Geography

Year 8

Subject: Geography

Unit 1: Weather and Climate Change

During this unit students will recap the study the weather that was started in Horizon. This includes how different elements of the weather are measured and recorded, how the hydrological cycle works in order to answer the question ‘why does it rain?’ They will explore the difference between weather and climate and see where different climate zones are in the world.
Students will explore issues surrounding our current changeable weather patterns and how they link into current theories of global climate change. We will study how climate change is shown in the media through the film “The Day After Tomorrow”.

The main assessment task will be based around a homework project and climate change based essay.

Unit 2: Ecosystems – Rainforest and Polar Tundra

This unit is about the fragile ecosystems of our planet
Within the unit learners are encouraged to understand the unique structure of the rainforest and how it has developed nutrient cycles for survival. They will explore how they are currently used and the potential uses in the future. They will consider reasons why there is a difficult balance between exploiting the resources it contains for the benefit of the Brazilian people and the global implications of its development. They will also consider how future developments may be planned in a sustainable way.
They will also study aspects of the extreme environment of Polar regions. Considering how the indigenous population have survived here as well as how these area are utilised by people today.
The main assessment tasks will be a written test as well as a group task on a sustainability/ development project in either the rainforest or tundra environment.

Unit 3: Water Resources and Rivers: Do we have equal rights to resources?

This is unit about water resource use, conflict and management. Within this unit learners are encouraged to understand the consequences of their own use of water and appreciate how important it is to manage this essential resource. They contrast their own experiences with those living in the Middle East where access to a constant and clean water supply provides a challenge. They are given opportunities to decide for themselves how they would manage water in the future and make informed decisions on their personal water consumption.
The main assessments will be a decision making exercise and a written test.

Unit 4: Leisure and Tourism (Tourism Good or Bad?)

During this unit students will study the differences between leisure and tourism industries. They will look locally at the variety of leisure facilities available in Jersey, as well as looking at trends in tourism across the UK. Tourism as an industry can be both good and bad for destinations, and a sustainable approach to use in the future is important. All these aspects will be explored.
The main assessment task will be a PowerPoint presentation to discuss for positive and negative aspects of tourism for a place that they have visited.