Teaching Inspiration

The theme of this year’s Schools Tree Day is regeneration – whether it’s fauna recovering from the vicious bushfires, or our mental and emotional recovery in the wake of COVID-19.

It’s a time for students to get outside, learn about their local environment, and have some fun. With National Tree Day just two days later, students can even take home their learnings and also participate on Sunday 2 August.

We have a heap of Schools Tree Day activities, from Early Learning through to Secondary. You can check them out here.

Don’t forget to register your school for Schools Tree day on Planet Ark’s website.

Exploring our environment across the curriculum

The next few months are all about our environment, and there are many ways you can explore this topic across the curriculum. We know that focusing on literacy and maths skills is the topic of conversation for many teachers.

Introducing these skills using real-world topics can be a great way to engage with students who are struggling to settle back into a routine. 

Phones Of The Future – Years 5 & 6

This lesson is part of a unit that explores how electricity and processed materials combine to power mobile phones. In this lesson, students design a sustainable mobile phone of the future. In teams, students develop and pitch their ideas and are scored on various criteria, including their phone’s sustainability.

MobileMuster Film Competition – Years 3 -8

Students get the chance to investigate recycling, designing for sustainability and changing behaviours as part of this unit.  Primary Lessons challenge creative and critical thinking skills as well as building on numeracy, communication and problem solving skills.

The 2020 MobileMuster Film Competition is open and entries are due 21 September 2020 – there are some great prizes for students so make sure you plan this one in now!

Mathematics and our environment

Yes you can combine maths and sustainability! Actually, we have lots of lessons that look at the mathematics of our environment – they are a great way to engage with kids on different topics while learning the fundamentals.

2040 – The Seaweed Solution -Years 7 & 8

In this lessons students will access information about seaweed farming and greenhouse gas emissions and use percentages, ratios, and fractions to solve problems.

Students will investigate the relationship between seaweed farming, the health benefits of eating seaweed & climate change. They will use this info to develop an infographic that uses numbers to convince their peers to eat more seaweed.

Looking for more ways to combine Maths and Numeracy with Outdoor Learning? Check out these lessons for all year levels. 

Habitats, People and Animals

Roots & Shoots – Investigating Habitats
Lower Primary

Investigate the interconnectedness of animals, people and environment through the context of habitats and biodiversity. Challenge students to think about how their choices and behaviours impact habitats and the needs of living things.

Roots & Shoots – Focus on Consumption
Upper Primary

How do our needs, wants and behaviours impact our environment? What impact do the choices we make have on the habitat of animals? Lessons cover Science, HASS, Maths and Civics & Citizenship.

Under the Spotlight: Economics, Business and Career Development

$20 Boss (Year 7-10)

HASS, Economics & Business

$20 Boss is an entrepreneurship program for secondary school students. It builds enterprise skills and teaches students how to be entrepreneurial. 

Students use $20 of start-up capital to create, launch and operate their venture over the course of a school term. Teachers are supported through a comprehensive toolkit that enables end-to-end delivery in the classroom.

There are seven lessons covering ideation, planning, selling, marketing and financial management. All materials are aligned to the Australian Curriculum.

Worlds of Work (Year 7-10)

English & Work Studies

The Worlds of Work unit connects secondary school students of all ages with life beyond school by investigating the question ‘What does it take to succeed in life and work?’ 

WOW helps students to better understand:

• Themselves in the context of work
• Transferable enterprise/21st century skills, why they’re important and how to develop and demonstrate these skills
• The impact of the changing nature of the workplace with a focus on current and future industry trends
• The value of community networks in helping to navigate careers information and pathways

Self-Directed: Ethical Entrepreneurship

Economics, Business, Sustainability

Economists will have us believe that the flow of income is circular – money comes in, money goes out. But there’s a lot more to think about in terms of the true cost of items, like mobile phones. In this activity, you’ll explore the human and environmental costs that should also be represented in economic models.

What is Popular?

Sometimes the best ideas come from those around us. Have a look at what’s been getting hits this month.

Most Viewed Lessons

• The Final Quarter – Years 5 – 10
• 2040 – Watching the Film – Years 5 – 10
• Celebrating Culture – Years 3 – 10
• Who We Are: Brave New Clan

What’s Coming Up?

The next few months are all about the environment. 

• Global Wind Day, Monday 15 June
• International Mud Day, Monday 29 June
• Schools Tree Day, Friday 31 July
• Donate Life Week, 26 July to 2 August

Dying to Live – Secondary

Donate Life Week is coming up on July 26 – Aug 2, and these lesson plans can help navigate the complex issue of organ and tissue donation, and transplantation in Australia.

Using key messages from the Dying to Live documentary, students can explore this topic across the curriculum.

• English Years 7 – 10
• Health & Physical Education Years 7 – 10
• Science Year 9
• Mathematics Years 9&10