Activity: Fire As A Traditional Land Management Practice – Year 7

Quick summary: Students watch a series of videos to gain a historical perspective of strategies used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in managing Country with fire. They write a fictional newspaper article using a range of online resources. Students build a deeper understanding of how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and scientists can revitalise cool burning practices to substantially reduce carbon emissions.

Learning intentions:

• Students understand the cultural and environmental benefits of using cool burning to manage Country.

21st century skills: 

   

Australian Curriculum content descriptions:

Year 7 History: 

• The nature of the sources for ancient Australia and what they reveal about Australia’s past in the ancient period, such as the use of resources (ACDSEH031)
• Identify the origin and purpose of primary and secondary sources (ACHHS209)

Year 7 English:

• Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects of subject matter and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas (ACELY1725)

Syllabus outcomes: EN4-4B, HT4-5. 

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Literacy, Intercultural Understanding.

Cross-curriculum priorities:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures OI.2.
• Sustainability OI.7.

Relevant parts of Year 7 History achievement standards: Students suggest reasons for change and continuity over time. They identify and select a range of sources and locate, compare and use information to answer inquiry questions.

Relevant parts of Year 7 English achievement standards: Students create structured and coherent texts for a range of purposes and audiences.

Topic: Cool Burning, Indigenous Education.

Unit of work: Cool Burning – Secondary.

Time required: 90 mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – introduce new content, assist with student research, confirm they understand the communication project, assess student outcomes.

Resources required:

• Device capable of presenting a website to the class.
• News Article Assessment Rubric
• Student Worksheet – one copy per student. 
• Tips For Writing A Great News Article
• Tropical Savanna – The Big Picture Presentation 
• Factsheet – How Do Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Peoples Use Fire To Manage Country?

Related professional development: 

• Teach Indigenous Land Management Using Fire
• Teach Caring for Country Using Fire

Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, resources, wildfire, bushfire, cool burns, seasons, adaptation, savanna, ecology.

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.

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.