GEOGRAPHY IN Kildimo N.S.

 Vision

By developing the student’s awareness of the interrelationship between human activity and the environment, the staff of Kildimo National School hope that the geography programme would offer each student an opportunity to develop a sense of citizenship and responsibility for all aspects of the environment. By examining human environments at regional, national and global levels, students will grow to appreciate the diversity of cultural, ethnic, social and religious groups and also to recognise and value the similarities that exist amongst them.

Aims

The aims of the Geography curriculum are:

To develop knowledge and understanding of local, regional and wider environments and their interrelationships

To encourage an understanding and appreciation of the variety of natural and human conditions on the earth

To develop empathy with people from diverse environments and an understanding of human interdependence

To develop the ability to use a range of communicative methods, especially those concerned with the development of graphicacy (mapping and other non-verbal, non-numerical forms of data presentation)

To encourage the development of a sense of place and spatial awareness

To encourage the development of caring attitudes and responsible behaviour towards the environment, and involvement in the identification, discussion, resolution and avoidance of environmental problems

To develop an understanding of appropriate geographical concepts

Broad Objectives:

We agree that the broad objectives of the geography curriculum should enable the child to:

Develop knowledge and understanding of natural and human environments in the locality, region, Ireland, Europe and the world

Understand some of the natural, social or economic processes, which create, sustain or change environments

Study the impact of environmental conditions on the lives of people in the locality and in other areas, and come to appreciate some of the ways in which humans use, modify or influence their environments

Engage inactive exploration of local and other environments as an intrinsic element of learning

Acquire the ability to use and understand appropriate investigative methods in the study of natural and human features and phenomena in local and other environments

Develop a sense of place; an understanding and appreciation of the major characteristics of different places

Develop a sense of space; an understanding of how natural and human features are located and distributed in local and other environments and how and why they relate to each other

Develop an appropriate cognitive map of the local area and extend the process to wider geographical settings

Acquire an ability to understand, develop and use a growing range of plans, maps and globes

Develop an ability to acquire, analyse and communicate geographical knowledge using a wide variety of sources, including oral, written and graphical forms, models and globes, information technology and other media

Extend, refine and apply artistic, linguistic and mathematical skills

Learn that the sharing, responsible use and conservation of the Earth’s natural and human resources are necessary for the continued existence of life

Develop aesthetic sensitivity to the natural and human elements of the environment and to the repercussions of human actions

Learn of and come to value the diversity of peoples, cultures and societies in Ireland and throughout the world, acquire and awareness of human interdependence and develop empathy with others

Use and value creative, innovative thinking in the exploration and/or resolution of human and environmental issues