Humanities
Geography
At Brook Green we value the importance of our students knowing and understanding their place in the world both physically and in terms of the impact our actions have on it.
We begin in Year 7 building up the students’ knowledge of Plymouth and the surrounding area and developing skills such as map reading, understanding weather and where it comes from and how rivers form and their part in the water cycle.
Year 8 builds on the skills and concepts encountered in year 7 looking in more detail at specific areas in Geography such as features making Devon a popular tourist destination – combining physical and human geography studies, climate change and sustainability building on the weather work in year 7 and learning the differences between climate, weather and climate change and studying our coasts looking at human and physical landforms and processes.
Year 9 looks at geography on a more global scale and encourages the students to consider in greater depth how our actions can have a global impact both good and bad. From how volcanoes and earthquakes helped shape our planet and continue to have a global effect, the effect of increased CO2 production on the Great Barrier Reef and the implications of this moving forward and how our changing climate is affecting our seas and oceans.
Each term there is a homework project which student can choose to complete. All returned projects will be entered in the judging for the end of term geography award. Each project will be judged on its merits and the individual ability of each student.
History
At Brook Green we deliver a curriculum that provides students with an understanding of how key events in the past have influence and impact on our modern world. Where appropriate the focus is on how key historical events such as the Second World War had a devastating effect on our city and how Plymouth rose out of The Blitz. We explore the importance of looking at evidence from both sides through key historical characters such as Sir Francis Drake, and events such as The Industrial Revolution, The first American colonies and the slave trade, all of which highlight the importance of perspective when examining historical evidence and accounts.
Students in year 7 explore the skills and disciplines of history and historical enquiry with a focus on Key elements and skills from Key Stage 2 through topics relating to the history of our planet up to and including the Ancient Greek civilisation and their influence on the modern world.
Year 8 takes a closer look at the Tudor and Elizabethan eras, taking a close look at the links between Queen Elizabeth I and Plymouth through her relationships with Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh.
Year 9 explore themes of conflict, freedom and Britain’s role in the Industrial Revolution including the beginnings of adopting other cultures into our daily lives (tea, spices, coffee etc) and how these goods were transported.
Each term there is a homework project which student can choose to complete. All returned projects will be entered in the judging for the end of term history award. Each project will be judged on its merits and the individual ability of each student.
