History and Geography | St James CofE Primary School

‘The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future’ Theodore Roosevelt

History and Geography

History is a subject that forms the bedrock of our understanding of the culture and the world around us. It helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups.

At St James, we aim to provide high-quality history lessons that inspire children to want to know more about the past and to think and act as historians. By linking learning to a range of topics, children have opportunities to investigate and interpret the past, understand chronology and build an overview of Britain’s past as well as that of the wider world. We want our children to be motivated to learn about and from, the past. Within our history topics, our children will learn to be critical thinkers, use evidence and sources to support the knowledge. They will gain essential vocabulary alongside a secure knowledge of chronology across time.

‘A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives’. DFE

At St James Primary School, we aim to offer a Geography curriculum that deepens pupils understanding of the world around them and their place in it. Through the study of natural and human environments, as well as physical and human processes, our desire is to provide our children with a sense of awe and wonder about the world they live in.

By teaching our children about diverse places, people and resources we seek to create a life-long love of the subject. We provide our children with the subject specific language they need to describe, question and discuss the world and pupils are encouraged to use their voice to debate a range of issues that affect the lives of people around the world today.

Progression of skills History

Progression of skills Geography

History

Intent

At St. James, we use Kapow Primary's History Scheme as the basis for our lessons. Its aim is to inspire pupils to become curious and creative thinkers who develop a deep understanding of local and national history, as well as the history of the wider world. We want pupils to gain the confidence to think critically, ask questions, and explain and analyse historical evidence. Our goal is to expose children to a diverse range of societies, fostering empathy and an appreciation for the complexity of people's lives. These skills are taught through various time periods and concepts to develop a stronger sense of chronology. All of this contributes to children becoming inquisitive historians.

Implementation

The Kapow Primary History Scheme, used at St. James across KS1 and KS2 units, is organised around inquiry-based questions. Children are encouraged to follow the inquiry cycle (Question, Investigate, Interpret, Evaluate, and Conclude, Communicate) when addressing historical questions. Over the course of the scheme, children develop their understanding of the following key disciplinary concepts:

Change and continuity
Cause and consequence
Similarities and differences
Historical significance
Historical interpretations
Sources of evidence

These concepts will be encountered in various contexts during the study of local, British, and world history. In EYFS, children explore the concept of history by reflecting on key experiences from their own past, helping them understand that they each have their own histories. Then, they engage in activities to compare and contrast characters from stories, including historical figures, deepening their understanding of how individual lives fit into broader historical narratives. St. James' spiral curriculum ensures that these themes and concepts are revisited and embedded in other subjects such as English and Art and Design. We also enrich children's experiences through organised workshops and school trips to bring History to life.

Impact

The expected impact of following the Kapow History scheme of work is that children will:

Know and understand the history of Britain, how people's lives have shaped this nation, and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
Develop an understanding of the history of the wider world, including ancient civilisations, empires, non-European societies, and the achievements of mankind.
Develop a historically-grounded understanding of substantive concepts such as power, invasion, settlement and migration, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of mankind, and society.
Form historical arguments based on cause and effect, consequence, continuity and change, similarity and differences.
Have an appreciation for significant individuals, inventions, and events that impact our world both in history and from the present day.
Understand how historians learn about the past and construct accounts.
Ask historically-valid questions through an inquiry-based approach to learning to create structured accounts.
Explain how and why interpretations of the past have been constructed using evidence.
Make connections between historical concepts and timescales.
Meet the relevant Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS (Reception) and the end-of-key-stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for History at the end of Key stages 1 and 2.

Geography

Intent

At St. James, we use Kapow Primary's Geography as the basis for our teaching, aiming to encourage children to explore and understand the world around them. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings. All of this contributes to our children becoming better world citizens. Our curriculum and lessons allow for:

A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge.
Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.
The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.
A deep interest and knowledge of pupils' locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.
A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms, and vocabulary.

Implementation

At St. James, through the Kapow Primary Geography scheme, all of our topics have an inquiry question at the basis of the children's learning. These questions are open-ended, giving the children a purpose. In attempting to answer them, children learn how to collect, interpret, and represent data using geographical methodologies and make informed decisions by applying their geographical knowledge. Each unit contains elements of geographical skills and fieldwork to ensure that fieldwork skills are practiced as often as possible. Kapow Primary units follow an inquiry cycle that maps out the fieldwork process of question, observe, measure, record, and present, reflecting the elements mentioned in the National curriculum. Each unit is taught with the core belief of developing children's understanding of these nine core concepts:

Place
Space
Scale
Interdependence
Physical and human processes
Environmental impact
Sustainable development
Cultural awareness
Cultural diversity

When exploring certain themes, our curriculum has established cross-curricular links between Geography and other subjects such as English and Science. We also allow for further embedding of knowledge through organised trips and workshops.

Impact

The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary Geography scheme of work is that children will:

Compare and contrast human and physical features to describe and understand similarities and differences between various places in the UK, Europe, and the Americas.
Name, locate, and understand where and why the physical elements of our world are located and how they interact, including processes over time relating to climate, biomes, natural disasters, and the water cycle.
Understand how humans use the land for economic and trading purposes, including how the distribution of natural resources has shaped this.
Develop an appreciation for how humans are impacted by and have evolved around the physical geography surrounding them and how humans have had an impact on the environment, both positive and negative.
Develop a sense of location and place around the UK and some areas of the wider world using the eight-points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and keys on maps, globes, atlases, aerial photographs, and digital mapping.
Identify and understand how various elements of our globe create positioning, including latitude, longitude, the hemispheres, the tropics, and how time zones work, including night and day.
Present and answer their own geographical inquiries using planned and specifically chosen methodologies, collected data, and digital technologies.
Meet the 'Understanding the World' Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS, and the end-of-key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Geography by the end of Year 2 and Year 6.

St James CofE Primary School

Change and continuity

Cause and consequence

Similarities and differences

Historical significance

Historical interpretations

Sources of evidence

The expected impact of following the Kapow History scheme of work is that children will:

Know and understand the history of Britain, how people's lives have shaped this nation, and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.

Develop an understanding of the history of the wider world, including ancient civilisations, empires, non-European societies, and the achievements of mankind.

Develop a historically-grounded understanding of substantive concepts such as power, invasion, settlement and migration, civilisation, religion, trade, achievements of mankind, and society.

Form historical arguments based on cause and effect, consequence, continuity and change, similarity and differences.

Have an appreciation for significant individuals, inventions, and events that impact our world both in history and from the present day.

Understand how historians learn about the past and construct accounts.

Ask historically-valid questions through an inquiry-based approach to learning to create structured accounts.

Explain how and why interpretations of the past have been constructed using evidence.

Make connections between historical concepts and timescales.

Meet the relevant Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS (Reception) and the end-of-key-stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for History at the end of Key stages 1 and 2.

A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge.

Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.

The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.

A deep interest and knowledge of pupils' locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.

A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms, and vocabulary.

The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary Geography scheme of work is that children will:

Compare and contrast human and physical features to describe and understand similarities and differences between various places in the UK, Europe, and the Americas.

Name, locate, and understand where and why the physical elements of our world are located and how they interact, including processes over time relating to climate, biomes, natural disasters, and the water cycle.

Understand how humans use the land for economic and trading purposes, including how the distribution of natural resources has shaped this.

Develop an appreciation for how humans are impacted by and have evolved around the physical geography surrounding them and how humans have had an impact on the environment, both positive and negative.

Develop a sense of location and place around the UK and some areas of the wider world using the eight-points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and keys on maps, globes, atlases, aerial photographs, and digital mapping.

Identify and understand how various elements of our globe create positioning, including latitude, longitude, the hemispheres, the tropics, and how time zones work, including night and day.

Present and answer their own geographical inquiries using planned and specifically chosen methodologies, collected data, and digital technologies.

Meet the 'Understanding the World' Early Learning Goals at the end of EYFS, and the end-of-key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Geography by the end of Year 2 and Year 6.

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