2025/2026

Autumn 

Year 3/4 - Spatial Sense

Key end points of this unit:

• Maps are used to show information about an area of land.
• Maps use symbols to show us information.
• Grid references tell us where to find a place on a map.
• Human geography relates to man-made features, such as roads and buildings. 
• Physical geography relates to natural features, such as mountains and rivers.
• There are eight points on a compass: north, east, south-west, north-east, south-east, south-west, south-east.

 

The children will be learning about the different points of a compass to enhance their understanding of direction and location. In addition to this, children will also understand the history of maps and the different reasons for using them. Ordnance Survey maps will also be introduced to the children, including which professions might use them. In strengthening the children's understanding of maps, we will also be discussing Eastings, Northings, horizontal and vertical to enable the students to talk about maps with correct terminology. We will be comparing a local setting with one from either North or South America to allow the children to contrast the physical geography in their environment with one from a different location. 

To strengthen the children's understanding of human geography, we will be studying the features of San Francisco in the United States of America. Guiding the children to recognise similarities and differences between locations and to verbalise this is a fundamental skill in Geography that we are looking forward to improving with them this year.

Year 5/6 - Spatial sense

Key end points of this unit:

• There are four hemispheres on our planet - north, south, east and west.
• Some continents sit across the divide of the hemispheres.
• Lines of latitude and longitude can help us locate places.
• The most significant line of latitude is the equator.
• The most significant line of longitude is the Prime Meridian, which runs through London.
• Relief maps indicate the difference in land height.

The children will be learning about the four hemispheres and identifying locations within them. This will enable them to understand why particular countries/continents experience similar or different types of climate. Focussing on coordinates will provide students with a more well-rounded understanding of how we can locate places. This will be built upon by studying scale, which will help the children comprehend distances between locations. Relief maps will also be studied to ensure the students understand how contours, topography and gradients can help us understand a country's land without needing photographic evidence.