History and Geography
This Term: Autumn 1
In Geography, we’re taking a look at Climate and Sustainability. We’ll engage in discussions about how we can live more sustainably and protect our environment within and outside of school. Each member of Year 4 will have designated eco jobs to contribute to this essential cause. The main objective of this enquiry, is for the pupils to understand through the use of a number of examples what sustainability entails and how they might approach applying those principles to their own lives. It is important for young geographers to grasp that sustainability is not just confined to how we interact with the environment. It also has equal relevance to many aspects of their life, especially in the context of personal and social wellbeing. This groundwork is also important from the perspective of establishing continuity and progression through the curriculum – in Upper Key Stage 2 the concept of sustainability will be central to the pupil’s investigation of the causes and implications of climate change.
Pupils are introduced to the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development through a number of examples that will be familiar to them in their everyday lives, such as recycling and ‘bags for life’ at supermarkets. From these familiar examples, the pupils progress gradually to
reflect upon the concept of a resource and how these can be renewable and infinite or nonrenewable and finite. From this foundation the pupils are encouraged to consider their own lives and what they currently do as individuals and at home as a family to be more sustainable.
The school community is the next focus of the investigation. The pupils are given the opportunity to survey the school’s level of sustainability against a number of categories and to identify priorities for development in an Action Plan. The scale and context of the enquiry then moves to a national level with the pupils considering why the UK Government is looking to massively increase the contribution of renewable energy, such as solar and wind, to the
generation of electricity. The final two ancillary questions enable the pupils to understand the concept of sustainable development. The first focuses on the work of a UK conservation charity. The second turns its attention to the application of appropriate technology to improve the quality of people’s lives in
one of the poorest countries in the world.
Our Topics:
Autumn:
How can we live more sustainably? (Geography)
How did the lives of ancient Britons change during the Stone Age? (History)
Spring:
Why are jungles so wet and deserts so dry? (Geography)
What is the secret of the standing stones (Bronze Age)? (History)
Summer: