Activity Introduction
Quick summary: In this science lesson, students first learn about the land/country where their school or home is located. Working in groups, students devise a classification system using the leaves from local plants. ‘Capturing’ local fauna with their phone cameras students build up a database of species and populations. Finally, students make a plan of action to Regenerate Australia with their newfound knowledge of local flora and fauna.
Subjects: Science
Year Levels: 7 & 8
Topics: Sustainability, critical and creative thinking, experiment, native plants, exotic plants.
Teaching Time: 140 mins (best spread over two lessons).
21st-century skills:
Australian Curriculum Mapping
Content descriptions:
Year 7 Science:
- Classification helps organise the diverse group of organisms (ACSSU111)
- Science knowledge can develop through collaboration across the disciplines of science and the contributions of people from a range of cultures (ACSHE223)
- Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS125)
- Communicate ideas, findings and evidence-based solutions to problems using scientific language, and representations, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS133).
Year 8 Geography:
- Strategies used to enhance the liveability of places, especially for young people, including examples from Australia and Europe (ACHGK047)
- The influence of social connectedness and community identity on the liveability of place (ACHGK046).
Year 8 Science:
- Solutions to contemporary issues that are found using science and technology, may impact other areas of society and may involve ethical considerations (ACSHE135)
- Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS140)
- Construct and use a range of representations, including graphs, keys and models to represent and analyse patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS144).
Syllabus outcomes Year 7: SC4-14LW, SC4-17CW, SC4-6WS, SC4-9WS, SC4-11PW, SC4-5WS, SC4-7WS.
General capabilities: Literacy, Numeracy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural Understanding and Personal and Social Capability.
Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.
Relevant parts of Year 7 achievement standards:
Students predict the effect of human and environmental changes on interactions between organisms and classify and organise diverse organisms based on observable differences. Students describe situations where scientific knowledge from different science disciplines and diverse cultures has been used to solve a real-world problem. They explain the possible implications of the solution for different groups in society.
Relevant parts of Year 8 achievement standards:
Students construct representations of their data to reveal and analyse patterns and trends and use these when justifying their conclusions.
Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – Will need to discuss the concept of Country, Classification and basic use of a spreadsheet.
Resources required:
- Butchers paper (1 sheet per group)
- Marking pen (1 per group)
- Sticky tape dispensers (1 per group)
- Student worksheets – one copy per student
- Video access to the film Regenerating Australia.
Keywords: Regenerating Australia, transpiration, sustainability, regeneration, experiment, native, exotic, Australian, plants.
Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.
