Structure
The content of the geography curriculum for fifth and sixth classes is presented in two sections:
- a skills and concepts section which describes the geographical skills and concepts which children should develop as they encounter topics in the curriculum
- a number of strands which outline the topics to be included in the geography programme. The topics within each strand are referred to as strand units. Exemplars and suggestions are shown in italic type throughout the content sections.
The presentation of content in these two sections is intended to help teachers in planning for the development of important skills, concepts and attitudes as knowledge and understanding of geographical topics is acquired.
Skills and concepts in geography
The geographical skills and concepts outlined at this level are arranged under three headings:
- A sense of place and space which describes the development of the child's awareness of the distinctive characteristics of places and his/her locational knowledge and cognitive mapping abilities in the locality and wider environments
- Maps, globes and graphical skills which describes the development of the child's mapping skills through the use of a wide range of maps, globes and photographs and the construction of simple plans, models and sketch maps
- Geographical investigation skills which outlines how a range of scientific investigative skills may be developed through geographical work.
The strand units within the three strands opposite will provide the context within which most of these skills and concepts will be developed.
The strands of the geography curriculum
The strands of the curriculum present the geographical topics which children will explore through the study of
- Human environments, which involves the child in learning about people and their interrelationships with environments. Children's understanding of how the interaction of communities, their social, cultural and economic activities, and the features of the built and natural environment give places their distinctive character will be developed through practical investigations of a range of places. These should include the locality, a contrasting part of Ireland, another European environment and a non-European environment. Activities from this strand, including studies of trade and development issues, will also help to cultivate an awareness of human interdependence and a respect for people from different social, cultural, ethnic and religious traditions
- Natural environments, which is concerned with the child's developing knowledge of natural environmental features in the locality and wider environments, meteorological and atmospheric phenomena and the setting of the Earth in space
- Environmental awareness and care, which outlines how geography and science can foster the child's appreciation of environments and his/her sense of responsibility for their conservation and enhancement. This strand is common to the geography and science curricula and will be a major cross-curricular link.
The range of suggestions contained within the units of these strands provide considerable flexibility for schools and teachers in the selection of content.
A spiral approach
The curriculum is based on a spiral approach in which some geographical topics may be explored in increasing detail at a number of levels. Some aspects of the programme will be treated during third and fourth classes only, some will be taught in fifth and sixth classes only, while others could be profitably taught at both levels, with the more complex details , concepts, and methods of investigation and treatment reserved for fifth and sixth classes. Planning by schools and teachers will help to ensure that children experience continuity and progression throughout the geography programme while undue repetition or significant gaps are avoided.
The local environment
Geographical activities should be based on the local environment and all pupils should have the opportunity to explore and investigate the environment systematically and thoroughly. Geographical concepts and skills should be developed through explorations in the immediate environment whenever possible, with subsequent extension to regional, national and global environments.
Breadth and depth in a menu curriculum
A broad and balanced curriculum will ensure that children have access to a comprehensive range of geographical ideas and concepts from a variety of environments, while providing opportunities for the development of skills through practical investigations in the locality. Planning in the school should ensure that work in the strands Human environments and/or Environmental awareness and care incorporates aspects of life in developed and developing countries.
Within the strand units, it is not expected that children should complete each objective or suggested activity; rather teachers and schools will select from the content objectives and exemplars outlined.
Linkage and integration
Opportunities for integrated studies within SESE and with other areas of learning should be identified in planning: much work in the study of natural environments will utilise scientific skills and processes, while the study of human environments will present opportunities for integration with units in the history curriculum. It should also be remembered that the strands and strand units of the geography curriculum are not discrete: work on a geographical topic or investigation may incorporate objectives from a number of units.
It should also be noted that activities designed to develop the child's understanding of citizenship, community, human interdependence and relationships are more fully treated in the SPHE curriculum.
Within the content sections notes below strand units suggest some of the instances where linkage (i.e. integration within the geography curriculum) and integration (i.e. cross-curricular connections) might be established.