Curriculum
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
Year 2 Geography deals with knowledge of the man-made and natural environment. It requires students to use and apply their knowledge in data response questions. Many of their exam questions will involve data response to graphs, maps, photos, diagrams and texts.
Topics covered
1) Rivers and weathering
2) Economic Activity and industry
3) Resources and the environment
4) Population
Course Outline Year 2 Geography
RIVERS
How rocks are broken down by physical, chemical and biological weathering.
Why the rates of weathering and erosion may vary by place and time.
How erosion, transportation and deposition change the landscape to produce different landforms.
How rivers produce distinct landforms, which are different in upper and lower courses (v-shaped valleys, waterfalls, meanders, flood plains).
INDUSTRIAL LOCATION
That there are primary, secondary and tertiary economic activities and types of employment.
How geographical factors determine factory location (raw materials, energy, labour, market, site, transport).
How the most important factors of location change over time and are different for different types of factory (steel works, car factory, modern high tech industry including science parks)
RESOURCES and ENVIRONMENT
That humans depend heavily upon finite natural resources.
That air, land and water can be polluted by human activities. To be able to recognise 5 types of pollution (air, water, visual, smell and noise)
That there are a variety of sources of energy, some of which are renewable and others non-renewable.
That electricity is produced in power stations and that there is an environmental cost to this production. To be able to explain how a thermal power station produces electricity. To know how both thermal power stations and wind farms cause pollution.
That global warming is a major environmental threat. To understand the causes and effects of global warming.
That environments and environmental problems can be managed and conserved. To understand that conservation and planning and management can reduce waste and pollution.
That global warming is a major environmental threat
These ideas are presented in the RESOURCES and ENVIRONMENT booklet and also on p90-93 in your textbook.
POPULATION
Why the world’s population is not evenly spread.
That there is a link between physical geography (climate and landscape) and variations in population density.
How the world’s population is increasing and why less developed (poorer) parts of the world have faster rates of natural population change than more developed (richer) countries.
That population growth and decline is caused by a combination of natural change (births - deaths) and net migration (immigration - emigration).
Why less developed countries usually have higher birth and death rates than more developed countries.
YEAR 3
Geography deals with knowledge of the man-made and natural environment. It requires students to use and apply their knowledge in data response questions. Many of their exam questions will involve data response to graphs, maps, photos, diagrams and texts.
Topics covered in Year 3
1) Coasts
2) China- A case study of trade and development
3) Volcanoes and earthquakes
GEOGRAPHY YEAR 3
Wave cut Notch, Cave, Wave cut platform, Arch, Stack, and Beach
c) Types of sea Defences
Groynes, Sea walls, Rip Rap, Offshore Parallel wave breakers
d) Describe and explain
f) Understand that the coast can be used for different activities such as tourism, ports, industry, and housing. These uses may sometimes be in conflict.
2) A Study in trade and development - CHINA
a) Know China’s location in the world and be able to label some of its key features both natural and physical.
b) Population in China – China’s uneven population distribution. Population issues China’s ageing population and the one child policy.
c) Location factors for Chinese industry such as market, site, labour, communications, capital and government policy. TNCs and SEZs.
d) Issues of exploitation of workers in sweatshops.
e) Is development spread evenly in China?
f) A comparison of Sichuan a western province with an eastern province (Shanghai).
g) How is china linked with the rest of the world? Patterns of trade. Interdependence and globalisation.
h) How developed is China? Looking at selected indicators of development in Japan and in comparison to other selected countries
3) VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES
a) What are Natural Hazards?
b) Global distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes
c) Earth Structure – crust, mantle, inner and outer core
d) Plate margins (in detail destructive) be aware of convergent/divergent/conservative plate margins.
e) Volcano structure - know terms like composite volcano, crater, ash, volcanic cones, main vent, secondary vent, secondary cones, lava, lava flow.
f) Volcano classification: active, dormant or extinct.
f) Causes and effects of Earthquakes & Volcanoes to include pyroclastic flows and volcanic bombs.
g) Differences in the way MEDCs and LEDCs respond to these natural disasters for example San Francisco and Nepal.
h) How dangers may be reduced. The 3Ps – prepare, protect, predict.
i) Awareness of Richter scale as a tool of measuring earthquake strength.
j) The difference between an earthquake’s focus and epicentre
SKILLS
a) Describe and interpret photos
b) Interpret and construct bar graphs, line graphs, scatter graphs, flow diagrams, pie charts and choropleth maps.
c) Label maps and diagrams
d) Fieldwork sketching
IGCSE Geography
YEARS 4 and 5
IGCSE Content
Students study, investigate and research a whole range of physical and human environments. The course attempts to sensitise students to the complexities of the natural and manmade environments and how these behave and interact .All through the course students are expected to see their complex role in these
Physical geography
Key Topic Areas
River environments – this topic will explore the hydrological cycle and the physical processes, which create distinctive river landforms.
Hazardous environments – the characteristics and distribution of different types of natural hazard, including tropical storms, earthquakes and volcanoes.
Human geography
Key Topic Areas
Economic activity and energy – Students will study the variations in economic activity, which have occurred spatially, and over time. They will consider the relationship between population and resources.
Globalisation and migration – Students will study the characteristics and growth in globalisation, including the role of global institutions, transnational corporations, migration and tourism. They will evaluate different approaches to managing migration and tourism in a more sustainable way.
Fieldwork opportunities at IGCSE
Rivers: Integrated skills: A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including geological maps and GIS. Students should learn how to interpret storm hydrographs and climatic data.
Hazards: Integrated skills: A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including satellite images and world maps. Students should learn how to use world maps to show the distribution of different hazards.
Ec. Activity: Integrated skills A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including photographs and newspaper articles. Students should learn how to interpret triangular graphs and how to calculate carbon and ecological footprints.
Urban: v Integrated skills A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including photographs, satellite images and GIS maps. Students should learn how to use quantitative and qualitative information to judge the environmental impacts of urbanisation.
Globalkisation : v Integrated skills A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including line/bar charts, photographs and newspaper articles. Students should learn how to use and interpret socio-economic data.
GEOGRAPHY AS / A Level
The AS level is structured into 6 topics:
AS core physical themes:
1. Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology:
Drainage basin system/Discharge relationships within drainage basins/Processes/Landforms/Flood Management Strategies
Hard and soft engineering/Risk analysis. Sustainable management.
2. Atmosphere and Weather:
Diurnal energy budgets/global energy budget/ocean currents/weather processes and phenomena. The human impact: Microclimate-urban heat island/fog –smog-pollution Climate change-global warming –evidence + response
3. Rocks and weathering:
Earth Structure/Evidence/Types of plates /associated landforms/hot spots. Volcanos type/ distribution: Weathering and rocks: types of weathering/controls of weathering/slope processes/mass movement. Human impact: Stability of slopes, landslides.
4. Population:
Demographic change/Demographic Transition Model/fertility /mortality Age Sex Structure/Dependency ratio/Aging Youthful populations/Implications of population structure change-social economic-political/Pop vs Development/Population-resource relationship/Carrying Capacity/Overpopulation/under population/Optimum population/Management of natural increase..
5. Migration:
Migration as a component of pop. Change,/internal/international migration. Intra- urban/inter-urban/forced /voluntary migrations/Causes and impacts: social, political, economic and environmental Case study of international migration
6. Settlement:
Dynamics: Changes in rural settlements/urban trends and urbanisation/changing structure of urban settlements/management of urban settlements.
Advanced Level
The Advanced geography Course is structured into 4 sections
Physical environments:
1. Coastal environments:
Coastal processes/characteristics and formation of coastal landforms/coral reefs/sustainable management of coasts.
2 Hazardous environments:
Hazards resulting from: Tectonic processes/ seismic waves/ volcanoes/ tsunamis/hazard mapping/risk assessment/building design.
Mass movements: Nature and causes of mass movements/landslides/avalanches/ /hazard mapping and management’
Atmospheric disturbances:
Large scale tropical disturbances (cyclones), formation, development, risk assessment +management/tornadoes. Sustainable management of hazardous environments.
Human environments:
Global Interdependence: Trade flows and trading patterns/international debt and aid/ development of international tourism + management of tourist destination.
Economic transition:
National development/employment structures /global inequalities in social and economic well-being/HDI/globalisation of economic activity/TNCs/Foreign Direct Investment/ emergence of NICs/regional development/management of regional development.
- It’s your planet!
- Weather and Climate
- Ordnance Survey maps - Skills
- Settlements
YEAR 2
Year 2 Geography deals with knowledge of the man-made and natural environment. It requires students to use and apply their knowledge in data response questions. Many of their exam questions will involve data response to graphs, maps, photos, diagrams and texts.
Topics covered
1) Rivers and weathering
2) Economic Activity and industry
3) Resources and the environment
4) Population
Course Outline Year 2 Geography
RIVERS
How rocks are broken down by physical, chemical and biological weathering.
Why the rates of weathering and erosion may vary by place and time.
How erosion, transportation and deposition change the landscape to produce different landforms.
How rivers produce distinct landforms, which are different in upper and lower courses (v-shaped valleys, waterfalls, meanders, flood plains).
INDUSTRIAL LOCATION
That there are primary, secondary and tertiary economic activities and types of employment.
How geographical factors determine factory location (raw materials, energy, labour, market, site, transport).
How the most important factors of location change over time and are different for different types of factory (steel works, car factory, modern high tech industry including science parks)
RESOURCES and ENVIRONMENT
That humans depend heavily upon finite natural resources.
That air, land and water can be polluted by human activities. To be able to recognise 5 types of pollution (air, water, visual, smell and noise)
That there are a variety of sources of energy, some of which are renewable and others non-renewable.
That electricity is produced in power stations and that there is an environmental cost to this production. To be able to explain how a thermal power station produces electricity. To know how both thermal power stations and wind farms cause pollution.
That global warming is a major environmental threat. To understand the causes and effects of global warming.
That environments and environmental problems can be managed and conserved. To understand that conservation and planning and management can reduce waste and pollution.
That global warming is a major environmental threat
These ideas are presented in the RESOURCES and ENVIRONMENT booklet and also on p90-93 in your textbook.
POPULATION
Why the world’s population is not evenly spread.
That there is a link between physical geography (climate and landscape) and variations in population density.
How the world’s population is increasing and why less developed (poorer) parts of the world have faster rates of natural population change than more developed (richer) countries.
That population growth and decline is caused by a combination of natural change (births - deaths) and net migration (immigration - emigration).
Why less developed countries usually have higher birth and death rates than more developed countries.
YEAR 3
Geography deals with knowledge of the man-made and natural environment. It requires students to use and apply their knowledge in data response questions. Many of their exam questions will involve data response to graphs, maps, photos, diagrams and texts.
Topics covered in Year 3
1) Coasts
2) China- A case study of trade and development
3) Volcanoes and earthquakes
GEOGRAPHY YEAR 3
- COASTS
- Erosion
- Transportation
- Deposition
Wave cut Notch, Cave, Wave cut platform, Arch, Stack, and Beach
c) Types of sea Defences
Groynes, Sea walls, Rip Rap, Offshore Parallel wave breakers
d) Describe and explain
- Attrition
- Corrosion
- Corrasion
- Hydraulic action
- Longshore drift
f) Understand that the coast can be used for different activities such as tourism, ports, industry, and housing. These uses may sometimes be in conflict.
2) A Study in trade and development - CHINA
a) Know China’s location in the world and be able to label some of its key features both natural and physical.
b) Population in China – China’s uneven population distribution. Population issues China’s ageing population and the one child policy.
c) Location factors for Chinese industry such as market, site, labour, communications, capital and government policy. TNCs and SEZs.
d) Issues of exploitation of workers in sweatshops.
e) Is development spread evenly in China?
f) A comparison of Sichuan a western province with an eastern province (Shanghai).
g) How is china linked with the rest of the world? Patterns of trade. Interdependence and globalisation.
h) How developed is China? Looking at selected indicators of development in Japan and in comparison to other selected countries
3) VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES
a) What are Natural Hazards?
b) Global distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes
c) Earth Structure – crust, mantle, inner and outer core
d) Plate margins (in detail destructive) be aware of convergent/divergent/conservative plate margins.
e) Volcano structure - know terms like composite volcano, crater, ash, volcanic cones, main vent, secondary vent, secondary cones, lava, lava flow.
f) Volcano classification: active, dormant or extinct.
f) Causes and effects of Earthquakes & Volcanoes to include pyroclastic flows and volcanic bombs.
g) Differences in the way MEDCs and LEDCs respond to these natural disasters for example San Francisco and Nepal.
h) How dangers may be reduced. The 3Ps – prepare, protect, predict.
i) Awareness of Richter scale as a tool of measuring earthquake strength.
j) The difference between an earthquake’s focus and epicentre
SKILLS
a) Describe and interpret photos
b) Interpret and construct bar graphs, line graphs, scatter graphs, flow diagrams, pie charts and choropleth maps.
c) Label maps and diagrams
d) Fieldwork sketching
IGCSE Geography
YEARS 4 and 5
IGCSE Content
Students study, investigate and research a whole range of physical and human environments. The course attempts to sensitise students to the complexities of the natural and manmade environments and how these behave and interact .All through the course students are expected to see their complex role in these
Physical geography
Key Topic Areas
River environments – this topic will explore the hydrological cycle and the physical processes, which create distinctive river landforms.
- The world’s water supply is contained in a closed system – the hydrological cycle.
- Physical processes give rise to characteristic landforms.
- River environments are of great importance to people and need to be managed sustainably.
Hazardous environments – the characteristics and distribution of different types of natural hazard, including tropical storms, earthquakes and volcanoes.
- Some places are more hazardous than others.
- Hazards have an impact on people and the environment.
- Earthquakes present a hazard to many people and need to be managed carefully.
Human geography
Key Topic Areas
Economic activity and energy – Students will study the variations in economic activity, which have occurred spatially, and over time. They will consider the relationship between population and resources.
- Investigates the relevant importance of different economic sectors and the location of economic activities varies from place to place.
- The growth and decline of different economic sectors and the impacts this has had.
- Countries increasingly experience an energy gap and so seek energy security by developing a balance of energy use types.
- A growing percentage of the world’s population lives in urban areas.
- Cities face a range of challenges as a direct result of rapid growth and demand for resources.
- Different strategies can be used to manage environmental challenges in a sustainable manner.
Globalisation and migration – Students will study the characteristics and growth in globalisation, including the role of global institutions, transnational corporations, migration and tourism. They will evaluate different approaches to managing migration and tourism in a more sustainable way.
- Globalisation is creating a more connected world with increased movement of goods and people worldwide.
- The impacts of globalisation vary on a global scale.
- The responses to increased migration and tourism vary depending on a country’s level of development.
Fieldwork opportunities at IGCSE
Rivers: Integrated skills: A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including geological maps and GIS. Students should learn how to interpret storm hydrographs and climatic data.
Hazards: Integrated skills: A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including satellite images and world maps. Students should learn how to use world maps to show the distribution of different hazards.
Ec. Activity: Integrated skills A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including photographs and newspaper articles. Students should learn how to interpret triangular graphs and how to calculate carbon and ecological footprints.
Urban: v Integrated skills A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including photographs, satellite images and GIS maps. Students should learn how to use quantitative and qualitative information to judge the environmental impacts of urbanisation.
Globalkisation : v Integrated skills A number of opportunities exist to collect, develop and interpret data from a wide range of sources, including line/bar charts, photographs and newspaper articles. Students should learn how to use and interpret socio-economic data.
GEOGRAPHY AS / A Level
The AS level is structured into 6 topics:
AS core physical themes:
1. Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology:
Drainage basin system/Discharge relationships within drainage basins/Processes/Landforms/Flood Management Strategies
Hard and soft engineering/Risk analysis. Sustainable management.
2. Atmosphere and Weather:
Diurnal energy budgets/global energy budget/ocean currents/weather processes and phenomena. The human impact: Microclimate-urban heat island/fog –smog-pollution Climate change-global warming –evidence + response
3. Rocks and weathering:
Earth Structure/Evidence/Types of plates /associated landforms/hot spots. Volcanos type/ distribution: Weathering and rocks: types of weathering/controls of weathering/slope processes/mass movement. Human impact: Stability of slopes, landslides.
4. Population:
Demographic change/Demographic Transition Model/fertility /mortality Age Sex Structure/Dependency ratio/Aging Youthful populations/Implications of population structure change-social economic-political/Pop vs Development/Population-resource relationship/Carrying Capacity/Overpopulation/under population/Optimum population/Management of natural increase..
5. Migration:
Migration as a component of pop. Change,/internal/international migration. Intra- urban/inter-urban/forced /voluntary migrations/Causes and impacts: social, political, economic and environmental Case study of international migration
6. Settlement:
Dynamics: Changes in rural settlements/urban trends and urbanisation/changing structure of urban settlements/management of urban settlements.
Advanced Level
The Advanced geography Course is structured into 4 sections
Physical environments:
1. Coastal environments:
Coastal processes/characteristics and formation of coastal landforms/coral reefs/sustainable management of coasts.
2 Hazardous environments:
Hazards resulting from: Tectonic processes/ seismic waves/ volcanoes/ tsunamis/hazard mapping/risk assessment/building design.
Mass movements: Nature and causes of mass movements/landslides/avalanches/ /hazard mapping and management’
Atmospheric disturbances:
Large scale tropical disturbances (cyclones), formation, development, risk assessment +management/tornadoes. Sustainable management of hazardous environments.
Human environments:
Global Interdependence: Trade flows and trading patterns/international debt and aid/ development of international tourism + management of tourist destination.
Economic transition:
National development/employment structures /global inequalities in social and economic well-being/HDI/globalisation of economic activity/TNCs/Foreign Direct Investment/ emergence of NICs/regional development/management of regional development.
