Be ready for an Ofsted Deep Dive with this whole-school plan for Geography!
What you get:
A curriculum map, which shows a clear progression in place knowledge, process/feature knowledge, map work skills and fieldwork skills;
A progression in location map, which details specific case studies for each topic;
Planning/Assessment sheets for every Geography topic, from EYFS to Y6;
A leadership portfolio document to show to your HMI, before or during an inspection;
An action plan template.
All of these are editable, to make them easy to adapt for your school and for different case-study locations if you wish.
A range of Y5/6 spelling activities based around:
-cial or -tial word endings;
-cious or -tious word endings;
–ant and –ance –ancy word endings;
–ent and –ence –ency word endings.
Some spelling activities that cover Y3 and Y4 National Curriculum objectives:
Doubling consonants;
y used in place of i (e.g. crystal);
Possessive apostrophes.
A variety of resources to cover the Year 5 Science objective: I can compare and group together everyday materials on the basis of their properties including their [hardness, solubility, transparency], conductivity (electrical and thermal), and response to magnets.
Three, practical investigations to cover ‘Working Scientifically’ objectives:
Planning different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary;
Taking measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate;
Recording data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs;
Reporting and presenting findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations;
Identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.
A writing unit based on the book ‘Heroes’ by David Long.
Includes work on relative clauses and cohesive devices.
Suitable for Year 5 or 6.
Also links with World War I History (as the focus stories are about war dogs).
Everything you could possibly need to teach a 3 week writing unit on space! Tried and tested on a Year 5 class but differentiation is spread between Y1 - Y5, so easily adaptable for all year groups. The writing outcome is a non-fiction report about the Solar System.
There are three levels of differentiation within this unit:
Consolidate: simple sentences, full stops and capital letters;
Core: Subordination;
Extend: Relative Clauses
There is also a strong focus on spelling, with differentiated work on common exception words from Y2 - Y5
All worksheets are provided, as well as lesson slides to support teaching.
Links really well with the science topic: Earth and Beyond.
A one-stop-shop writing unit based around the book ‘Winter’s Child’ by Angela McAllister. All the resources you need are included in the download.
The writing outcome is a recount with a variety of sentence structures and expanded noun phrases. The sentence structures are differentiated by ability group:
SEND: Expanded noun phrases
Consolidate: Coordinating conjunctions.
Core: Subordination.
Extend: Relative clauses.
This unit was originally taught to Year 5 but it could easily be used from Year 2 - 6, due to the accessible nature of the original book, incredible illustrations and the grammar covered.
A three or four week writing unit based around the books ‘Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World’ and ‘Fantastically Great Women who Saved the Planet’ by Kate Pankhurst.
The writing outcome is a Biography with a range of sentence structures and cohesive devices. The sentence structures are differentiated by ability group:
Consolidate: Coordinating conjunctions.
Core: Subordination.
Extend: Relative clauses.
This unit was originally taught to Year 5 but it could easily be used from Year 2 - 6, due to the accessible nature of the original books and the grammar covered. We also used supporting material from ‘What Would she do? Real-life Stories of 25 Rebel Women’ by Kay Woodward and other books of a similar theme.
This is a brilliant unit that has so many opportunities for discussion about racial and gender equality and women’s rights.
Now with SATs style reading questions!
This eight lesson reading unit uses the Marcia Williams version of Oliver Twist (although any suitable abridged version could be used instead, or indeed, the musical film).
The unit also focuses on the historical context of the book, enabling children to visualise what life was like in Victorian England and for those living in workhouses.
The life of Charles Dickens is also explored.
The reading objectives covered are from the Y5 curriculum, but this unit could easily be adapted for years 3 - 6.
All video links, text extracts and worksheets are included, so you’ll have everything you need, except the book itself.
A unit of work covering everything you need to teach the forces objectives for Year 5, plus a range of ‘Working Scientifically’ objectives too.
All worksheets and recording frames are within the Power Point slides.
It also includes a lesson celebrating the work of Galileo.
Topics covered:
-Gravity
Galileo
Air Resistance
Water Resistance
Friction
Gears, pulleys and levers
Creating graphs
Analysing data.
A 6 week unit of work on the medium of printing.
This unit would be suitable for years 3 - 6.
Pupils will study a variety of contemporary artists working in print.
Pupils will explore a range of printing techniques including printing with found objects, collagraph and foam board printing.
The final outcome of the unit is a foam board print, based around your History, Geography or English topic.
An alternative to the traditional tale of Little Red Riding Hood, this two-week (10 lesson) unit of work is based on the short animation ‘Red’. The themes in the animation are ‘never judge a book by its cover’ and ‘things aren’t always what they seem’.
The writing outcome (a recount) focuses on consistency in sentence structure and the use of coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. It was created to address some of the common errors in writing I often see at the start of Year 5, but this resource would be suitable for Year 3 - Year 6.
A two-week writing unit on the text Archie’s War, by Marcia Williams. It links perfectly with my History unit on World War I but it can also stand alone.
There is a heavy focus on sentence structure in this unit, with three levels of differentiation - this makes it suitable for Years 3 - 6.
A magical poetry unit based on 'The Lost Words, by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
To be taught over approximately 2 weeks (if English is taught every day), this fully resourced unit of work focuses on the following Learning Objectives:
Use a varied and rich vocabulary.
Use an increasing range of sentence length and structure.
There is a focus on reading and talk for writing, as well as figurative language like simile, personification and metaphor.
I have included lots of video and music links to create a highly engaging and visual learning journey.
This unit can be easily adapted for both LKS2 and UKS2.
**A fully planned and resourced 6 or 7 week unit on the Tudor Age of Exploration. Suitable for upper KS2 but easily adaptable for lower KS2. **
The unit follows a historical enquiry cycle, with key questions throughout.
Teaching strategies focus on visual tools and active learning, so that children have a constant frame of reference for this historical period.
There are links to current issues around colonialism with an exploration of whether Columbus was a hero or a villain.
Each lesson can be kept ‘short and sweet’ or you have the option to ‘explore deeper’ with discussion about all the key concepts.
Covers the National Curriculum objective: ’ A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066’.
Also covers the following Geography from the KS2 curriculum: ‘Identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian’.
**Your one-stop, earthquakes and volcanoes shop!
A fully planned and resourced 7 week unit on ‘Earthquakes and Volcanoes’. Suitable for upper KS2 (Y5 and Y6) but easily adaptable for lower KS2. **
The unit follows a geographical enquiry cycle, with key questions throughout.
Teaching strategies focus on visual tools and active learning, so that children ‘do geography’ rather than learning facts. Extensive video links make the learning highly visual.
Up to date case studies include: Mount Etna 2020 eruptions, Volcan de Fuego 2018 eruption, Christchurch earthquake of 2011, Japanese Tsunami of 2011.
Each lesson can be kept ‘short and sweet’ or you have the option to ‘explore deeper’ with discussion about all the key concepts.
Covers the National Curriculum objective: ’ Describe and understand key aspects of: physical geography, including: volcanoes and earthquakes’.
**A fully planned and resourced 6 week unit on ‘A Region in South America’, comparing it with a region in the UK (The Solent). Suitable for upper KS2 (Y5 and Y6) but easily adaptable for lower KS2. **
The unit follows a geographical enquiry cycle, with key questions throughout.
Teaching strategies focus on visual tools and active learning, so that children ‘do geography’ rather than learning facts.
Each lesson can be kept ‘short and sweet’ or you have the option to ‘explore deeper’ with discussion about all the key concepts.
Covers the National Curriculum objective: ’ Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country,
and a region within North or South America’.
**A fully planned and researched 6 week unit on The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China. **
Suitable for Upper KS2 but easily adaptable for Lower KS2.
Covers the National Curriculum objective: ‘The achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China’.
**A fully planned and resourced 6 week unit on World War 1. Suitable for upper KS2 but easily adaptable for lower KS2. **
The unit follows a historical enquiry cycle, with key questions throughout.
Teaching strategies focus on visual tools and active learning, so that children have a constant frame of reference for these events that are almost out of living memory.
Each lesson can be kept ‘short and sweet’ or you have the option to ‘explore deeper’ with discussion about all the key concepts.
Covers the National Curriculum objective: ’ A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066’.