into specific slums in Brazil and India. 

Children also explore the different biomes found around the world. They use their atlas skills, online research and graphs to find out details about each biome.

Year 6

In Year 6, children learn about geographical fieldwork and why it is important. They practise their own skills by creating sketch maps, collecting data, tallying and generating graphs.

Year 6 also explore population; using all of their prior learning on settlements, migration and slums to understand the impact population changes has on countries.