One thing that we always look forward to is a new textbook to assess whether this is going to be 'the one' that works for us in our own school context. Publishers offer inspection copies of most and at the very least that single copy generally gets adopted and goes onto the shelves to perhaps draw on for ideas... If you are teaching certain exam specs such as OCR 'A' or 'B' Geography I can certainly recommend some books.
We have had a few series which gained traction: Key Geography of course, and Geog Dot, and before that there were individual books written by L Dudley Stamp and others which offered a general geography course. Others didn't catch on in quite the same way, although recent series such as 'Progress in Geography' have done well.
In a month or two's time the GA will be publishing a new book covering three years of Key Stage 3 teaching, and with an accompanying teacher resource. Details of the book can be found on the GA Shop - as always, GA members will be able to order it at a lower price than non-members.
A sample chapter is also available to download. I've had a sneak preview of this, and the chapter headings and will certainly be investigating in more detail and seeing what my budget will allow.
The book takes a spiral approach, introducing concepts, topics, themes, places and skills early on, then revisits these in later chapters in different contexts in order to consolidate learning. The chapters consider themes in human and natural environments and explore the connections and interactions between them. The complete student book has 18 chapters and covers years 7–9 – view the list of chapters here.
Written by practising teachers and geography educators, the book aims to:
- enthuse and engage students, making them more globally aware and environmentally minded
- help students develop a better understanding and appreciation of the world
- introduce key geographical knowledge, build understanding and develop skills that will be needed for GCSE, while keeping key stage 3 (or equivalent) adistinctive phase of education
- suggest different approaches and ways of thinking in geography.
Each chapter has:
an introductory page containing a starter activity and an outline of key themes, concepts and topics covered within it
five or six double page spreads containing information and case study material to engage students along withlocation maps and activities to develop skills to help students become better geographers
a review page with activities to consolidate the learning from the chapter.
The accompanying teacher materials contain:
a medium-term plan and guidance notes for each chapter
activity, information and answer sheets
a PowerPoint of resources for each chapter.
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