Activity: How Can We Help Biodiversity? – Upper Primary

Quick summary: Students work collaboratively to develop actions to help biodiversity. They begin by reviewing their knowledge of cool burning and the ways it benefits biodiversity. They then research other actions that help protect and conserve biodiversity. Students select one action to address personally and work collaboratively to select one action to plan and implement at their school.

Learning intentions:

• Students understand how cool burning practices can benefit biodiversity
• Students understand and can drive the processes required for planning and executing an action-based project.

21st century skills: 

   

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions: 

Year 5 Geography

• The influence of people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, on the environmental characteristics of Australian places (ACHASSK112)
• The impact of bushfires or floods on environments and communities, and how people can respond (ACHASSK114)
• Work in groups to generate responses to issues and challenges (ACHASSI102)
• Use criteria to make decisions and judgements and consider advantages and disadvantages of preferring one decision over others (ACHASSI103)
• Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable effects (ACHASSI104)

Year 6 Geography

• Work in groups to generate responses to issues and challenges (ACHASSI130)
• Use criteria to make decisions and judgements and consider advantages and disadvantages of preferring one decision over others (ACHASSI131)
• Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable effects (ACHASSI132)

Year 6 Science

• The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094)
• Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE100)

Syllabus outcomes: GE3-2, GE3-4, ST3-11LW, ST3-7PW.

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural understanding.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.7.

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 propose action in response to a geographical challenge and identify the possible effects of their proposed action.

Relevant parts of Year 6 Geography achievement standards: Students propose action in response to a geographical challenge and describe the probable effects of their proposal.

Relevant parts of Year 6 Science achievement standards: Students describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things. They explain how scientific knowledge helps us to solve problems and inform decisions and identify historical and cultural contributions.

Topic: Cool Burning, Indigenous Education.

Unit of work: Cool Burning – Primary.

Time required: 180+ mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – oversee activities and facilitate class discussions.

Resources required:

• Device with internet and presenting capability
• Project Roles
• Project Checklist – ready to project
• Project Planning Tool – ready to project
• S.M.A.R.T. Criteria – ready to project
• Student Worksheets – one copy per student.

Related professional development: 

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

Keywords: Cool burning, biodiversity, benefits, individual actions, group actions, school, conservation.

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.