Year 7 Geography

Brief summary of the syllabus:

The course is based upon the Geog.1 textbook and Key Geography textbooks, which are used throughout Key Stage 3. The theme for the Year 7 syllabus is 'Geography all around me!' It involves work on the following topics:

• Making and mapping connections
• Exploring Britain
• Settlement
• Extreme weather
• Sustainable living
• The Geography of the world of sport

Geography fieldwork is introduced during the year with two fieldwork related projects being completed. Fieldwork is carried out in Barnet during the Settlement unit and in the School grounds during the Extreme Weather unit.

What skills and attributes are being developed and examined?

• The use of maps including; scale, grid references, direction, symbols and contours.
• The construction of maps and plans at a variety of scales.
• The use of an atlas, including the index and contents pages and latitude and longitude.
• The use of Geographic Information Systems (G.I.S.).
• The use of fieldwork techniques and tools appropriately, safely and efficiently. 
• The skill of geographical enquiry including the collection, presentation and analysis of primary data collected during fieldwork. 
• The interpretation of photographs, diagrams, graphs and geographical data. 
• The ability to analyse and evaluate evidence and then draw conclusions and communicate findings. 
• The ability to ask geographical questions. 
• The ability to communicate geographical knowledge and understanding using appropriate geographical terminology and conventions of both speech and writing. 
• The ability to find creative ways of communicating geographical information. 
• The skill of problem solving, decision making and geographical debate.

What can parents expect to see in classwork and homework specifically?

Year 7 will be set one piece of homework each week for Geography. This will involve a variety of tasks including the communication of geographical information (writing, drawing, mapping etc.), the completion of National Curriculum Assessed Projects (including fieldwork projects), revision for end of topic tests, updating of the geography glossary and research. The use of the Internet is recommended for some research homework.

All boys in Year 7 are issued with a blue Geography file which they will use throughout Key Stage 3. All work should be organised into topic sections using file dividers with tests and projects being filed at the back of each section. Class work and homework should be filed together. All work should be well presented with titles underlined and a variety of maps, diagrams, graphs, drawings and text are likely to be included.

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What can parents do to help in this subject at this stage?

• Make a regular check to see that class work and homework are completed to a high standard with attention paid to spelling and punctuation. 
• Check that the Geography file is being well organised with work being filed in date order and in the correct topic section using file dividers. 
• Check that the Geography glossary is being updated at least twice per topic. 
• Encourage the use of maps, diagrams and photographs and other secondary material to support work being done. 
• Encourage an interest in the surrounding area, the environment in general and geography related news issues. 
• Help with revision - encouraging the writing of revision notes rather than simply reading over notes.

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Setting and course schedule:

Teaching is in registration groups in the first term of Year 7 and then setting based on performance during the term and according to results in tests takes place at the end of the term. The setting comprises three sets: top, middle and bottom in each half of the year. There are further opportunities to change sets with respect to subsequent test performances and general level of progress.

Half-term tests will be based upon the topic studied during the half-term. More details will be available prior to each test e.g. you will be clearly told what topic areas you will need to revise. The tests will be trying to assess your performance and progress in acquiring geographical knowledge, understanding and skills. In particular you will be assessed on your knowledge and understanding of places, patterns and processes, environmental relationships and issues and your use of skills.

The following is a rough schedule for when the topics will be tested:

• Autumn half-term: Geography base line test
• End of Autumn Term: Making and mapping connections and Exploring Britain
• Spring half-term: Settlement
• End of Spring Term: Extreme weather
• Summer Examination: All of the above

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Revision and Target-Setting:

It is important to develop a successful revision strategy as early as possible so as to avoid wasting time. It is not a good idea to try to learn the work by simply reading through your class notes just before a test is sat. Most people find that a better way to revise is to be active. This involves writing revision notes and drawing diagrams. It is often a good idea to make brief revision notes, including the main points, from your file. You can then make a list of topic headings and test yourself by writing down what you can remember about each topic. By setting yourself tasks like this while you are revising you can see how much of the work you are recalling. Remember that there is a lot of material in the learning resources area to aid your revision. 

As you progress through the year it will be important to keep your marked test papers with the corrections as this experience should improve your success rate in future tests. It will point out where you may have lost marks in a question that you thought you did well in. Often marks are lost because the answer is not detailed enough. Always read the questions carefully and take note of how many marks are available for each question.

One way of ensuring progression takes place throughout the key stage is for the pupil regularly to undergo a process of self-evaluation and target-setting. Target-setting is essential if improvement in performance and achievement is to take place. Pupils will be set targets for improvement following the assessment of all work (homework, projects and tests). Targets set following tests and projects will be recorded in the Geography Assessment page of the lower school diary. In addition to regular target setting, pupils also carry out self-evaluation of their performance towards their target level at the end of each term in December, April and July.

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Working towards Target National Curriculum Levels:

In the Autumn term, each pupil and his parents will be made aware of a target National Curriculum Level which he should be aiming to achieve by the end of the academic year. Progress towards this target will be reviewed at the end of each half-term and in the mid-year review of pupil progress, which is reported home in the Spring term. The criteria for each National Curriculum Level in Geography can be read here.

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