Clean Up Australia - My Environmental Footprint: Year 5 & 6

Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students learn about the concept of environmental footprints. They will learn how to measure their impact and take steps to reduce their personal footprint. Students make comparisons between the lifestyles of people 100 years ago and the current mainstream, considering the impact of consumerism on environmental footprints.

Following this lesson plan is an ideal way for your school to take part in Schools Clean Up Day or a Clean Up on any day of the year. You’ll be joining thousands of amazing teachers in making a difference and creating positive environmental change.

Learning intentions:

Students understand their impact on the Earth
Students take responsibility for their personal actions
Students compare the impact on our environment between the past resource and our current resource use.

21st century skills:

Critical Thinking Global Citizenship Problem Solving

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content description:

Year 5 Geography

The influence of people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, on the environmental characteristics of Australian places (ACHASSK112)
The environmental and human influences on the location and characteristics of a place and the management of spaces within them (ACHASSK113)

Year 5 Science

Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena (ACSHE081)
Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE217)
Use equipment and materials safely, identifying potential risks (ACSIS088)

Year 6 Science

Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena (ACSHE098)
Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE220)
Use equipment and materials safely, identifying potential risks (ACSIS105)

Syllabus outcomes: GE3-3, GE3-2, ST3-4WS, ST3-6PW, ST3-4WS.

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.3, OI.8.

Topic: Waste, Clean Up.

Time required: 60 – 120 mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium.

Resources required:

Magazines and newspapers
Student Worksheet.

Keywords: Food, resources, energy, waste, water, footprint, environment, history.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher Preparation

Learning intentions: Students will...

... understand their impact on the Earth
... take responsibility for their personal actions
... compare the impact on our environment between the past resource and our current resource use.

Success criteria: Students can...

... think critically about their personal resource use
... make suggestions for how to reduce their environmental impact.

Teacher content information: With a world population of 7 billion people and rising, we need to be concerned about the Earth’s ability to provide us all with the things we need to live, and to absorb all the waste we produce. Your environmental footprint is a measure of your personal impact on the environment. It can be defined as the amount of the earth’s surface it takes to provide everything each person uses – food, water, energy, clothes, roads, buildings etc.

The larger the footprint, the more resources are needed to support that lifestyle. The ecological footp

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Student Worksheet

Thought Starter: Does everyone in the world have access to the same things you do?

What is our Environmental Footprint?

1. Write a definition of the term environmental footprint:

2. Draw an outline of your footprint below. You then need to cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers or draw what things you think make up your footprint.

Measure Your Impact

Instructions

1. You need to write down eight activities and record what resources are used. Activities may cover catching a bus, brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating lunch, and playing sport to name a few.

2. You also need to record what resources were used to undertake the activity. The resources include water, energy or waste produced.

3. You then need to estimate how much of the resource you used and write down the number 1, 2 or 3 in the usage boxes. Use the following guide:

Length of Activity	Usage	Score
Less than 10 minutes	Low	1
11 minutes – 1 hour	Medium

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Activity: Clean Up Australia – My Environmental Footprint: Year 5 & 6