Geography
Riddlesden St Mary's Geography leader is Miss Emma Holliday.
I have a love of the outdoors and enjoy exploring different landscapes at the weekends and school holidays by venturing around Yorkshire, Lancashire and my favourite place the Lake District!
Geography is a subject packed with excitement that helps us to better understand its people, places and environments, and the interactions between them. It helps us understand how and why places are changing, and to better imagine, predict and work towards, likely and preferred futures. Underpinning all of this is a strong spatial component that deepens our understanding of what places are like, why and how they are connected, and the importance of location. Geography is an enquiry led subject that seeks answers to important questions.
At Riddlesden St Marys we do this through practical lessons that allow the children to explore the ideas they are learning about. Through each topic, children learn new geographical concepts and are immersed in their learning, allowing them to confidently talk and write about geography.
Foundation Strategy
foundation strategy 2024 2025.pdf
Yearly Overview
Geography Progression Document
Adaptive Teaching In Geography
adaptive teaching in geography mat.pdf
Action Plan
National Geography Awareness Week- 18.11.24
Geography Awareness Week 2024 is an annual event that celebrates the importance of geography and its impact on our lives. This week-long observance aims to raise awareness about the significance of geography, environmental issues, and spatial understanding. It encourages people to explore the world around them and appreciate the interconnectedness of global issues.
Each year group took part in a fieldwork led investigation task dedicated to our local area.
Reception
Reception children followed a map to the forest. When in the forest, children painted pictures of the forest to show others in school what it looks like in case they'd like to visit themselves. We also have some speech about why the school forest is a special to the Reception children.
"I like to make a leaf angel and throw the leaves in the air." Delylah
"The animals build nests there, I saw a bird and squirrel nest and even a mole hole." Qasim
"The forest is relaxing and you can be brave in there by climbing tree's or touching worms." Uzayr
Year 2
Year 2 went on a walk to East Riddlesden hall as part of their investigation. They answered two big questions:
How do I find my way to East Riddlesden Hall?
How many people are visiting East Riddlesden Hall today?
On their walk to East Riddlesden Hall, children explored the local area pointing out landmarks they saw like the canal and the River Aire. They thought about whether these were human or physical features. Children used this to create their own maps of the area. For their second big question, Children created a tally on clipboards of how many people they spot visiting East Riddlesden Hall and its grounds. They then sketched East Riddlesden Hall. Amazing work Bees and Dragonflies!
Year 3
Year 3 went on a walk of the local area for their Geography focused work. They explored the question:
What can we find out about land use in our area?
They started by learning the difference between human and physical geography and giving examples of these. They looked at different maps of Riddlesden before comparing them. Children went on a walk around Riddlesden and made notes of things they could see, linking back to features of human and physical geography. They used their maps to think about the use of land in Riddlesden such as residential areas, retail and areas of recreational use. On returning to school, they then drew their own map of Riddlesden.
Year 4
Year 4 also learnt about Riddlesden, but this time answered a different question:
How has Riddlesden St Mary’s changed since the year 2000?
Year 4 explored the school grounds and drew a map to represent what is here now. They then compared it to a photo of the school grounds from the year 2000 and see how it has changed. They thought about how they would plan their investigation, collect the data and present it. They looked at a map of the school grounds and as they walked around the grounds, located these. Let's compare...
2000 
2024
What do you notice? What is the same? What is different?
These are some examples of the children's work:
Year 6
Year 6 focused on sustainability for National Geography Awareness Week and answered the question:
How can we make Riddlesden St Marys more sustainable?
We looked at what sustainability is and examples of how the UK has been sustainable i.e. reusable carrier bags, ban on plastic straws etc. Using this, we went on a walk around school and made notes on things we already do at school to promote sustainability but also things we could do. We then researched what other schools are doing to make their schools more sustainable. After this and thinking of our ideas we decided to write a letter to Mrs Wright to put forward our suggestions. We also presented these to her!
We will revisit this again in a couple of months to see what changes have been made.
Geography After School Club
In Spring 1, we had a geography after school club with children from year 1 through to year 6. The focus of the after school club was exploring our schools ground. With the help of Joel, our school gardener, we explored various areas of our school grounds: the bird hide and the forest. In these sessions, we looked at features of the environment (both physical and human), what could live there as well as bringing in an element of history of when and why the bird hide was created. We finished off the club with a session on map work and orienteering.
Geography After School Club- New
