Six Years as One: Planning
the Geography
Curriculum for Junior
and Senior Secondary
Education
How do I plan
the Geography
curriculum of
my school?
Task 1
Case Study:
S1
S2
S3
City
Natural Hazards
Food Problem
The Trouble of Water
Manufacturing Industry
Energy
S4
S5
S6
Opportunities & Risks
Managing River &
Coastal Environment
Dynamic Earth
Changing Industrial
Location
Building a Sustainable
City
Transport
Combating Famine
Disappearing Green
Canopy
Global warming
Task 2
What did the Curriculum Guide said?
Case Study:
S1
S2
S3
City
Natural Hazards
Food Problem
The Trouble of Water
Manufacturing Industry
Energy
Core Modules
Themes:
 From HK to the World – Variations in space,
people and places
 From China to the World – Enquiring
regional problems arising from humanenvironment interactions
 Challenges for our world – Managing global
issues in a sustainable way
Case Study:
S4
S5
S6
Opportunities & Risks
Managing River &
Coastal Environment
Dynamic Earth
Changing Industrial
Location
Building a Sustainable
City
Transport
Combating Famine
Disappearing Green
Canopy
Global warming
Themes:
Living with our physical
environment
Facing change in the human
environment
Any other
Confronting global
challenges
considerations?
General guidelines to planning
• Concepts, knowledge and skills – from simple to complex, easy
to difficult
• Choice of case study – a balanced coverage from local to global
examples
• Progression:
 Breath of study
 Depth of study
 Spatial scale
 Development of skills
 Increasing opportunities for pupils to examine social,
economic and environmental issues
 Needs of students (interest / strength / weakness)
Planning of Junior Geography Curriculum
Different mode of junior form
PSHE curriculum
Integrated
Mode
(Geography
is not an
independent
subject)
Mixed
Mode
(S3
Geography)
Independent
subject
Mode
(S1-3
Geography)
Planning of Junior Geography Curriculum
• Enquiry learning
• Essential learning elements
Knowledge, concepts and skills,
values and attitudes
Integrated & mixed mode
Curriculum Auditing for the
Integrated curriculum
• Check whether the integrated curriculum
has covered the essential learning
elements
 Topics related to Geography
 Find out the knowledge, concepts or
skills covered
• Find out the missing elements
Task 3
Planning of Junior Geography Curriculum
Characteristics of each topic:
Topic
Characteristics
City
• Illustrate the knowledge & concept of
“landuse”, “urban problems”,
“sustainability”
• Introduce the map reading skills
• Conduct simple fieldwork task
Natural Hazards
• Introduce physical geography
• Introduce prior knowledge on “Plate
Tectonics” / “Geological Hazard”
• Train map reading skills
Characteristics of each topic:
Topic
Characteristics
Tourists
• Interesting topic
• Illustrate the concept “sustainability”
& “global interdependence”
• Train elementary map reading skills
and use atlas / Google Map
Changing Climate
• A very hot global issue
• Introduce climatic pattern
• Illustrate the concept of “peopleenvironment interaction” & “global
interdependence”
Characteristics of each topic:
Topic
Characteristics
Food problem
• Understand the knowledge and
concepts related to “Farming”
• Conduct simple fieldwork
The trouble of water
• Learn about the physical
characteristics of China
• Illustrate the concept of
“management”
• Train map reading and graphic
skills
Characteristics of each topic:
Topic
Characteristics
Population problem
• A topic that will not be taught in
higher level
• Illustrate the concept of “spatial
distribution”
• The problem is related to other
issues, e.g. disease, urban problems
• Learn about the physical
characteristics of China
• Illustrate the concept of
“desertification”, “management”
• Interpret satellite and aerial
photographs
Taming the sand
Characteristics of each topic:
Topic
Characteristics
Manufacturing industry
• Develop global perspective and the
concept of “global interdependence”
& “place and region”
• Train statistical and graphic skills
Energy
• A very hot global issue
• Illustrate the concept of “global
interdependence”
• Train statistical and graphic skills
Characteristics of each topic:
Topic
Disease
Ocean
Characteristics
• Illustrate the concept of “spatial
distribution” & “global
interdependence”
• Illustrate the concept “ecosystem”
• Interpret satellite photographs
What do you think about this
curriculum?
School background:
Characteristics of students: average ability,
rather passive, come from lower socio-economic
class
No. of Geography lessons: two 40-minute
lessons per week
Task 4
What do you think about this
curriculum?
1.The choice of the topics
2.The time available to cover the
content
3.Students’ learning of these
knowledge and skills
4.Any other comments?
What do you think about this
curriculum?
• Good points:
 Follow what the Curriculum Guide suggests
 Choice of topics: interesting, related to daily
life
• Bad points:
 Content is too much
 Map reading skills are too difficult for S1
students
 Sequence of the modules
Curriculum design of S1-3 Geography
Curriculum
Core
Core
Core
Core
Elective
Other considerations
1. Trimming the curriculum
 Number of specific examples
 Content
Example
Sustainable City:
1. Do all cities look the same?
(choose any 1-2)
• Western city
• SE Asian city
• South American city
2. What problem is our city facing?
• Traffic congestion problem
• Urban decay problem
3. Specific examples (choose any 1-2)
• Guangzhou
• Tianjin
• Seoul
• Helsinki
Example
The Trouble of Water:
• Major water problems in China
(overall view)
• Water cycle
• Major rivers in China
• Concentrate on only one/two
kind(s) of water problem: causes,
impacts and solutions
• Water management experience of
one country
Other considerations
2. Progression
• Knowledge
Breath of study
Depth of study
Spatial scale
• Skills
• Choice of case studies
Principles that guide the planning of
progression
• Build upon students’ existing knowledge
and previous experience;
• Match carefully to pupil’s capabilities
and interest
• Take into account of the ways in which
pupils’ mature (intellectually, socially and
physically)
• Be important in pupils’ future learning
S1 Student’s common mistake
計算坡度 (直線比例尺)：
垂直距離 = 150-100 = 50米
水平距離 = 1.3 x 10000
50÷50
13000÷50
= 1:260
Mix up R.F.
and linear
scale
Example
Other considerations
3. Provision of fieldwork
experience
4. Formative assessment
Planning of Senior Geography
Curriculum
• Prior knowledge
• Related topics
Opportunities
& Risks
Dynamic
Earth
River &
Coast
Planning of Senior Geography
Curriculum
Tropical Rain
Forest
Global
Warming
Combating
Famine
Weather &
Climate
Planning of Senior Geography
Curriculum
Sustainable
City
Transport
Zhujiang
Delta
Transport
Planning of Senior Geography
Curriculum
Concept and knowledge
• Simple to complex
• Easy to difficult
• Concrete to abstract
Example:
City
Opportunities
& Risks
Planning of Senior Geography
Curriculum
Map reading skills
• Lower order to higher order
Example:
Lower level
Urban maps
Map symbols
Higher level
Maps with contour lines
Interpretation of features
As a start……
More typical
features
Simple contour
line map
GeoInfo Map
http://www2.map.gov.hk/gih3/view/index.jsp
Hypothetical example –
S4-6 Geography
1.Industry
2.Sustainable
city
(Transport)
(Zhujiang
Delta)
3. Opportunities 5. Tropical rain
& risks
forest
4. River & coast 6. Global
(Dynamic Earth)
warming
(Weather &
climate)
7. Famine
Interface between Junior & Senior
Geography Curriculum
Issue-based
enquiry
Interface between Junior & Senior
Geography Curriculum
• Development of spatial perspectives
Interface between Junior & Senior
Geography Curriculum
• Essential
learning
elements
(curriculum
auditing)
Interface between Junior & Senior
Geography Curriculum
• Data
response
enquiry
Information / Data:
Question:
1a. 根據圖一所示，2013年五月和六月的雨量與該兩個月的
平均雨量有甚麼不同？
1b.這個現象與2013年6月發生的山泥傾瀉有何關係？
2. 根據圖二所示的資料，解釋為何那裡會發生山泥傾瀉？
Interface between Junior & Senior
Geography Curriculum
• Writing skills
• High order thinking skills
Graphic
organizer
Interface between Junior & Senior
Geography Curriculum
Framework
for essay
writing
Interface between Junior & Senior
Geography Curriculum
High order thinking skills –
problem solving
Questions &
answer
2009 H1N1 Flu Outbreak Map
Google map
1. Which three countries have been most
affected by swine flu?
2. Which regions have been most affected by
swine flu?
3. Which regions have been least affected by
swine flu?
Software for calculating gradient and
identifying relief features
http://diy.fwg.hk/download/geog/map/Map-S.html
http://diy.fwg.hk/download/geog/map/Map-TC.html
Software for calculating gradient and
identifying relief features
Calculation of gradient
Software for calculating gradient and
identifying relief features
Drawing of Cross-section
Contour lines – from 2D to 3D
http://www.rgs.org/webcasts/activities/contours/contours.html
Contour lines – from 2D to 3D
Contour lines – from 2D to 3D