As a teacher since 1997, I’ve lived with the growth of the internet and the massive number of resources and ideas available for teachers and students. It’s hard to keep track of them all, and the ‘bookmarks’ on my internet browser have become so large that I often can’t find the outstanding ones anymore.
So, to help you, I’ve tried to summarise some key resources I use more often.
Firstly, the most obvious place to look is the news, a big difference in my mind between GCSE and A- -level is that A-level Geographers should have a good understanding of the world around them. It’s not just memorising facts anymore but being aware of what is going on and having an opinion to help you answer questions like ‘Assess’ or ‘Evaluate’ or ‘To what extent do you agree’
To help with this try to watch the news on TV a few times a week, or if you want to focus on Geography topics, look for the climate, and environment sections on news websites. The Guardian does an excellent environmental news email they send out each week: https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters, there are other options here too. I like the fact that their email has a ‘good news’ section on environmental issues, which gives us a bit of hope!
The BBC website articles:
https://www.bbc.com/future/earth/ – Some great topical articles and other links at the top of this page to ‘future planet’ ‘health’ and ‘sustainability’:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmj34zmwm1zt – BBC News climate page: up-to-date climate change stories:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c2vdnvdg6xxt – Israel-Gaza War: all links here and some clear explanations on the issues:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c1vw6q14rzqt – Russia-Ukraine War:
Book:
Many Geography teachers recommend reading ‘The Power of Geography’ and ‘Prisoners of Geography’ by Tim Marshall. Although these books are interesting and very detailed, personally I found them quite heavy-going and didn’t really remember much of the content after I’d finished them.
I recently found an excellent alternative ‘The Travelling Ape’ by Michael Mackay Richards. The tagline on the cover is ‘What travelling (nearly) everywhere has taught me about Humanity, Geopolitics, and Happiness. It is a fun and enjoyable read by someone who has travelled to nearly every country.
For example, one chapter outlines a trip he made to North Korea and another on the ‘Stan’ countries and how the size of their flags often equated to the oppressiveness of their regimes. A good light read to help you understand the world for many of the Geopolitical topics such as Superpowers or Global Systems.
Other websites I use regularly include:
https://timeforgeography.co.uk/: A great selection of short professional-made videos on different topics, mostly physical, but some human ones too, all excellent.
https://geographyeducationonline.org/a-level: Useful presentations and resources across all topic areas from the Geographical Association:
https://www.rgs.org/schools/resources-for-schools : Great resources and topical articles from the Royal Geographical Society:
https://dredfern.substack.com/ : Topical articles, sample exam questions, and lots more from a former examiner. May need to subscribe but all free:
Edexcel only: Most of the course summarised by topics can be found here: https://geographyrevisionalevel.weebly.com/
https://earth.nullschool.net/: if you’ve never played on this site before, have a look, a live map of the globe with air pressure movements. Great to observe the latest hurricane and see the wind directions etc.
Documentaries
If you prefer to watch rather than read, there are plenty of excellent documentaries out there that link to the course
https://ed.ted.com/ A massive set of really good videos, most are also on YouTube, you may need to search for what you are after, but nearly every option you find will be good.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p06rrnkm Simon Reeve has a whole range of great stories, if you are studying Cornwall for any ‘places’ topics, I strongly recommend those episodes, but plenty of others too.
Michael Palin is the David Attenborough of Geography and is still travelling the world reporting back with some excellent programmes on Channel 5, have a look at these and you will learn a lot.
https://www.channel5.com/show/michael-palin-in-north-korea
https://www.channel5.com/show/michael-palin-in-nigeria
https://www.channel5.com/show/michael-palin-into-iraq
There are so many great climate change documentaries/movies out there that it’s hard to know where to start, so try these links for some ideas
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/30/disaster-movies-films-climate-crisis-documentaries
NEA
Your coursework is a great chance to take your time and show your Geography skills. There are plenty of sites out there to help you.
https://www.theislandgeographer.co.uk/ An amazing site full of templates and advice on carrying out your fieldwork.
https://www.rapidtables.com/tools/bar-graph.html Need to make some good-looking graphs, try here. Not just bar graphs, but other options too.
https://www.field-studies-council.org/resources/ Some great resources from the experts.
Revision books
Although attending some in-person revision courses is the best method, there are plenty of great revision books out there. A good tip is to type into Amazon ‘your exam board’ A level Geography and see what comes up. You can often find some 2nd hand copies quite cheap and usually in a good condition.
Past Papers
Many old papers are out there for you to look at, along with marking guides and examiner reports that often have sample answers with them. If you type in your exam board and ‘A level Geography’ you should find them. Usually, the most recent exam is not available and there may not be detailed examiner reports from 2020 and 2021 when not many students sat the exam.
Some other sites that have past papers are
https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/past-papers/a-level-geography/
Best of luck with your studies and remember Geography is always changing, mentioning current events in your exams will really impress the examiners and make you realise what a relevant and topical subject it is.
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