In recent years the emphasis has shifted away from a focus on pedagogy (the how of teaching) and towards curriculum (the what of teaching). Ofsted's revised inspection framework reflects this shift, and their plans to -deep dive- into subject areas - meaning that teachers and department heads now need a much greater understanding of curricular structures - leave many educators having to think about their subject in new ways. Luckily for geography teachers, however, bestselling author Mark Enser provides plenty of insightful, subject-specific guidance in this all-encompassing book. Mark explores both the purpose of the geography curriculum and its various applications in practice. He details how teachers can take their students' learning beyond the acquisition of knowledge to transform how they see the world. He also tackles the changing nature of school geography, shares a variety of case studies, and offers his take on how best to facilitate geographical enquiry and fieldwork. The first part of the book considers the issue of purpose by looking at the role of the school in society and then shows the place that geography occupies within it. It also considers the history of the subject so as to help geography teachers better understand where they stand today, and concludes by discussing how the concepts of powerful knowledge and GeoCapabilities can help them find their way again. The second part is a practical guide which illustrates how to put this theory of curriculum purpose into practice. It explores the steps which must be taken to create a powerful geography curriculum by deciding on content and places to be studied, putting the components into a sequence and then using all this to do geography. It will also discuss the extent to which teachers need to consider the future and respond to the concerns of the wider world when planning the curriculum. Suitable for department heads and classroom teachers of geography in secondary schools and subject leads in primary schools. Powerful Geography was Highly Commended in the Geographical Association Awards 2022.

Becoming an Outstanding Geography Teacher supports all geography teachers in offering a wide range of approaches to teaching and learning that will stimulate and engage students. Providing a variety of techniques for planning inspiring geography lessons, the book shows teachers how they can use current resources in a more innovative way to produce outstanding results. Chapters include sample lesson plans which demonstrate each technique with a step-by-step discussion of the development of the lessons, and have a strong focus on activating learning and supporting pupils on their individual learning journeys. The book covers all aspects of geography teaching, including: designing programmes of study differentiation questioning literacy and numeracy teaching A Level enquiry geography feedback and assessment. Packed full of strategies and activities that are easy to implement, Becoming an Outstanding Geography Teacher is essential reading for newly qualified and experienced geography teachers who want to ensure outstanding teaching and learning in their classrooms.

This little book is confined to very simple “reading lessons upon the Form and Motions of the Earth, the Points of the Compass, the Meaning of a Map: Definitions.” The shape and motions of the earth are fundamental ideas—however difficult to grasp. Geography should be learned chiefly from maps, and the child should begin the study by learning “the meaning of map,” and how to use it. These subjects are well fitted to form an attractive introduction to the study of Geography: some of them should awaken the delightful interest which attaches in a child’s mind to that which is wonderful—incomprehensible. The Map lessons should lead to mechanical efforts, equally delightful. It is only when presented to the child for the first time in the form of stale knowledge and foregone conclusions that the facts taught in these lessons appear dry and repulsive to him. An effort is made in the following pages to treat the subject with the sort of sympathetic interest and freshness which attracts children to a new study. A short summary of the chief points in each reading lesson is given in the form of questions and answers. Easy verses, illustrative of the various subjects, are introduced, in order that the children may connect pleasant poetic fancies with the phenomena upon which “Geography” so much depends. It is hoped that these reading lessons may afford intelligent teaching, even in the hands of a young teacher. The first ideas of Geography—the lessons on “Place”—which should make the child observant of local geography, of the features of his own neighbourhood, its heights and hollows and level lands, its streams and ponds—should be conveyed viva voce. At this stage, a class-book cannot take the place of an intelligent teacher. Children should go through the book twice, and should, after the second reading, be able to answer any of the questions from memory. Charlotte M. Mason