Updated June 2008

Click the link below for a page featuring plenty of ideas for

STARTERS & PLENARIES

(as featured on 'Innovating with Geography' site - they also mention my NUMERACY ideas)

Also, read all about MODELLING: my favourite new jargon..

CREATIVITY in Geography

Some LINKING THINKING materials from 'Chris LS'

How about GRAPHIC ORGANISERS ?

(some new ideas for some creative work...)

The GRID below was for the 2005-6 academic year and has been added to for the 2006-7 academic year

Here are some of the changes for the 2006-7 season. The changes have partly come about from a change in time in Year 8 to give us an extra 50 minutes per week.

Some of the new materials are based on the OUP GEOG.1, 2 & 3 series, and sections from the Geography Matters series plus other textbooks.

Details on INSET course attended on 29th of JANUARY 2003

Assessment for Learning (Modules 1 & 2) in the Key Stage 3 Foundation

Course run by Rob Lodge and Anne Roe (Foundation Subjects Consultants)

We have since moved on to some of the other modules in this project

GIVING ORAL FEEDBACK
GIVING WRITTEN FEEDBACK

Here's a useful table which can be printed out, which breaks down the NATIONAL CURRICULUM LEVELS. These are also available in 'pupil-speak' from various sources.

We are working with Rob Lodge, formerly co-chair of GA SPC, who has been working with others to put together some national guidance on catering for the higher ability pupils.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc-home/vtc-ks3-home/vtc-ks3-geography(2).htm - some free stuff....

TLF: FOUNDATION SUBJECTS

For details on the QCA schemes of work, go to their home STANDARDS page. This has copies of the Foundation Studies training materials for download. This introduces you to the exciting new world of Starters and Plenaries. Do you plean ?

• The National Curriculum in action site has been improved. There are materials related to Geography levels and the level descriptions, progression in Geography, ICT in Geography and a link through to the Education for Sustainable development website.

• From here you can get access to the whole range of TLF materials.

• Chris Durbin and the Staffordshire Learning Network have a FOUNDATION SUBJECTS page which offers links to lots of useful materials. The Devon link doesn't seem to work though. They include examples from Staffordshire schools who have introduced new lesson materials into the Humanities. There's an FS Ideas Bank, and resources. Material from Staffordshire schools is also featured on the new NC Action site on Creativity.

• Information on THINKING SKILLS here at the GTCE website.

• TEACHING IDEAS might have something..

• Marian Brookes, writing recently in the TES suggested that ICT should be used to produce new learning experiences for children.

• There have also been moves towards incorporating ICT more into our teaching. An excellent site for this is BURFORD SCHOOL, which has materials for Year 7 & 8 (with Year 9 on the way...) which use an Environmental slant on delivering the QCA ICT curriculum. There are worksheets and other resources to download, and this site is Recommended.

• An article in TEACHERS magazine (January 2003) asked some pupils what they thought of some of the lessons which had been introduced in Geography. They said that "they recently enjoyed writing a newspaper report about a cliff that had eroded and making posters to advertise Kenya as a holiday destination"

• Go the the Autumn newsletter, 2002 at the BARRINGTON STOKE site - if it's still there. This has a useful section which shows information from BBC Producer Pam Wardell on the use of radio scripts in the classroom. This can be a useful way of delivering material. Pupils can produce short items, and consider the importance of keeping to a strict running time for these.

Why not try out a WEBQUEST ? This was the subject of a useful GA publication, and the WEBQUEST site run by Nottingham University is now online to accompany the book. It features links to the quests featured in the book, as well as advice on how to create your own. The idea came from San Diego, and there are links to a UK WebQuest site. The site features useful Web Links for Geography.

How about setting up a CIRCUS activity: I don't mean lion tamers here, I mean an activity where lots of short activities are set up and students move round them within a time limit. This has lots of potential.

AIMS

Establishing high expectations for all pupils.

Setting targets: challenging, SMART ?

Progression: from Key Stage 2 to 3

Engaging and motivating pupils (and keeping them on course to choose Geography at GCSE/AS presumably)

Professional development: 'transforming learning'

Introduction of assessment into everyday lesson planning.

Try the NC ACTION site for some ideas on Creativity in Geography.

The site features some Geography examples: these include a Key Stage 2 example called 'The Dancing River', some cartoons on the impacts of Tourism on an area, a group of students who ran an allotment and sold the food while investigating environmental impacts of farming, and some earth-shaking animations...

Visit now to see what has been added recently.

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