T HE BASIC IDEAS OF GEOGRAPHY Core units: Key understandings Years F–4 Illustration 1: Pointers to understanding

W HAT ARE THE BASIC IDEAS OF GEOGRAPHY ? W HAT THINGS DOES A PRIMARY TEACHER NEED TO KEEP IN MIND ?

Geography is about … The physical environment of the earth’s surface The human patterns on the earth’s surface The interactions between physical and human processes The results of these, such as distinctive regions, resource uses, food production, inequalities, hazards, conservation etc

Two key strands of geography Geographical Knowledge and Understanding Geographical Inquiry and Skills

Geographical Knowledge and Understanding Knowledge of places, environments, patterns, interactions at a range of scales Understanding of causes and relationships between geographical concepts

Geographical Inquiry and Skills A process of inquiry by which students learn new geographical knowledge and deepen their understanding Fieldwork as well as research and critical thinking Key skills of observation, mapping, graphing, tabulating, photographing, interpreting, presenting, communicating

Inquiry process Observing and questioning Planning, collecting and evaluating Processing, analysing, interpreting and concluding Communicating Reflecting and responding

What is physical geography? Landforms Weather and climate Ecosystems – plants, animals and soils Environmental hazards

What is human geography? Population patterns Cities and settlements Agriculture and industries Resources and their uses

What is regional or local geography? Each place has a distinctive set of characteristics These characteristics usually result from physical/human interactions There is a hierarchy of regions from local to global There are spatial patterns of similar place and regional characteristics