Sustaining Our World Unit Plan
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This Geography unit addresses concepts surrounding the sustainable use and management of natural resources.
It consists of 10 lessons of approximately 60 minutes duration.
The sequence of lessons and suggested time frames should be regarded as a guide only; teachers should pace lessons in accordance with the individual learning needs of their class.
An assessment task for monitoring student understanding of the unit objectives is included and will require an additional lesson.
Overview
Objectives
- To identify some natural resources and where they come from.
- To explore how humans use natural resources and raw materials in the present day.
- To investigate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' views about sustainability.
- To investigate how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' ways of living were adapted to the resources of their Country/Place.
- To explore the effects and potential consequences of water overuse.
- To explore the effects and potential consequences of overfishing.
- To explore the effects and potential consequences of deforestation.
- To investigate how water may be used in a more sustainable manner.
- To investigate sustainable fishing practices.
- To investigate sustainable forestry practices.
Preparing for Learning
This Geography unit provides excellent opportunities for cross-curricular integration. Look for ways to meaningfully integrate the content of the unit with other learning areas e.g. Literacy, Numeracy and History.
Prior to commencing the unit, develop a Sustainability display in the classroom. Display posters, word wall vocabulary and learning goals that the students will engage with throughout the unit to stimulate their learning. For examples of additional teaching resources to display in your classroom, browse the Sustainability topic on the Teach Starter website.
Some of the resources which accompany this unit plan will need to be prepared prior to teaching. For this reason, it is advised that teachers browse through all lessons before commencing the unit.
Lessons
Resources
Australian Curriculum alignment
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Knowledge and Understanding > Geography > ACHASSK090
The use and management of natural resources and waste, and the different views on how to do this sustainablyElaborationsidentifying some of the resources produced by the environment and where they com...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Communicating > ACHASSI082
Present ideas, findings and conclusions in texts and modes that incorporate digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific termsElaborationscomposing, in a range of different text typ...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Evaluating and reflecting > ACHASSI081
Reflect on learning to propose actions in response to an issue or challenge and consider possible effects of proposed actionsElaborationsreflecting on learning with the assistance of tools such as a K...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Analysing > ACHASSI078
Interpret data and information displayed in different formats, to identify and describe distributions and simple patternsElaborationsdecoding the meaning of symbols and emblems associated with Austral...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Questioning > ACHASSI073
Pose questions to investigate people, events, places and issuesElaborationsasking questions before, during and after an investigation using tools such as a KWL chart (what they know, what they want to...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Knowledge and Understanding > Geography > ACHASSK089
The custodial responsibility Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have for Country/Place, and how this influences views about sustainabilityElaborationsrecognising that the distribution of Ab...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Evaluating and reflecting > ACHASSI080
Interact with others with respect to share points of viewElaborationsparticipating in role-plays and simple debates which allow for equal presentation of viewpoints (Skills: Literacy, Critical and Cre...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Analysing > ACHASSI077
Examine information to identify different points of view and distinguish facts from opinionsElaborationsexploring different points of view about a familiar event (for example, Australia Day, National ...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Researching > ACHASSI075
Record, sort and represent data and the location of places and their characteristics in different formats, including simple graphs, tables and maps, using discipline-appropriate conventionsElaboration...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Evaluating and reflecting > ACHASSI079
Draw simple conclusions based on analysis of information and dataElaborationsdescribing risks in past times (for example, for those involved in sea travel, exploration and colonisation) and making inf...
Humanities and Social Sciences > HASS > Year 4 > Inquiry and skills > Researching > ACHASSI074
Locate and collect information and data from different sources, including observationsElaborationsidentifying the types of sources suited to historical, geographical, civic and cultural inquiry and di...
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LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! your unit plans, they help me out immensely when I am time poor. So thankful to have found this site. One item I would like to see added to them is an assessment rubric. Please, please could there be an assessment rubric to go these amazing unit plans.
Comment by Petina Moore on August 5, 2018 at 1:13 pm
Hi there Petina, thank you so much for your positive feedback. Our units are written with time-poor teachers in mind, as it is our goal to help our members with the day-to-day stresses of teaching as much as possible! That being said, we don’t currently provide rubrics for our assessment tasks. As I’m sure you would understand, all schools are extremely different in the manner in which student understanding is assessed, recorded and reported and we cannot possibly create a rubric that would suit everyone. This is an issue that comes up quite frequently though, so it may be that we investigate the possibility of creating generic rubrics further in the future. Have a great week!
Official comment by Stephanie (Teach Starter) on August 6, 2018 at 9:30 am