GCSE Home learning booklets

With home learning becoming the new normal, I want to follow in my fellow ‘tweachers’ footsteps of generous resource sharing.

Below you will find a link to a number of home learning booklets, specifically designed to take Key Stage Four students through a number of concepts they will need to complete for their GCSE examinations. It is here that I must advise caution – these booklets specifically follow the EDUQAS Geography B specification, however much of the content (as you will know yourselves) is included in the AQA, EDEXCEL, OCR, WJEC and iGCSE specifications. In addition, you may find some of the content and tasks useful for Key Stage 3.

With home learning, there has also been increasing concerns regarding isolation, lack of interaction and lack of teacher explanation and talk. In order to combat these concerns a large number of the tasks included in the booklets direct students to existing YouTube videos, which offer content, use of subject specific vocabulary and links to wider geographical skills. Pupils can access the links to each YouTube video directly through the pages in the booklets where it indicates CLICK HERE. Therefore allowing students increased access to subject specialist knowledge.

How have I been using them?

During this term I have directed my Year 9 students to work through the various tasks and lessons included in the ‘coasts and coastal management’ booklet.

When setting the work I have been mindful about how they complete the tasks as some of my students lack access to IT and printing facilities or are experiencing infrequent access to IT. Therefore I decided to send them the complete booklet from the beginning, but asked them to follow the instructions provided as each lesson will ask them to complete a certain task/section of the booklet rather than the entire booklet which would take much more than 1 hour!

My instructions always begin with the following (see below). This provides students a choice of how they wish to complete the work, regardless of whether they have frequent access to IT or printing.

How are my students finding the home learning booklets?

First of all, considering the abstract natural of this particular topic, students have produced some amazing work (see below). Some have decided to print the booklet pages, others are completing the tasks in their exercise books.

Many have also emailed very positive feedback about the work set, such as ‘the videos really help to see step by step formations drawn and spoken through’ to ‘the tasks are so easy to follow, I understand everything I am being asked to do.’