During this lesson students learn the value of giving and receiving constructive feedback in order to develop and improve their artworks. They begin by exploring the range of leaves found in their school yard while discussing the value of trees. Using the Austin’s Butterfly technique for creating and improving artworks, students create a scientific drawing of a leaf as their contribution toward a display or gallery exhibition to educate others.
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.
Students explore they ways they use energy and evaluate the necessity of their energy used. They reflect and identify if there are ways they can reduce their energy use. Through this lessons students will recognise the role of energy and our dependence on various energy sources.
In this lesson, students explore water consumption. They first investigate the value of reusable drink bottles and the amount of water people should consume each day. They then create a puppet show using their own reusable bottles.
Students investigate ecosystem diversity by comparing a variety of ecosystems. They identify the key features and suggest the main factors that influence them. They ask questions about the conservation and threats to ecosystems of interest.
In this lesson, small groups of students identify the consequences of no water for different aspects of the economy, way of life and the environment. They bring their information together and discuss the big picture.
Students investigate some big issues around how we create and use energy. They then share their findings by creating podcast, video, infographic or oral presentation. This activity can be completed in class time or as homework.
Students engage in a major project focusing on improving energy efficiency within the school. They meet with school leadership, conduct research and develop proposals.
Students are asked to work in pairs to apply one of the following models of human origins – the Out of Africa model, Multiregional or the Assimilation model – to describe the origin of Homo floresiensis. They will create a video news piece to present their ideas.
Through the use of a flashcard game, students explore some of the reasons why saving energy is important for our environment. They begin to think about what actions they can take to save energy.
Students work in groups to explore various sources of energy and develop a presentation to share with their class. Through this activity students will understand the various energy sources used to create electricity, and how these impact our economy and environment.
In this activity students get out into an ecosystem and record the sounds that they hear. The sounds can be recorded (e.g. on a tablet), or through drawings or brief explanatory notes.
In this experiment, students make a rocket using a film canister, an antacid tablet and water. They then explore the variables of the experiment, changing the quantity of each material and observing the impact on the results. Finally, they explore the scientific occurrence and consider whether the reaction is reversible.
In this activity students will experiment with the surface tension of water using pepper and dish washing liquid. Through this activity students will understand that surface tension can support light materials under specific conditions.
Students experiment with creating coolers out of a range of materials, testing to see which materials best keep an ice cube from melting. Through this activity students will understand how insulators can reduce the speed at which items heat up or cool down.
Students suggest what kind of actions different groups can take to address the issues concerning water use and storm water pollution. They list the actions they as individuals, their school, a typical home, water company and politicians can do.
In this activity students participate in a test comparing the taste of tap water and bottled water. They then collate and graph data collected and consider the implications of their findings.
Students make a mini worm farm in a bottle and see exactly how worms move when underground. Through this activity students will understand how worms help to improve soil quality.
In this lesson students investigate what happens when people’s activities result in water pollution. Pollution on land is simulated with the addition of easily obtained materials in a clear bowl of water. Students make links with retaining healthy waterways with preventing polluting substances from reaching them.
In this lesson students complete a whole school lighting audit with the aim of de-lamping classrooms. Students use a lux meter to identify over-lit areas of the school and also manually count the types of lights used. Using their real world data, students make key recommendations on how energy use could be reduced at their school.
During this lesson students explore the importance of trees in the environment. They observe their own sensory and emotional experiences of trees then, working as a class, they gather insight from an inspirational picture book. Students use creative and descriptive language to write a poem about trees while immersed in, and inspired by, nature in the playground.
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.