TEACHING GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL-NATURAL THEMES IN THE EARLY YEARS IN THE CURRICULUM OF TERESINA

School Geography can substantially contribute to the formation of critical citizens who are aware of the socio-spatial processes that occur in the lived reality. In the context of teaching Geography, physical-natural themes constitute an important approach to student education. However, in order to be meaningful, they must be related to the experience of the students. In this context, this work proposes a discussion about the way physical-natural themes are approached in the Geography Curriculum of Teresina-PI. Thus, the question is: does the way in which physical-natural themes are addressed in the Geography Curriculum of Teresina contribute to the critical formation of students? As a guide to answer this question, a main objective was traced: to evaluate how the physical-natural themes are being approached in the teaching of Geography in the initial years, in the perspective of the Teresina Curriculum, with a view to the critical formation of the students. As for the methodology, the work is based on the assumptions of the qualitative approach, in which bibliographic research was adopted, supported by references such as: Alves and Queiroz (2019), Callai (2005), Cavalcanti (2013), Lopes (2014), Morais (2011), among others. For the documentary research, the analysis of Teresina's Geography Curriculum was carried out, focusing on physical-natural themes in the 1st and 2nd cycle of Elementary School. As a result, it was possible to notice that the skills presented in the Geography Curriculum of Teresina present a proposal to approach the physical-natural themes articulated with the actions of the human being on space, at the same time that it relates these themes to the lived reality of the students, that is, to Teresina space. Thus, it can be considered that the Geography Curriculum of Teresina for the early years presents a good proposal for the study of physical-natural themes, with a view to the critical formation of students.