Geography pupil voice.
Date: 28th Apr 2019 @ 9:21am
Had a lovely walk this weekend? Got a bit lost ? Didn't know how to find your way to somewhere new to visit?
Unure if the walk you had planned was a bit steep? Parking nearby ?
Well help should have been at hand as your children became extremely more knowledgeable about reading maps, checking directions with a compass, learning about grid co- ordinates, understanding the symbols on maps, as well as looking at contour lines around hills and mountains. The older children also worked on learning about longitude and latitude.
As governor for Georaphy I went along to school to see what was happening and talked to the children about the impact the activities and day were having. Engagement from everyone was excellent. Games, singing, practical compass use, close observations on maps, looking at how contrasting localities to their own rural area on maps of a city location compared, were all carefully built around the differing age group expectations in the curriculum, with questioning which delved into the pre knowledge many children already had. It was lovely to see everyone enjoying experiential learning but listening and talking to the children enforced the value of such curriculum days.
Here are just a few of the comments.
" I learnt so much about how I could find my way if lost and had a map and compass with me."
" Can a mobile phone do the same? I will ask my parents to show me 'Google maps."
"I never knew that even helicopters searching for lost walkers use map co- ordinates to help in their search. Because I now know how to read those positions I could be helped if I got lost. My rucksack will have a compass and map in it now when we go walking.
"I liked looking closely at the map at finding the symbols from the key. It was great fun but also helped me see what was around places."
"I think these skills I have learned today will help in activities like orienteering which I would like to learn how to do"
" I am going home and getting out my atlas and some maps to explore more about our countryside"
"A great day. I loved it."
There were many more 'voices' heard showing the powerful impact the day had. Thank you to all the staff for such enthusiasm, careful planning and preparation to meet children's differing needs.
Dorothy Milner.
