Activity: Cool Burning Quiz – Years 7 to 10

Quick summary: This tuning-in activity provides an opportunity for students to explore their current knowledge about the topic of cool burning and to make some preliminary investigations into this topic. Students will begin by watching and reflecting on a clip about cool burning, before reading news articles about the topic. They will then create a set of quiz-style (short answer) questions about the article that they read that can be shared with peers. Finally, students work independently to reflect on their learning in this lesson.

Learning intentions: 

• Students explore the concept of cool burning
• Students understand some of the ways people, places and environments are connected, and they identify the effects of these on the characteristics of places and environments.

21st century skills:

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Year 7 Science

• Science knowledge can develop through collaboration across the disciplines of science and the contributions of people from a range of cultures (ACSHE223)
• People use science understanding and skills in their occupations and these have influenced the development of practices in areas of human activity (ACSHE121)

Year 8 Science

• Solutions to contemporary issues that are found using science and technology, may impact on other areas of society and may involve ethical considerations (ACSHE135)

Year 9 Science

• Scientific understanding, including models and theories, is contestable and is refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community (ACSHE157)
• People use scientific knowledge to evaluate whether they accept claims, explanations or predictions, and advances in science can affect people’s lives, including generating new career opportunities (ACSHE160)

Year 10 Science

• People use scientific knowledge to evaluate whether they accept claims, explanations or predictions, and advances in science can affect people’s lives, including generating new career opportunities (ACSHE194)

Syllabus outcomes: SC4-17CW, SC4-13ES, SC5-12ES, SC5-13ES.

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Literacy.

Cross-curriculum priorities:

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

Relevant parts of Year 7 Science achievement standards: Students describe situations where scientific knowledge from different science disciplines and diverse cultures has been used to solve a real-world problem.

Relevant parts of Year 8 Science achievement standards: Students examine the different science knowledge used in occupations and describe situations in which scientists collaborated to generate solutions to contemporary problems.

Relevant parts of Year 9 Science achievement standards: Students describe social and technological factors that have influenced scientific developments and predict how future applications of science and technology may affect people’s lives.

Relevant parts of Year 10 Science achievement standards: Students analyse how the models and theories they use have developed over time and discuss the factors that prompted their review.

Topic: Cool Burning, Indigenous Education.

Unit of work: Cool Burning – Secondary.

Time needed: 40 minutes

Level of teacher scaffolding: Low – allow students to explore the topic independently.

Resources required:

• Blank paper
• Device capable of presenting a website to the class
• Students will need access to devices with an internet connection
• Student Worksheet – one copy per student.

Related professional development: 

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

Keywords: Savanna, tropical, climate, weather, distribution, monsoon, adaptation, vegetation, fire, mean, conservation, species

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.