The ‘Stand on the Line’ activity can be used as a barometer to test students’ prior knowledge - the focus of this lesson is the the human impact on ecosystems. Read a set of statements to students then use the additional notes provided to engage students in further conversation around each point.

Students will think about what they encounter and consume in their day-to-day lives, and think about those things in terms of whether they fulfill a ‘need’ or a ‘want’. Students create a list of consumables and categorise them as needs or wants, then make a list of their own needs and wants.

By the end of this activity students will be able to explain how water bottles and other drink containers should be used so that germs aren’t spread. Students will engage in conversations and discussions, using active listening behaviours, showing interest, and contributing ideas, information and questions. They will respond to and pose questions, and make predictions about familiar objects and events Students can state why it is important to stay have a clean, reusable water bottle, and list ways to keep their reusable water bottle clean and healthy

Students will explore some of the amazing colours that can be found in nature. They are asked to stand or sit in one spot, and to see how many colours they can see in nature from that spot. Students will then create an artwork based on the colours they observe in nature. Students will be able to observe colours in nature and understand that there are many colours in nature. They will be able to identify a range of colours.

Students will investigate what an ecological footprint is by using an online activity that calculates their ecological footprint. Students will then think about what actions they can take to reduce their footprint. They’ll understand what an ecological footprint is, know how to use an online tool to calculate their own ecological footprint and be able to list actions they can take to reduce their ecological footprint.

In this lesson, students research and design water education posters and present them to younger students at their school. They work to represent and communicate ideas and findings in a variety of ways such as diagrams and physical representations. Students plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts demonstrating increasing control over text structures and language features and selecting print, and multimodal elements appropriate to the audience and purpose. Students will be able to research the answers to water questions using reliable sources, draft an informative poster appropriate for younger students and ensure the images in their poster complements a written message.

Through class discussion and independent exercises, students explore some of the big environmental issues associated with the current trend of drinking bottled water, and learn that tap water is a safe, tasty, environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to bottled water. Students will understand that some of Earth’s resources are renewable, but others are non-renewable. They will use scientific knowledge and findings from investigations to evaluate claims. Students will be able to independently research the issues around bottled water, contribute to a discussion about the issues around bottled water. Students can communicate their research findings with other students

During this lesson students gain a greater appreciation of the value of trees by exploring and creating rhyming poetry. After writing a class poem, students form groups and create a series of photos that reflect and enhance the meaning of the poem. The class poem and photos are used to create a display in the school to raise awareness of the importance of trees. This lesson is designed to be taught outside. By spending time outdoors and connecting to nature, students are more likely to care for and conserve nature as adults.

In this lesson, students role-play animals of the ocean and are asked to think about how these creatures interact with each other, and how these interactions are important to the life and health of the ocean. Students will understand that living things live in different places where their needs are met and will use a range of methods to sort information, including drawings and tables. Students will be able to name animals that live in the ocean and their behaviours and represent the behaviours of ocean animals through movement.

Students use examples from the ocean to draw food chains showing the relationships between organisms. They then apply their learning to finding food chains around them. They use their food chains to suggest the outcomes when one of the animals is removed from the chain. They will group living things on the basis of observable features and can be distinguished from non-living things. Students will represent and communicate ideas and findings in a variety of ways such as diagrams, physical representations and simple reports. They will understand that living things, including plants and animals, depend on each other and the environment to survive. Students will be able to research the diets of a range of living things, create a simple food chain based on their research and communicate their finding to the peers.

Through a classroom demonstration, students will calculate the percentage of fresh water available for human use and explain why water is a limited resource. Students will choose appropriate units of measurement for  volume. With guidance, students will pose questions to clarify practical problems or inform a scientific investigation, and predict what the findings of an investigation might be. Students connect volume and capacity and their units of measurement. Students will be able to physically represent percentages using 100 pieces of paper and articulate how smaller volumes of water represent the Earth’s total water content.

Students set up a conservation project that will assist local biodiversity by providing local wildlife with a safe place to drink water. They will measure and compare the lengths and capacities of pairs of objects using uniform informal units, give and follow directions to familiar locations and participate in different types of guided investigations to explore and answer questions, such as manipulating materials, testing ideas, and accessing information sources. Students will be able to use a set criteria to select an appropriate location for a bird bath and make simple measurements in regards to the set up and up-keep of a bird bath.