Activity: Roots & Shoots – Exploring Community Data – Upper Primary

Quick summary: In this lesson, students will select a particular environmental or conservation related issue and collect data to show how the choices and behaviours of members of the school community contribute to the issue. They will work collaboratively to select an issue, identify key facts, develop survey questions and carry out the survey. Students will then collate, present and share their data with the class. They will also be given opportunities to reflect on what the data means and its connection to the issue they are focusing on.

This lesson can be implemented as a stand alone lesson; however to strengthen understanding of these concepts and inspire student action it is best taught as a component of the Roots and Shoots Upper Primary unit of work.

This lesson has been developed in partnership with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program. Roots & Shoots is a global youth-led program of young people taking action to improve our world. By participating in this lesson, you and your students will be joining thousands of young people and teachers working to make positive change in our world.

Learning intentions:

• Students pose questions to create a survey and to collect data.
• Students describe and interpret their data to show the impact of their community on issues of sustainability and conservation.

21st century skills: 

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions: 

Year 3 Science

• Science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships (ACSHE050)
• Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE051)

Year 4 Science

• Living things depend on each other and the environment to survive (ACSSU073)
• Natural and processed materials have a range of physical properties that can influence their use (ACSSU074)
• Earth’s surface changes over time as a result of natural processes and human activity (ACSSU075)
• Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE062)

Year 5 Science

• Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE083)

Year 6 Science

• The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094)
• Changes to materials can be reversible or irreversible (ACSSU095)

Year 3 HASS

• Pose questions to investigate people, events, places and issues (ACHASSI052)
• Locate and collect information and data from different sources, including observations (ACHASSI053)
• Draw simple conclusions based on analysis of information and data (ACHASSI058)
• Interact with others with respect to share points of view (ACHASSI059)
• Reflect on learning to propose actions in response to an issue or challenge and consider possible effects of proposed actions (ACHASSI060)
• Why people participate within communities and how students can actively participate and contribute (ACHASSK072)

Year 4 HASS

• Pose questions to investigate people, events, places and issues (ACHASSI073)
• Locate and collect information and data from different sources, including observations (ACHASSI074)
• Draw simple conclusions based on analysis of information and data (ACHASSI079)
• Interact with others with respect to share points of view (ACHASSI080)
• Reflect on learning to propose actions in response to an issue or challenge and consider possible effects of proposed actions (ACHASSI081)
• The importance of environments, including natural vegetation, to animals and people (ACHASSK088)
• The use and management of natural resources and waste, and the different views on how to do this sustainably (ACHASSK090)

Year 5 HASS

• Work in groups to generate responses to issues and challenges (ACHASSI102)
• Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable effects (ACHASSI104)
• The environmental and human influences on the location and characteristics of a place and the management of spaces within them (ACHASSK113)
• The difference between needs and wants and why choices need to be made about how limited resources are used (ACHASSK119)
• Types of resources (natural, human, capital) and the ways societies use them to satisfy the needs and wants of present and future generations (ACHASSK120)

Year 6 HASS

• Work in groups to generate responses to issues and challenges (ACHASSI130)
• Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable effects (ACHASSI132)

Year 3 Mathematics

• Identify questions or issues for categorical variables. Identify data sources and plan methods of data collection and recording (ACMSP068)
• Collect data, organise into categories and create displays using lists, tables, picture graphs and simple column graphs, with and without the use of digital technologies (ACMSP069)
• Interpret and compare data displays (ACMSP070)

Year 4 Mathematics

• Select and trial methods for data collection, including survey questions and recording sheets (ACMSP095)
• Construct suitable data displays, with and without the use of digital technologies, from given or collected data. Include tables, column graphs and picture graphs where one picture can represent many data values (ACMSP096)

Year 5 Mathematics

• Pose questions and collect categorical or numerical data by observation or survey (ACMSP118)
• Describe and interpret different data sets in context (ACMSP120)

Year 6 Mathematics

• Interpret and compare a range of data displays, including side-by-side column graphs for two categorical variables (ACMSP147)

NESA and VCAA: Click here for NESA and VCAA curriculum links for this lesson.

General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, Ethical Understanding

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability.

Relevant parts of Science achievement standards: 

Year 3 – They group living things based on observable features and distinguish them from non-living things. They describe how they can use science investigations to respond to questions.

Year 4 – Students apply the observable properties of materials to explain how objects and materials can be used. They discuss how natural processes and human activity cause changes to Earth’s surface. They describe relationships that assist the survival of living things. They identify when science is used to understand the effect of their actions.

Year 5 – They analyse how the form of living things enables them to function in their environments. Students discuss how scientific developments have affected people’s lives, help us solve problems and how science knowledge develops from many people’s contributions.

Year 6 – They explain how natural events cause rapid change to Earth’s surface. They describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things. Students explain how scientific knowledge helps us to solve problems and inform decisions and identify historical and cultural contributions.

Relevant parts of HASS achievement standards: 

Year 3 – They explain how and why people participate in and contribute to their communities. They examine information to identify a point of view and interpret data to identify and describe simple distributions. They draw simple conclusions and share their views on an issue.

Year 4 – Students recognise the significance of events in bringing about change and the importance of the environment. Students identify the interconnections between components of the environment and between people and the environment. They locate and collect information and data from different sources, including observations to answer these questions. They share their points of view, respecting the views of others. They reflect on their learning to propose action in response to an issue or challenge, and identify the possible effects of their proposed action.

Year 5 – Students describe the significance of people and events/developments in bringing about change. They identify and describe the interconnections between people and the human and environmental characteristics of places, and between components of environments. They identify the effects of these interconnections on the characteristics of places and environments. They recognise that choices need to be made when allocating resources. They describe different views on how to respond to an issue or challenge.

Year 6 – They explain how natural events cause rapid change to Earth’s surface. They describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things. Students explain how scientific knowledge helps us to solve problems and inform decisions and identify historical and cultural contributions.

Relevant Parts of Mathematics Achievement Standards:

Year 3 – They conduct simple data investigations for categorical variables.

Year 4 – They describe different methods for data collection and representation, and evaluate their effectiveness.

Year 5 – Students interpret different data sets.

Year 6 – They interpret and compare a variety of data displays including those displays for two categorical variables. They interpret secondary data displayed in the media.

Topic: Sustainability, Waste, Consumption, Climate Change

Unit of work: Roots and Shoots – Upper Primary

Time required: 90+ mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium/High – Support students to identify issues, create surveys and collect of data. 

Resources required: Teacher Guide To Student Surveys. Digital device with internet access (one per group). Planning to Collect Data Worksheet (one per student) Our Survey Template (one per group), Community Research Observations (one per group). Thinking About Our Habits Worksheet (one per student). 

Keywords: World, Earth, resources, community, environment, sustainability, natural, animals, people, natural disaster, action, choice, consumer, impact, consequence, data, graph, Jane Goodall, Roots and Shoots.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.