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.

Students compare the structure of a bee and an ant. They discover how these anatomical structures relate to function and help the animal to survive.

Students observe a closed system using a bowl containing some water that is sealed with plastic wrap. They explain their observations and relate their explanations of the water cycle.

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 collect data completing a spot audit on all the lights that are on in their classroom and the school. Through this activity students will understand some of the ways we can save energy.

In this lesson students will explore the way soil and plants contribute to the purification of contaminated water in nature. Students conduct experiments to compare how successful soil and plants are in removing particulates from water by watering plants with contaminated water and assessing the filtered water for turbidity. This activity requires considerable preparation and resources but is simple and effective to run.

In this activity students map the water use of their school and home, establishing where water is used or wasted and what quality of water is needed in various points to meet the needs of the water use at that particular point.

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.

Students critically examine the quality of internet information about energy saving devices, equipment, white goods, cars etc. They will present their findings to the class.

In this lesson, students investigate the way different appliances are turned on and off and explore how they can use these functions to save energy.

A rubric is a method for monitoring a student’s learning based on chosen criteria or guidelines. Rubrics are often provided to students before they commence an assessment task so they are able to think about the criteria that will be included in their assessment. The sample rubric for this unit of work is generic and is based on ‘A model of inquiry learning’ in which students will be collecting and using data. The criteria overlaps Science, English, Mathematics and Geography. Teachers are encouraged to modify this rubric to meet their specific assessment needs.

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.

This activity is designed to encourage children to observe clouds – their shapes, colours and textures. Children will conduct experiments to create their own clouds on the back of a spoon and will be encouraged to think about how this has occurred. This activity is designed to help connect children to the wonders of the natural world through sensory and play-based learning.

This activity is designed to encourage children to explore how shadows are created. Children will discover that different light sources and different materials can create different kinds of shadows. Older children will also discover that the sun can create shadows of different width and length at different times of the day. This activity is designed to help connect children to the wonders of the natural world through sensory and play-based learning.