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Ellwood Community Primary School

Geography

The aim of geography at Ellwood Primary School is to inspire a curiosity about the world that will stay with the children for the rest of their lives.
 
By the end of Key Stage 1, the children should be able to name the seven continents and five oceans of the world. They will also be able to identify human and physical geographical features of their local area and of a contrasting non-European country.
 
During Key Stage 2, the children will enhance their locational and place knowledge by using maps to identify countries of the world. They will build on their knowledge of human and physical features to understand the impact that they have on the world and how it affects land use and economic activity.  
Sycamore have been using OS maps. They used the key to find what each symbol meant and then looked at maps of our local area to see the kinds of features which are most available nearby!
Chestnut Class have been learning about our local area. We have used OS and aerial maps to locate physical and human features. We walked around the school grounds to find sign posts and the post box where we met our local postman, who explained what happens to letters once we post them and the importance of writing the address on the envelope. 
Dean Heritage Centre Visit

Years 1, 2 and 3 had a fantastic day out to The Dean Heritage Centre. We enjoyed exploring the 3D map of the forest and looked at how our area is made up.

Africa Day
 
Iain Baird visited us today to help us with our Africa topic. We started the morning ‘building Africa’ and then found out some very interesting facts about animals. Iain showed us how tall a male giraffe is and the size of an elephants foot. We then had a Kenyan wedding and the children played instruments whilst singing ‘Jambo Bwana’ ‘Jambo Bwana, habari gani? Nauru sana, hakuna matata’ which translates to “how are you doing? Very well. No problem, no worries”
Goodrich Castle
 
Years 1, 2 and 3 had a brilliant trip to Goodrich castle to deepen their knowledge and understanding of castles and learn about local history. We were really impressed with their behaviour and enthusiasm and they demonstrated lots of our school values throughout the day. 
Chestnut 2022-2023
 
This term we have been identifying human and physical features in our local area. We walked around the school grounds to spot different features. We then sketched simple maps and made maps out of lego of our journey around school.  
Chestnut class have learnt the names of the seven continents and five oceans and are making globes to take home so they can remember them. They have been comparing the human and physical features surrounding Ellwood school and Barrow, in Alaska and have compared their life to that of an inuit. They have also compared the weather in Coleford with that in Barrow over a five week period. Chestnut discovered that while we think it is cold in the UK it is nothing like the -33C experienced in the Arctic circle!
Beech class enjoyed learning about Italy and were particularly fascinated by the story of Mount Vesuvius and the effect that it had on Pompeii. As a result, after half-term, the topic changed tack to focus on the children’s interest in volcanoes. The children worked in small groups to build model volcanoes, using bottles and papier-mâché, which they erupted this week using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar with spectacular results! The models demonstrated the way that the lava flows after an eruption.
Chestnut and Beech visited Coleford
 
 
Learning about London
In Beech class, the children have been learning about London. They have sorted through images of London now and London from the time of the 'Great Fire of London'. In Chestnut class, the children learned about the Great Fire of London and found St. Paul's Cathedral, Pudding Lane, London Bridge and the River Thames on a map.
Sycamore class have been focusing on looking at the human and physical features of the UK and France before moving on to look at rivers and the water cycle.