Year 2

Autumn: Continents and Oceans

Building on their knowledge of the UK and local area from Year 1, the pupils will embark on a learning journey leading to their understanding of our planet Earth. They will begin to ask and answer questions about how people find out information about the planet. Through observation, work with maps and atlases and globes, they will be developing the global geographical context of their homes and environments. It will serve as an introduction to the geographical concepts of place and space and it will also allow the children to start thinking about scale.

This unit of work should inspire the children to want to explore the Earth and its uniqueness further and set solid foundations for their further learning about hot and cold places and Year 2 and finally, allowing them to contract their locality with a non-European country (Australia). Furthermore, their growing understanding of Earth will prepare them for more in-depth learning about each continent in KS2 and the interaction between human and physical processes in Year 6 topics Trade and Migration.

Spring: Hot and Cold places

Following their learning of Continents and oceans, the pupils will further develop their map skills and knowledge by locating the poles, the Equator and the human and physical features of different regions. They will be contrasting and comparing this with their understanding of the seasons from Year 1.

Their investigation of plants of different regions will be deepened in Summer 1 Science study of plants and they will research the desert region of Australia in Summer 2.

The children will get a chance to revisit and further develop their knowledge by studying Biomes and Climate zones in Year 4.

Summer: Australia

Following their study of our planet and some of the hot and cold places on Earth,  the pupils will conclude this year’s learning  and develop their world locational knowledge through studying the country of Australia and comparing the region of Thursday Island with the Widnes area.

After locating Australia on the globe and suggesting routes there from the UK, the children will have a chance of observing the differences and similarities between the two countries and understanding the historical link between them. They will deepen their knowledge of the physical and human features of Australia and the uniqueness of its nature and wildlife. In Year 4, this will be developed through the unit Biomes and Climate zones. A close investigation of the process of making some of the Australian products will lay the foundations for Year 6 study of Trade links.  

Finally, the children will be able to learn about the Thursday Island, one of the Torres Strait Island and comparing its culture and way of life to their own.