Lark Hill Primary School

Cycle A

Cycle B

Goldcrests

Robins

 Autumn: What is it like to live here? Locating where they live on a map

Spring: What is the weather like in the UK? Looking at the countries and cities that make up the UK, keeping a weather record and finding out about the different types of weather.

Summer: What can you see at the coast? Naming and locating continents and oceans of the world while revisiting countries and cities.

 Autumn: Where am I? Learning about maps by locating the countries of the UK and identifying features in the school grounds.

Spring: Would you prefer to live in a hot or cold place?  Introducing children to the basic concept of climate zones and mapping out hot and cold places globally.

Summer: What is it like to live in Shanghai? Using a world map to start recognising continents, oceans and countries outside the UK.  

Starlings

Autumn: Why do people live near volcanoes? Year 2s focus on identifying a volcano as a dramatic physical feature of the Earth, using basic descriptive language to talk about an eruption (lava, ash, magma), and locating a few famous volcanoes on a world map using an atlas index. Year 3s focus on mapping the Earth’s tectonic plates, explaining how their movement causes earthquakes and volcanoes, understanding the internal layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, core), and explaining the paradox of why people choose to live near active sites (fertile volcanic soil, geothermal energy, tourism).

Spring: Are all settlements the same? Year 2s distinguishes between a town and a village based on visible features. Sorting features into human (houses, shops) and physical (fields, rivers). Creating a simple pictorial map of their immediate school area.                                                Year 3’s - Understanding land use types (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural). Explaining why a settlement grew in a specific place (e.g., near a river for trade/water). Using four-figure grid references to locate features on an OS map of a town.

Summer: What are rivers and how are they used? Year 2s focus on tracing river paths on simple maps, using everyday vocabulary to identify the source (start) and the mouth (end) of a river, and identifying human features built along them like bridges or dams. Year 3s focus on explaining the scientific physical processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition along a river's profile, tracking channels using four-figure grid references, and recording fieldwork flow velocity data using floats to see how the channel changes.

Autumn: What is life like in the Alps? Year 2s focus on identifying mountain ranges as massive physical features on a map, naming Europe as the continent where the Alps are found, and describing what it looks like to live in a snowy alpine village. Year 3s focus on using global coordinates to locate mountain systems, explaining how tectonic compression forms fold mountains, analysing how high altitude changes the climate and vegetation lines, and evaluating how local communities manage avalanche risks and seasonal tourism.

Spring: Where does our food come from? Year 2s focus on mapping straight lines from the UK to countries we import everyday food from, defining the basic idea of traveling food, and matching crops to hot or cold climates. Year 3s focus on tracking global trade networks, shipping lanes, and export hubs, defining the concept of "food miles" and its carbon footprint, and analysing the economic differences between industrial mass farming and Fairtrade networks for local farming communities.

Summer: Why do oceans matter? Year 2s focus on naming and locating the five major oceans on a globe, identifying simple plastic pollution issues from charts, and listing basic ways coastal towns rely on the sea. Year 3s focus on explaining how oceans function as a global climate engine via the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt, using thematic maps to locate marine protection zones, and evaluating the long-term environmental impacts of commercial overfishing, deep-sea oil drilling, and cargo shipping pollution.

Kestrels

Autumn: Why are rainforests important to us? Year 4s will focus on locating the Amazon Basin and identifying the specific South American countries it spans. They learn to name and describe the physical layers of the rainforest (forest floor, understory, canopy, emergent layer) and list basic animal and plant adaptations. For human geography, they outline the immediate causes of deforestation (like cattle ranching or logging) and its direct visual impact on the landscape. Year 5’s will focus on shifts to global positioning, mapping rainforest biomes worldwide relative to the Equator and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. They explain how the equatorial climate drives unique weather patterns and the water cycle. In human geography, they critically analyse the global dilemma of deforestation, debating the clash between economic development and long-term environmental sustainability.

Spring: Where does our food come from? Year 4s will focus on tracing the journey of common supermarket items back to their origin countries (e.g., bananas from Costa Rica or coffee from Brazil). They learn the basic definition of food miles and use linear lines to map transport paths back to the UK. Physically, they connect crop growth to weather, identifying why certain foods can only grow in specific climates. Year 5s will focus on looking at complex global trade links, mapping major shipping lanes, international export hubs, and trade routes across continents. They evaluate the social, ethical, and environmental footprints of industrial farming versus fair trade networks. They also interpret data regarding seasonal food availability and how global climate change threatens future food security.

Summer: What are rivers and how are they used? Year 4s will focus on naming and identifying the key physical stages of a river from its source to its mouth, defining features like channels, tributaries, and meanders using 1:25,000 OS maps. During fieldwork, they focus on safety, making direct observations, measuring river depth, and matching what they see to a visual checklist. They list simple ways humans use rivers for leisure and water supplies. Year 5s will focus on the scientific physical processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition, explaining exactly how features like oxbow lakes or waterfalls form over time. They use high-level mapping skills, applying four and six-figure grid references to track river confluences. For fieldwork, they lead the inquiry, measuring flow velocity using floats and drawing accurate cross-section sketches. They also evaluate river management, weighing the pros and cons of expensive flood defence systems.

Autumn: What is life like in the Alps? Year 4s will focus on locating the continent of Europe and mapping the specific nations spanned by the Alpine mountain range. They define what a mountain environment is, identifying physical features like peaks, glaciers, and valleys, and recognize basic relief on a map using colour shading. For human geography, they categorize the simple seasonal reasons tourists visit the Alps (e.g., skiing in winter, hiking in summer). Year 5s will focus on using global coordinates to compare the Alps to other major global mountain systems (like the Rockies or Himalayas). They explain the geological process of mountain formation, such as tectonic plate compression creating fold mountains, and investigate how altitude impacts climate and vegetation. They analyse the human geography of the region, evaluating how local communities manage avalanche risks, high-altitude transport, and the pressures of eco-tourism.

Spring: Why do oceans matter? Year 4s will focus on naming and locating the five major oceans of the world on a globe and flat map. They look at oceans as distinct saltwater habitats, identifying basic plastic pollution issues and extracting simple facts from marine data charts. They describe how surface water moves and how coastal communities interact with their nearest ocean. Year 5’s will focus on looking at the ocean as a global climate engine, investigating how marine currents regulate global weather through the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt. They map localized marine protection zones and fragile coral reefs using thematic maps. For human geography, they dive deep into global sustainability, evaluating the catastrophic, systemic impacts of commercial overfishing, deep-sea oil drilling, and international cargo freight pollution.

Summer: Would you like to live in the desert? Year 4s will focus on using an atlas index to find and label major global hot deserts, such as the Sahara or the Mojave Desert. They describe the extreme daily climate changes (blistering days, freezing nights) and basic human adaptations regarding clothing and shelter. They use map keys to locate rare desert features like an oasis or sand dune patterns. Year 5s will focus on explaining the atmospheric science behind deserts, mapping them relative to high-pressure weather belts and explaining the rain shadow effect caused by mountain topography. They analyse the physical mechanics of wind erosion and flash flooding in arid zones. In human geography, they investigate modern desert megacities (like Las Vegas or Dubai), evaluating the sustainability of piping in water, depleting underground aquifers, and relying on desalination plants.

Skylarks

Autumn: Why does population change? Examining global population patterns by investigating why some places are more densely populated than others.

Spring: Where does our energy come from? Investigate how natural resources and energy are used in the UK and the USA while learning about global resource challenges.

Summer: Can I carry out an independent fieldwork enquiry? Applying geographical enquiry skills by investigating an issue in the local area.