The basic ideas of geography

1. The basic ideas of geography • Core units: Key understandings Years F–4 • Illustration 1: Pointers to understanding

2. What are the basic ideas of geography?What things does a primary teacher need to keep in mind?

3. 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

4. Two key strands of geography • Geographical Knowledge and Understanding • Geographical Inquiry and Skills

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

6. 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

7. Inquiry process

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

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

10. 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