History and Geography At eastrop
Our History and Geography leader is Mrs Saunders
Vision for History and Geography
At Eastrop Infant School we are committed to teaching skills for life through our History and Geography curriculum. It is important to encourage and nurture children's natural curiosity about the world around them, including who we are and where we live. We want them to question, interpret and look closely at content that means something to them, giving them a purpose for learning.
In order to make Geography and History relatable to our children we look in detail at our local area and learn about Highworth in the past and present. We learn key skills which build upon previous learning as children progress through the school. We want the children at Eastrop to become citizens of the world that know how to look after it and have a strong understanding of the past and how they will shape the future.
In order to do this, we follow the National Curriculum objectives and purpose of study for both History and Geography. In Key Stage One, we have a yearly overview and a progression of skills documents for both History and Geography (see below) which clearly sets out learning intentions ensuring balanced, progressive coverage throughout the year. The class teachers use these documents to plan and link the History and Geography topics, objectives and skills to each of their own year groups termly, 'themes'.
Please click here for our Geography and History yearly overview
Progression in History and Geography
Please click the links below to find out more about the progression of History and Geography at our school.
History Key skills coverage:
- Chronological understanding
- Historical enquiry
- Historical interpretations
- Organisation and communication
- Understanding of events, people and changes
Progression of Geography skills
Geography key skills coverage:
- Geographical skills and fieldwork
- Locational knowledge
- Human and physical Geography
- Place knowledge
History and Geography in the Early Years
At our school, History and Geography are mainly taught through the, 'understanding of
the world,' part of the Early Years Foundation Stage, (EYFS) curriculum.
Key vocabulary, which involves some historical and geographical content is introduced every Monday. It is taken from the weekly story which is learnt and then displayed in the classroom. Both subjects are also explored through our termly themes such as, 'Who shall I be today?' which explores themselves, people who help us, and superheroes and 'a magical mystery tour,' which looks at different types of journeys and transport.
History
In History we look at developing children's understanding of the world so that they learn through experiences that introduce the concept of time and change. History is also heavily linked in with other subjects such as the PSHE jigsaw scheme of work, where the children explore themselves as babies and discuss how they have changed over time. The role of the adult is to extend the children's play and vocabulary through asking questions such as, 'what happened next?' after reading a story or looking at other sequences of events, such as getting dressed, planting a seed or making a sandwich. They will also explore patterns and routines and be encouraged to record their findings by drawing or writing.
Geography
In Geography, the continuous provision provides activities which are planned to
cover learning about different people in the children's lives and their community and to understand the greater world around them. The children will learn through first-hand experiences to explore, observe, problem solve, predict, think critically, make decisions and talk about creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments. The children are encouraged to explore both indoors and outdoors to investigate the world around them and activities are set up in both places to enable this. The role of the adult is to support the children in their play, extending on their ideas and vocabulary. They will ask the children open-ended questions, for example, 'what can you see here?' to help them to think and make connections between ideas. Geography is also included in our daily routines such as discussing the weather and season for that day on our calendar.
Ideas for at home
Please see the links below for some useful websites to share with your children.
Here are some other fun activities you could do with your children at home to build on their Historical and Geographical skills:
- Make a time capsule- what special things would you put inside?
- Create a family tree
- Go on a nature/scavenger hunt around your garden or out for a walk- could you find something that is red, yellow, green, blue, purple and orange? Or round, square, spikey, smooth etc?
- Create maps for family members to follow- it could be a treasure map with a x marks the spot!
- Cook/prepare some food from around the world
- Look at some old photos and talk about how the people in them have changed over time!
- Look at signs and symbols when you are out and about, e.g. road signs
Useful websites
https://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/geography-facts.html
https://www.bbcearth.com/earthkids/
https://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk/education-clubs/wild-at-home-education-activities
https://www.zsl.org/learning-resources
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/horrible-histories
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zcdqxnb