Developing Experts’ Geography Curriculum: The Three Sample Units

Our much-anticipated geography curriculum is well underway and our first three sample units are launching very soon! From the 14th of February 2025, three sample units will be available for free on the Developing Experts platform. Read on to find out more about what you can expect to see within each of these. 

Our new units and lessons offer everything you need to teach geography in your classroom: they are fully aligned to the National Curriculum, they contain all the handouts, presentations, videos and activities you’ll need, and they’re guaranteed to engage and inspire your pupils. Here’s everything you should know about our three sample units.

Year 1: The World 

This unit focuses on building pupils’ knowledge of world geography. Throughout the lessons, pupils will learn about the world’s continents and oceans, as well as the North and South poles, the equator, deserts and rainforests. Through exciting activities - such as examining oceans and drawing plants that grow at the equator - pupils will learn about the scale and size of the world in comparison to their local area and the UK. This unit covers the following NC attainment targets: 

• Name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans.
• Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage.

Year 4: Volcanoes, Mountains and Earthquakes 

This unit is guaranteed to go off with a bang! Providing interesting insights into three of the most dramatic topics in geography, this KS2 unit introduces pupils to tectonic plates, mountain ranges, how earthquakes are measured, what happens during a volcanic eruption and more. This unit covers the following NC attainment target: 

• Describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle.

Year 5: Our Blue Planet 

If you’re looking for a geography topic to link with science, this is the unit for you. ‘Our Blue Planet’ links science learning - such as States of Matter and The Water Cycle - to geography. In this unit, pupils will learn about the different bodies of water on our planet, such as oceans, seas and rivers. For teachers hoping to focus on environmental issues, this unit is a great option - lesson 6 asks pupils to explore the challenges our oceans and other water bodies are facing. This unit covers the following NC attainment targets: 

• Physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle.
• Human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water.
• Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America.

Each of these sample units will be available for free on Developing Experts from the 14th of February. You can find them by heading to www.developingexperts.com and clicking into ‘Geography’. The rest of the curriculum will be live on the 22nd of April.