Focus on Geography with Nicola –
Coming soon on Thursday’s at 1pm
This week I was transported to the seaside in Nicola’s Focus on Geography Class as we took a look at landforms created by coastal erosion. The lesson started with children sharing any learning they had completed during the week. One child was so inspired by the topic that in between the lessons, they had completed models of an arch, a stack and a stump formed by coastal erosion!
Nicola took a few minutes to consolidate the children’s learning from the previous class by testing them on their knowledge of different kinds of erosion and the difference between constructive and deconstructive wave. She was careful to make sure that any newcomers did not feel worried and knew that this brief activity could be used to start learning if the content was new to them. The children were all really involved, sending in their answers via the chat box on Zoom. Some of those who volunteered were also keen to share their answers out loud with the rest of the class.
The formation of Headland and Bays was the main topic of the class. It was a very visual lesson with lots of photos and diagrams on the screen so that the children could clearly understand Nicola’s explanations. Everyone completed printed work sheets as they went along so that the learning was constantly reinforced. Nicola was consistently checking in with all the children to make sure everyone understood each piece of information before moving on.
What really made this class come alive was that the children weren’t just learning and reciting information but were being taught to think for themselves and to theorize. All theories were encouraged and it was amazing to see so many children felt safe enough to share their theories. Many children theorised what they thought would happen to the Green Bridge in Wales over time.
The lesson came to an end after the children filled in a worksheet matching descriptions to the different stages of erosion to headlands. Many of them were again happy to share their answers with the rest of the class.
This was such a lively class and I believe that was down to Nicola’s passion for geography, this was infectious and ignited a love of geography among the whole class. She personified rock formations and was able to get the children really engaged in what was happening to the rocks through erosion over many years. Praise was feely given to all the children throughout the lesson. Nicola often referred to them as ‘geniuses’ which really encouraged them all to continue to engage and do their best.
Final Word from Nicola
“Focus on Geography is a really enjoyable lesson, the students and I really enjoy investigating the world around us; learning how the physical world impacts on the human world. This allows students to broaden their knowledge in numerous areas such as forests, coasts, rivers, cities and the weather. Geography therefore is a keystone to many other subjects, the creative elements of English, the history of the planet, utilising maths and science to understand how and why things happen. Being such a broad subject allows a vast array of discussions to arise, enabling the students to explore the topics in ways I had not considered. In these lessons, it is not just the students who are learning, they often teach me too; and this is why I love teaching geography.”
Nicola
