Activity Introduction
Quick summary: Students explore the many benefits of cool burning. They watch a series of clips about cool burning practices and complete thinking tools that help to foster evidence-based reasoning. Students then categorise the benefits of cool burning into cultural, environmental and economic perspectives. They prepare a report about one benefit and build on their oral communication skills through pair-sharing.
Learning intentions:
- Students recognise some of the cultural, environmental and economic benefits of cool burning.
21st century skills:
Australian Curriculum Mapping
Content descriptions:
Year 5 English
- Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)
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)
- The impact of bushfires or floods on environments and communities, and how people can respond (ACHASSK114)
- Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary and secondary sources (ACHASSI095)
- Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and conventions (ACHASSI105)
Year 6 English
- Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, choosing and experimenting with text structures, language features, images and digital resources appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1714)
Year 6 Geography
- Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary and secondary sources (ACHASSI123)
- Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and conventions (ACHASSI133)
Syllabus outcomes: GE3-2, GE3-3, GE3-4, ST3-7PW, ST3-10LW, ST3-11LW, EN3-1A.
General capabilities: Literacy, Intercultural Understanding.
Cross-curriculum priority:
Relevant parts of Year 5 English achievement standards: Students create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts for different purposes and audiences.
Relevant parts of Year 5 Geography achievement standards: Students identify and describe the interconnections between people and the human and environmental characteristics of places, and between components of environments. They present findings and ideas using geographical terminology in a range of communication forms.
Relevant parts of Year 6 English achievement standards: Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences.
Relevant parts of Year 6 Geography achievement standards: Students describe the interconnections between people in different places, identify factors that influence these interconnections and describe how interconnections change places and affect people. They present findings and ideas using geographical terminology and digital technologies in a range of communication forms.
Topic: Cool Burning, Indigenous Education.
Unit of work: Cool Burning – Primary.
Time required: 120 mins.
Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – oversee class discussion and lead students in activities.
Resources required:
- Device capable of presenting a website to the class
- Factsheet – The Benefits Of Cool Burning
- Report Assessment Rubric
- Student Worksheet – one copy per student.
Related professional development:
Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, tradition, culture, land management, career, employment, social benefits
Special thanks to:
Fish River Station, John Daly, Dr Jeremy Russell-Smith, Peter Jacklyn, Peter McConchie, Dr Tommy George, David Claudie, Dale Musgrave, Carolyn George and Victor Steffensen.
Cool Australia would like to acknowledge the support of the Bennelong Foundation in updating these lessons.
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Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum. There is great diversity in histories and cultures among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout Australia. This resource includes investigations into and information about some of them. It has an emphasis, but not an exclusive one, on the histories and cultural practices of the Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory. It is underpinned by consultation with Aboriginal communities in various parts of Australia.
Teacher Preparation
