Lisnagarvey High School

Staff

Miss K Campbell (Subject Leader), Miss L Diffin, Mrs J Harrison.

Departmental Aim

• To develop a sense of place and understanding of where we are in the world in relation to others.
• To develop an understanding of the physical world in which we live and how it works.
• To explore the relationship between human beings and the physical world.
• To investigate how human beings interact with each other on the local and global scales.
• To encourage students to consider up-to-date local, national and global issues and develop informed opinions.

An Overview of Key Stage 3 Curriculum

At Key Stage 3 the Geography department offers a broad and dynamic programme of study which ranges from the global to the individual level. In Years 8 – 10 pupils will have three periods of Geography per week.

In Year 8 pupils acquire a basic knowledge of Geography by studying topics such as:
Who Am I? – Developing a sense of place
Wild Weather
Violent Volcanoes
People

In Year 9 focus is shifted to a global level and knowledge gained in Year 8 is built upon and widened. Topics include:
Radical Rainforests
Dangerous Desserts
Where in the World? – locational knowledge
The World of Work

In Year 10 pupils take a more issues-based approach to Geography. It is in this year that we aim to encourage the students to keep up-to-date with current events and develop a sense of enquiry and informed decision making. Topics include:
The Environment
Development issues
Extreme Geography – the impact of natural disasters
Tourism

We also develop a range of skills across key stage 3 that are useful in other subject areas as well as outside school:

 

• Map work skills
• Enquiry Skills
• Data Handling skills
• General management of information

   

We aim to encourage creativity and independent work using computer-based and paper-based projects in each year. These projects allow pupils to develop their self-management skills and be involved in the assessment process by developing their own success criteria and participating in peer and self assessment exercises.

 

An Overview of Key Stage 4 Curriculum

At Key Stage 4 we follow the Northern Ireland CCEA specification for GCSE Geography. Pupils in Years 11 and 12 will have 4 periods per week, usually in the form of two double period sessions. GCSE Geography is taught across six themes, three will be delivered in Year 11 and three in Year 12.

In Year 11 the focus will be on physical geography and this will account for Paper One of the GCSE examination. Students will study:

Theme A: Atmosphere and Human Impact – weather and climate, global warming
Theme B: Physical Processes and Challenges – rivers, rocks, earthquakes
Theme C: Ecosystems and Sustainability – local ecosystems, global biomes, sustainable development

 

In Year 12 the focus will be on human geography and this will account for Paper Two of the GCSE examination. Students will study:

Theme D: Population and Resources – patterns of population, resource availability, sustainable development
Theme E: Economic Change and Development – industry, development issues, aid and trade
Theme F: Settlements and Change – settlement patterns, landscape change, land use and development

Pupils will also complete a compulsory coursework element based on a fieldwork exercise relevant to their studies. Possible exercises include a river study of the Colin Glen River and an environmental quality survey of Lisburn city. The coursework is worth 20% of the final mark and must be completed to be awarded a grade in GCSE Geography.

 

Departmental Facilities and Resources

In Year 8 pupils will be taught Geography in their main registration room by their respective teachers. Years 9 to 12 are taught in room B2 by Head of Department, Miss K. Campbell. All rooms are fully equipped with interactive whiteboards and full audio/visual display units. Department staff also makes good use of the school’s excellent ICT suites.

Geography isn’t just about textbooks. We use a range of resources as we learn such as computers, maps and atlases, interactive whiteboards, photographs and videos, physical models and of course our most valuable resource – the world outside the window.