St Osmund's Catholic Primary School

St Osmund's Catholic Primary School

Love for God - Love for each other - Love for learning

Humanities - History & Geography

 

 

HISTORY

Through our history teaching we are giving all students a broad and balanced view of the History of Britain and other societies. At St Osmund's we intent to improve children’s cultural capital, understanding of the world and their own heritage through a blocked teaching approach which retrieves and revisits themes such as rulers, houses and conflicts so that children can apply their knowledge to develop their skills as historians and build on their knowledge so that they are able to:

  • Develop into critical thinkers
  • Have a secure understanding of past events and their chronological position.
  • Discover connections between different events and how it has affected their local area.
  • Develop their skills of enquiry and gain the confidence to questions events of the past.
  • Be able to develop their own opinions and ways of interpreting historical events.

Our curriculum aims to be aspiring, motivating and be knowledge rich. We use knowledge organisers and quizzing to ensure children remember more and both are used to regularly revisit knowledge.  We strive to cover a wide range of historical events through the teaching of Historical skills. We motivate and excite children through engaging practical activities, trips and visitors while giving children the opportunity to investigate events of the past. 

History is brought to life by using artefacts and local studies to help develop an understanding of how our society and culture and that of others around the world have developed. Where possible visits are arranged so children can have ‘first hand’ experiences; the school is well placed to explore History locally, as there is a wealth of interesting archaeology. Stonehenge is a world heritage site; Roman Bath, the Mary Rose and the Naval Dockyards in Portsmouth, the Jurassic coastline which is under threat from the elements, the royal palace of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight…these are a few of the aspirational visits which our children have enjoyed over the past few years.

 

HISTORY TOPICS YEAR 1 HISTORY TOPICS YEAR 3 HISTORY TOPICS YEAR 5
HISTORY TOPICS YEAR 2 HISTORY TOPICS YEAR 4 HISTORY TOPICS YEAR 6

 

GEOGRAPHY

Through our geography teaching we enhance our pupils understanding of the  world, from their familiar locality to the strangeness of different biomes, continents, weather patterns and settlements. As they grow older they debate environmental issues concerning the parts of our world which are under threat and often the decisions and politics from the past which may have caused those threats. Through our curriculum topics pupils are required to build on previously taught knowledge so that they grow as geographers, revisit and embed concepts  and develop skills such as map reading, making connections and critical debating. Knowledge organisers and quizzing are used to help remember key facts and knowledge. 

Our local area, besides its history as a medieval cathedral city, is on the edge of an area of outstanding natural beauty – the chalk downland of the Cranborne Chase, the grandeur of the Salisbury Plain, the rolling countryside in the New Forest and, of course the coast of Dorset. Flooding and the way water meadows are managed along with continual coastal erosion are all on our doorstep. The children also have opportunities to compare a provincial city to the city of London. We use our computing skills to analyse and collate information and to compare our climate with other parts of the country and of the world.

 

GEOGRAPHY TOPICS YEAR 1 GEOGRAPHY TOPICS YEAR 3 GEOGRAPHY TOPICS YEAR 5
GEOGRAPHY TOPICS YEAR 2 GEOGRAPHY TOPICS YEAR 4

 GEOGRAPHY TOPICS YEAR 6

Last update: 2021-01-02