Sustainable Table - The Dairy Diaries

Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students prepare for this activity by reading the Dairy Diaries on the Sustainable Table website. In the classroom they are asked to brainstorm their thoughts about the Dairy Diaries and then create a series of quiz questions to be answered by other students in the class. Finally, students will work in groups to create an infographic explaining the differences between conventional dairy farming and organic/biodynamic dairy farming.

This resource was created in collaboration with Sustainable Table with the aim of empowering young people to use their dollar to vote for a food system that is fair, humane, healthy and good for the environment. To learn more about Sustainable Table, click here.

Learning intentions:

Students understand that dairy farming in Australia is a very big business.
Students recognise some of the positive and negative impacts of dairy farming.
Students understand how some of the negative impacts can be mitigated through a range of farming practices, including organic and biodynamic farming.

21st century skills:

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Year 7 & 8 Design and Technologies

Analyse how food and fibre are produced when designing managed environments and how these can become more sustainable (ACTDEK032)

Year 7 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)

Year 8 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)

Syllabus outcomes: SC4-13ES, EN4-4B.

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking, Literacy.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.2, OI.8.

Relevant parts of Year 7 & 8 Design and Technologies achievement standards: Students explain factors that influence the design of products, services and environments to meet present and future needs.

Relevant parts of Year 7 English achievement standards: Students create structured and coherent texts for a range of purposes and audiences.

Relevant parts of Year 8 English achievement standards: Students create texts for different purposes.

Topic: Consumption.

Time required: 60 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: Low – oversee brainstorm and quiz creation.

Resources required: Student Worksheet – one copy per student.Device capable of presenting a website to the class. Internet access, Quiz Sheet (optional).

Digital technology opportunities: Digital sharing capabilities, Infographic creation e.g. Piktochart (DIY infographic information).

Keywords: Sustainable Table, dairy, farming, organic, biodynamic, environmental impact.

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

Learning intentions: Students...

... understand that dairy farming in Australia is a very big business.
... recognise some of the positive and negative impacts of dairy farming.
... understand how some of the negative impacts can be mitigated through a range of farming practices, including organic and biodynamic farming.

Success criteria: Students can …

... work in teams.
... participate in a brainstorm.
... create a quiz from a text.
... create an infographic.

Teacher content information:

Graph_1 year_01

Australian dairy farming is in the midst of change. After the deregulation of the industry in 2000, the industry mantra quickly became “get big or get out”. Since then the trend has been towards fewer but larger, more intensive operations, which may put more stress on the environment, dairy cows and resources such as water, grain and land. At the other end of the spectrum are a growing number of small, ethically and sustainably-minded dairy farms t

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Student Worksheet

Thought starter: How much dairy do you eat in a day?

Preparation activity

Before coming to class, read through all the sections of the Dairy Diaries, expanding content on the webpage where necessary (by clicking on the pink 'Expand' tool). Once you have finished reading, record your thoughts in response to the points below.

1. One thing from the Dairy Diaries you found surprising or interesting:

2. Something you read in the Dairy Diaries that reminded you of other things you know:

3. What don't you understand about what you read:

4. One thing about dairy farming would you like to know more about:

Reflection activity

Watch this clip and complete the following thinking routine:

What is the Environmental Impact of Aussie Beef? (https://youtu.be/tWX4TsiF6u4)

SEE	THINK	WONDER

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Activity: Sustainable Table – The Dairy Diaries