KS3 Subject: Geography

Geography helps students to understand the world around them and their place within it. At Haggerston, our KS3 Geography curriculum introduces students to a broad range of human and physical geography and develops their ability to think and communicate like geographers.

Across Years 7–9, students explore some of the major challenges facing people and the planet, from development and globalisation to climate change, natural hazards and the sustainable use of resources. They also investigate the physical processes that shape our landscapes, rivers and coastlines.

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that students build their geographical knowledge, vocabulary and skills over time. Students learn to interpret maps, photographs, graphs and geographical data; investigate relationships between people and environments; consider different perspectives; and use evidence to reach informed conclusions.

Geographical enquiry and fieldwork are an important part of the curriculum, giving students opportunities to collect, present and analyse geographical information and apply what they have learned beyond the classroom.

What topics will you study in KS3 Geography?

Year 7 provides students with the foundations they need to become confident geographers. Students begin by developing their understanding of the landscapes around them and the geographical skills needed to investigate places. They then explore global inequalities in development, before studying rivers and the processes that shape river landscapes. Students also undertake a weather enquiry and finish the year by considering how people use the planet and its resources.

• Autumn: What does our landscape look like?
• Spring 1: Why is there a development gap?
• Spring 2: Where do rivers run to?
• Summer 1: How do I conduct a weather enquiry?
• Summer 2: How do we use our planet?

In Year 8, students build on their understanding of people, places and environments by examining increasingly complex geographical issues. They consider the future of our planet, investigate tectonic processes and extreme environments, and explore how globalisation connects people and places around the world. Students also study coastal landscapes and consider questions surrounding global power and influence.

• Autumn 1: What’s the future for our planet?
• Autumn 2: Why is the Earth restless?
• Spring 1: What makes an environment extreme?
• Spring 2: How is globalisation reshaping our world?
• Summer 1: Why are our coastlines at risk?
• Summer 2: Who runs the world?

Year 9 provides a bridge between KS3 and GCSE Geography. Students apply the knowledge and geographical thinking developed in Years 7 and 8 to increasingly complex topics and begin studying content that supports their transition to the AQA GCSE Geography course.

Students investigate global inequalities and strategies for reducing the development gap, before examining climate change and weather hazards in the UK. They then explore urbanisation through the study of urban issues and Rio de Janeiro. Later in the year, students investigate river landscapes in the UK and the challenges associated with managing essential resources.

• The Development Gap
• Climate Change and Weather Hazards in the UK
• Urban Issues and Challenges
• Physical Landscapes in the UK – Rivers
• Challenges of Resource Management

Throughout KS3, students develop a secure foundation of locational knowledge, place knowledge, physical geography, human geography, geographical skills and fieldwork. They are encouraged to make connections between topics so that geography is understood as an interconnected subject rather than a series of separate units.

By the end of Year 9, students are increasingly able to explain geographical processes, analyse geographical information, use evidence to support arguments, evaluate different viewpoints and make justified geographical decisions. This provides a strong foundation for further study at GCSE and helps students make sense of the complex and rapidly changing world in which they live.

Do you have a reading list for this subject?

Students who would like to explore Geography beyond the classroom may enjoy:

• Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps (Tim Marshall)
• Horrible Geography series (Anita Ganeri)
• Factfulness (Hans Rosling)
• The Explorer (Katherine Rundell)
• Floodland (Marcus Sedgwick)
• Tsunami Girl (Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada)
• Welcome to Nowhere (Elizabeth Laird)
• Boy 87 (Ele Fountain)
• The Last Bear (Hannah Gold)
• The Girl of Ink & Stars (Kiran Millwood Hargrave)

Students can also explore the Royal Geographical Society's Geography at Home resources, which include articles, podcasts, case studies and resources covering topics such as weather, tectonics, cities, wildfires and climate change.

How will you be assessed during the course?

At KS3, students are assessed three times per year during the DPR assessment periods where they will sit assessment papers related to the topics outlined.

How can you help your child excel in this subject?

Encourage your child to regularly revisit the key knowledge and vocabulary they are learning in Geography. Test them on important geographical processes, locations and examples, and encourage them to explain why and how things happen rather than simply recalling facts.

Support them to complete their homework in a quiet, calm environment without distractions, and encourage them to take an interest in geographical events happening in the news and the world around them.