Enviroweek Project Action Planning - Wild Child - Secondary

Activity Introduction

Quick summary: The Enviroweek Wild Child Action encourages students to connect with nature for their own health and wellbeing. This resource is structured in three parts, each composed of an individual activity.

Part 1 – Tune In: Students head outside and sketch patterns that they observe in nature.

Part 2 – Act: Students develop their own Wild Child Action that promotes the idea of connecting with nature.

Part 3 – Share: Students share their experiences and inspire others to take action.

Enviroweek Logo

Following this lesson plan is an ideal way for your school to take part in Enviroweek. You’ll be joining thousands of amazing teachers in making a difference and creating positive environmental change.

Learning goals:

Students will use their observation skills to sketch natural objects outdoors.
Students will design a project to connect with nature during a one week period.
Students will share what they did in their project with the rest of the school community.

Year level: Secondary (Years 7 – 10)

Topic: Enviroweek – Wild Child

Duration of activity:

Tune in	Act	Share
45 mins	30 mins planning plus Enviroweek	Dependent on activity undertaken

Resources required: Prior to the ‘Tune In’ activity students discuss and gather drawing materials for an outdoor sketching experience. You may need other resources depending on the Challenge the students choose to do.

Homework and extension opportunities: Students may choose to sketch outdoors either at home or after school.

Safety: Students and teachers should take care to protect themselves when sketching outdoors. Ensure that students don’t handle dangerous insects or damage the natural environment.

Hot Tip: Try to get the whole school taking part in the Wild Child Action for Enviroweek. You may need to seek approval from the School Council or the Principal.

Australian Curriculum content descriptions:

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)

Year 8 English

Create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that raise issues, report events and advance opinions, using deliberate language and textual choices, and including digital elements as appropriate (ACELY1736)

Years 7 & 8 Visual Arts

Practise techniques and processes to enhance representation of ideas in their art-making (ACAVAM121)
Present artwork demonstrating consideration of how the artwork is displayed to enhance the artist’s intention to an audience (ACAVAM122)

Years 7 & 8 Health and Physical Education

Plan and implement strategies for connecting to natural and built environments to promote the health and wellbeing of their communities (ACPPS078)

Year 9 English

Create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that present a point of view and advance or illustrate arguments, including texts that integrate visual, print and/or audio features (ACELY1746)

Year 10 English

Create sustained texts, including texts that combine specific digital or media content, for imaginative, informative, or persuasive purposes that reflect upon challenging and complex issues (ACELY1756)

Years 9 & 10 Visual Arts

Manipulate materials, techniques, technologies and processes to develop and represent their own artistic intentions (ACAVAM126)
Develop and refine techniques and processes to represent ideas and subject matter (ACAVAM127)
Plan and design artworks that represent artistic intention (ACAVAM128)
Present ideas for displaying artworks and evaluate displays of artworks (ACAVAM129)

Years 9 & 10 Health and Physical Education

Plan and evaluate new and creative interventions that promote their own and others’ connection to community and natural and built environments (ACPPS097)

Syllabus Outcomes: EN4-4B, EN5-1A, VAS4.1, VAS4.4, VAS4.6, VAS5.1, PDHPE4.9, PDHPE4.14, PDHPE5.9, PDHPE5.14.

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking.

Cross-curriculum priorities: Sustainability OI.2.

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

Overarching learning goals: Students refocus on the natural world in a multidisciplinary lesson utilising Science explorations as well as English communication techniques. They make detailed sketches outdoors of natural features in the schoolyard, develop a project plan to spend more time in nature and share what they have done with their school community.

Teacher content information: There is an emerging body of local and international research linking childhood contact with nature to a wide range of intellectual, physical and mental health benefits.

Intellectual benefits: Contact with nature can provide a wealth of learning opportunities and improve academic achievement.
Physical benefits: Research has shown a link between body mass index (BMI) scores in children and their access to “green” areas and levels of outdoor play. BMI is often used by health authorities and researchers to indicate healthy weight ranges. In addition, natural environments improve b

...

- or - to view worksheets

Student Worksheet

Act - Enviroweek Wild Child Project Action Planning

In groups, you are to design your Wild Child Challenge! The aim is to measure and reduce the amount of energy in the school. Think outside the box but ensure that the details of your project are aligned with the SMART goal idea: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.

Project Action Plan

Group Members:

Steps	Actions/Person Responsible
1. Brainstorm Ideas No idea is too big or toosmall at this stage. Have one group member record all the ideas generated, then begin discussing them. Complete this task as a group.
2. Project Aims What do you hope to achieve through this project? Complete this task as a group.
3. Background Research Use the Internet to search for case studies similar to your proposed project. Using information about a similar project, estimate how much CO₂e could be saved through your plan.
4. Project Description What are you going to do? Write

...

- or - to view worksheets

Activity: Enviroweek Project Action Planning – Wild Child – Secondary

Activity Introduction