Year 8 and 9 Geography homework Due: Friday 10th October ‘How can geography help you?’ It’s a big question – but don’t panic! This is a national competition that Bolingbroke Geography students enter each year, and the question is set by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS). You have 4 weeks of homework to do this, so there is plenty of time to speak to Ms Blacklock or Mr Truman in or outside of class for ideas/ advice, and if you need quiet time to do it, go to Mr Ward-Fuller in S01 on a Monday after school (4 – 5pm). The RGS wants you to think about why geography is important and useful. You should think about both human and physical geography, at a variety of different levels. You should show how geography can support your everyday life, improve your understanding of the world’s people, places and environments and help you to prepare for life beyond school. They want to hear how geography helps you in different aspects of your lives – whether it’s the knowledge you learn, the understanding you gain, or the skills you develop. This help might be at many different levels:       At school At home with your family, e.g. knowing how and where Nike trainers and jeans get made When you travel and go on holidays When you think about current events at home or abroad, e.g. flooding or earthquakes Whether it will help you with further study, perhaps at university Or lead to a particular career you would like to do, e.g. town planner, park ranger, volcanologist You can look at both the serious and the fun sides of geography – the judges will be reading a lot of these, so try to make it fun and interesting as well as full of facts! Using lots of geographical vocabulary will get you extra marks, and if you collect primary data yourself, as well as using secondary data, you will also do better. You should create your entry as an A3 or A4 annotated design or map. You can do it on the computer, or by hand. RGS Success Criteria:         Describe and explain the differences between at least two settings in which geography helps you Original ideas presented in your own style You can include drawings, sketches, photographs and maps You should include maps, graphs or other geographical information Make sure your annotations are clear Show accurate use of scale and symbols in any diagrams used Use a range of visual data sources Describe the types of data sets compared (i.e. say whether they are social, environmental, political) All entries will be entered into a school competition, and prizes will be awarded for the best in a variety of categories, such as creativity, presentation and effort. The best ten overall, judged against the success criteria, will be sent as Bolingbroke Academy’s entries into the Royal Geographical Society’s annual ‘Young Geographer of the Year’ competition. There is more information about the competition at http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/Schools/Competitions.htm