Teaching primary geography through everyday objects is a popular way to get pupils interested in the ‘stories of things’. This can help support pupils’ growing understanding of the interaction between physical processes – in this case climate – and human geography.
Their skills can be enhanced by asking searching questions about what they might otherwise take for granted. Maybe Brexit has led adults to think more of trade routes and connections, but such geographical questions are more current then ever in a time of globalisation.
Pick any objects you like – here I use chocolate, mainly – but know something about the story of them.
What they’ll learn
- Place knowledge, such as what plants grow in a country and how things are made
- Which climates support different plants and where things come
- Skills, deepening curiosity and fascination and an ability to interpret a range of sources
Anthony Barlow lectures in geography education at the University of Roehampton after 12 years as a KS2 teacher. He is soon to publish Mastering Primary Geography (Bloomsbury). Follow him on Twitter at @totalgeography.
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- Voytek the bear – WW2 animal hero story and KS2 resource pack
