Year 6 Geography Scheme of Work
Year 6 geography provides a fitting culmination to the primary curriculum by focusing on the big picture: global trade and economic interconnection, the environmental challenges facing the planet, and a deep-dive into the human and physical geography of the United Kingdom itself. These units draw together strands from all previous years and require pupils to apply their full repertoire of geographical skills and knowledge.
The trade and globalisation unit connects geography to economics, citizenship, and ethics in ways that are both academically rigorous and personally relevant: pupils can trace the origins of the food they eat, the clothes they wear, and the devices they use to countries and communities around the world. The environmental issues unit challenges pupils to think critically about the human impact on the planet and to evaluate different responses. The UK geography unit provides depth and rigour in studying a place pupils know well, but rarely know deeply.
Expected prior knowledge
- ✓Understanding of world climate zones, biomes, and ecosystems.
- ✓Knowledge of migration, population distribution, and human geography at a global scale.
- ✓Ability to use six-figure grid references and full Ordnance Survey mapping skills.
- ✓Experience of evaluating different stakeholder perspectives on geographical issues.
Units across the year
Six half-term units covering all strands of the KS2 Geography programme of study.
Trade and Economic Activity
- –Describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including economic activity including trade links.
- –Understand the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals, and water.
- –Describe the global patterns of trade and economic activity.
- –Trace the journey of a chocolate bar from the cacao farm to the consumer, mapping the supply chain on a world map.
- –Investigate the concept of fair trade and discuss how it aims to improve conditions for producers in developing countries.
- –Research which countries export key commodities (oil, coffee, wheat, cotton) and explain why production is concentrated in particular regions.
- –Compare the economic advantages and disadvantages of global trade for producer and consumer countries.
Globalisation
- –Understand human geography including economic activity and trade links, and the global distribution of natural resources.
- –Know about how global connections between countries affect people's lives.
- –Investigate where different items in the classroom come from and discuss what this tells us about global connections.
- –Research a transnational corporation (e.g. Nike or Apple) and investigate where its products are designed, manufactured, and sold.
- –Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of globalisation for different groups: workers, consumers, and the environment.
- –Create a globalisation mind map showing the connections between a single product and the world.
Environmental Issues and Sustainability
- –Describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including climate and the natural world.
- –Understand the human impact on environments and the concept of sustainable development.
- –Study the evidence for climate change including rising temperatures, melting ice caps, and increasing extreme weather events.
- –Investigate the causes of climate change and discuss the role of human activity including burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
- –Research global responses to climate change including the Paris Agreement and evaluate their effectiveness.
- –Design a school sustainability action plan, identifying changes that the school community could make to reduce its environmental impact.
UK Geography: Regions and Economic Diversity
- –Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region or area of the United Kingdom.
- –Understand how economic activity, trade, and industry vary across the UK.
- –Map the major physical regions of the UK (Scottish Highlands, Pennines, Welsh mountains, East Anglian lowlands, London Basin) and describe their characteristics.
- –Compare economic activity in three contrasting UK regions: a prosperous city, a former industrial area, and a rural farming region.
- –Study the north-south economic divide in England and investigate the reasons for regional inequality.
- –Evaluate government initiatives to reduce regional inequality (e.g. the Northern Powerhouse) and assess their success.
Water and Natural Resources
- –Understand the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals, and water.
- –Understand the challenges of managing water as a resource in different parts of the world.
- –Map global water scarcity hotspots and investigate the physical and human factors that cause water stress.
- –Study how water is managed in a water-stressed country (e.g. Israel, Kenya) and evaluate the strategies used.
- –Compare water use per person in the UK with water use in a water-stressed country and discuss the implications.
- –Design a water conservation scheme for the school, calculating potential savings.
Progression into KS3
In Year 7, pupils transition to Key Stage 3 geography. They will build on their primary foundations to study plate tectonics, river processes, and urban geography with greater mathematical and analytical rigour, and will develop their independent geographical enquiry skills.
Individual lesson plans
Full lesson frameworks — learning objectives, vocabulary, lesson structure, and common misconceptions — for each unit in this scheme.
View all Year 6 Geography lesson plans →