Students will now to be able to demonstrate a powerful understanding of the interactions between the physical world and the human world owing to their prior knowledge from the Year 7 and Year 8 Geography curriculum. They will start to make connections between the environment and people and ask big questions. For example, why do people live near volcanoes? Students will have learnt that volcanoes mainly occur along tectonic plate boundaries in Year 7, they will know about the benefits of fertile soil from volcanoes, for settlement growth, during Year 8. In Year 9 students can now explore a greater range of factors which may influence a decision to live along a plate margin, like poverty, culture, economic activity, threat of conflict for example, and see how different factors may weigh more heavily than others when making an important decision.

The complex concept of globalisation will be analysed in detail as students will be able to see the many benefits it has brought into their lives, with affordable electronic goods and clothing. But they will also see how other parts of the world are involved in this relationship to question whether globalisation does benefit all. The role of transnational organisations (TNCs) is often viewed negatively by Western countries, but is that fair? Would some economies be able to develop without investment by TNCs or do they cause more harm than good? Should we be more concerned about threats to the environment or to people? Students will know how to take part in discussions and challenge opposing views sensibly, but also be willing to see ideas from different points of view.

Why some countries are richer than others could be argued for decades, as it has been done. We will look at the histories, geographies and economies of different countries to understand how and why they contrast in wealth and why solutions are very complex and often require an individual approach, as a one-fit strategy for all tends not to work.

The curriculum in Year 9 invites big questions to be asked about the world we live in and students will see that it is not always possible to give answers to these questions. The idea of a global governance will pop-up throughout the 3-year curriculum as students realise there isn’t a world government who can take charge when something happens that we are not happy about. Hopefully this curriculum and an interest in the world around them, will inspire Geography students from AGS to become our next leading decision makers and play an active part in shaping the world of the future.

The knowledge built and developed across KS3, will make explicit links with other subjects and contemporary events in the news. Place is significant to a geographer, so breadth and depth have been considered carefully when sequencing our programme of study. Map skills, numeracy and graph skills continue to remain an integral part of geography so have been embedded into our narrative about the geography of Earth and will be used throughout to interpret data, analyse evidence and draw conclusions that challenge or support current theories.

Students will see that Geography is more than just a collection of randomly chosen topics about the world, but is a holistic subject with intricate links and complex connections between nature and people - physical and human.

 

Course overview

Year 9 - Changing world

• What does it mean to be a globalised world?
• Do we live in a divided world?
• What does the future hold for Earth?

 

Useful websites

https://www.google.co.uk/intl/en_uk/earth/ Explore worldwide satellite imagery and 3D buildings and terrain for hundreds of cities. Zoom to your house or anywhere else, then dive in for a 360° perspective with Street View.

https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-4133035 Discover the world with articles, fact sheets, maps and other resources that explore landscapes, peoples, places, and environments both near and far.

http://www.studentguide.org/geography-resources-maps-facts-for-students/ Designed for students looking for geographical information about different regions of the world. You can get different books and resources on geographical topics.

https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/mapping-our-world This unique interactive website works with maps and globes to transform learners' understanding of the world.

https://www.scoop.it/topic/geography-education Recent updates and news on geography are shared on this website. Students can get information about different cultures of the world. You can get information on agriculture, industrialisation, world’s politics, economic development, population and migration.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html The World Factbook provides information on the history, people and society, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/globaltrek/ Scholastic's Global Trek is a way for students to travel to countries around the world without ever having to leave their classroom. When students arrive in the country of their choice they are supplied with a suggested travel itinerary. This itinerary offers links to background information and a chance to read about the country's people. Students also have a chance to meet the people of the country they visit through Scholastic's Classport.

http://www.culturaljam.org/ This is a place that has photographic information about different cultures of the world.