T2 Geography

GE2-1 examines features and characteristics of places and environments 

GE2-2 describes the way people, places and environments interact 

GE2-3 examines differing perceptions about the management of places and environments 

GE2-4 acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools for inquiry 

Rotate through a number of activity stations creating landmarks from different countries.

Learning content:

examines features and characteristics of places and environments

acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools - maps

Complete the worksheet below labelling the following:

equator, Australia, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, Tasmania

Now watch the video below introducing our topic for this term.

Over two hundred years ago there was no country called Australia.  The Aboriginal people have lived in this country for hundreds of years.  At the end of the 1700s, white-skinned people from Europe started to come to this continent to live. Different people settled in different  parts of the land and they worked as small groups of people.  It started with New South Wales.  If you click through the animation below, you will see how the different ways that Australia was divided up.

Your teacher will read you a book about our country, Somebody's Land, before it was called Australia.  Listen carefully and see if you think the people were treated fairly.

Finally about 120 years ago, in 1901, the states all joined together and were made into the country of Australia!

There are 6 states and 2 territories.  The video below tells us a bit about each part of the country.  Each state or territory has a capital city.  Now complete a map naming all the states and marking in all the capital cities.

You will need to complete a map of Australia, naming all the states and capital cities.

States: New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Northern Territory.

Capital cities: Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart

Learning content:

examines features and characteristics of places and environments

acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools - maps

Lesson One

Australian States and Territories

Review of Australian States and Territories 

You will rotate through different classrooms again to revise where all the different states are in Australia, and where their capital cities are.  

Task One

You will rotate through the different rooms to participate in a range of different activities to learn where all the different states are in Australia, and where their capital cities are.  

Kahoot. https://create.kahoot.it/share/geography-australia-states-territories/4f08055f-39f5-4650-b171-b28c938db69b

Click here

Australia: States and Territories - Map Quiz Game

Click here for Australian capital cities 

Click here

Australian Cities Quiz

Task Two

In groups, you will research one of the States or Territories of Australia and find out its population, famous landmarks and national parks.  Then you will fill these in your Guidebooks.  Different groups will share their information with the rest of the class, so that we complete the Guidebooks.

Research state and territories in the guide books - on World Book site:

• Sign in

• Go to World Book kids

• Compare places

• Australian States

• Select state

Students go to where their state information is being supervised and fill in all information except minerals - 

• The square is to draw the state flag

• Find population, capital, landmarks, national parks and record 

• Shade the state on the whole map of Australia 

• Mark in the capital city with a dot and label on the large state

Learning content:

• examines features and characteristics of places and environments

• acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools - maps

Lesson One

Three rotations round classrooms to practise learning Australian states and capital cities on the map.

Finish filling the Guidebooks in as a class, so that you have information on all the states and territories.

Have a go at this Kahoot quiz to test yourself on what you have learnt:   https://create.kahoot.it/share/geography-australia-states-territories/4f08055f-39f5-4650-b171-b28c938db69b

Lesson Two

1. In pairs, make a list of 6-8 places that you think visitors to Australia should see. 

2. Then two pairs join together and agree on a list of the 6 most important places.  Be prepared to explain why these places are important to visit.

3. As a class/year group we will construct a Top Ten list of places the tourists should visit when they come to Australia.

Try to group the sites into different groups and explain why you grouped them this way.

Australia The Ultimate Travel Guide | Best Places to Visit | Top Attractions

Review of Australian significant sites 

Click here

Landmark Quiz

There are many reasons people want to visit different places as tourists.

1. Places that are of great natural beauty

2. Places that have cultural or religious significance

3. Places that are uniquely built

4. Places that have great environmental importance

Could you try and place our class/year group Top Ten into these four groups?

Jigsaw Learning Activity

You will work in groups with different teachers to explore several significant sites, and work out what is special about your significant sites from Fact Sheets.  If you have time, click on the video below which matches the significant site you are reading about.  Then you will return to your own classroom and share what you have learnt with your classmates.

3P- Great Barrier Reef/Sydney Harbour Bridge

3S - Kakadu/Sydney Opera House/Uluru

3I - Blue Mountains/Franklin River/Bungle Bungles

You could also add these sites to your Australian Guidebook.

Click here

Landmark Quiz

Learning content:

• examines features and characteristics of places and environments

• acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools - maps

Australia has lots of valuable resources underground - coal, gold, iron, silver and many other minerals.

Your teacher will give you an activity to simulate mining for resources in Australia.

Now look at these slides to see some of the many others ways that people impact the surface of the earth.

In order to help protect our beautiful places and nature, Australia has created National Parks where people have to take extra special care to protect our environment.

Brainstorm as many of Australia's close neighbours as you can.

Now have a look at this map of Australia's Neighbours.  See how many countries you can name.

You are going to choose one of these countries to research.

You will need to discuss which topics you are interested in learning about - what 3 big questions you want answers to.  You will be given extra time to research during your Reading lessons, and you will be completing an information report in Writing about your chosen country.

PBL 

Your teachers will demonstrate what will be involved in your Project-Based Learning about Australia's states.

Brief

Your job is to plan a family holiday in Australia this year.  The family consists of 2 adults and 2 children (1 child aged 10, and 1 child aged 6).  Make sure you include things that will interest everybody.  Your job is to make all the plans for the trip.  

The family will need to fly from Sydney airport to an airport in the state you have chosen, and then hire a vehicle to travel around in.

• You will visit one state or territory.  

• The trip will last for 5-6 days.  

• You will need to plan the itinerary (what they do each day).  

• You will need to visit different significant sites and at least one national park.  You will need to use a map (and googlemaps) to work out what places you can visit within a reasonable travelling distance.

• Include at least one site of Indigenous importance

• You can add other places if you wish.

There are a number of additional tasks that you can complete in order to gain bonus mission points.

You will each need to prepare a presentation about one of the places you are going to visit and explain why you chose it, and what made it an appropriate choice for the family to visit.

You need to select your three preferences for a state you would like to research (you cannot choose your own state of New South Wales), and also select whether you wish to complete this task individually, in pairs or as a group.

Learning content:

• examines features and characteristics of places and environments

acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools - maps

Small group research to complete PBL brief as outlined in Week 4, using your PBL workbooks.  Your teachers will be monitoring and answering questions.

Have a look at Worldbook, Britannica Online, the websites from Week Three, those below, and others that you find through Kid Rex to help gather information for your research.  The videos and websites below are just a few to get you started.

Learning content:

examines features and characteristics of places and environments

acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools - maps

Lesson One

CLICK HERE

Your teacher will guide you through the instructions.

Students:

Use Google Earth or an atlas to locate the Barron River. Students compare the Barron River area to where they live.

Formulate inquiry questions. For example:

• How are climates similar and different in different places? 

• How does location of different places affect the climate?

• What is the relationship between weather and climate? 

CLICK HERE

Your teacher will guide you through the instructions.

Students:

Choose two places from the below list. Using the data from the Bureau of Meteorology Climate data website, complete the average monthly rainfall and average monthly temperature tables in the downloadable resource.

• Barron River, Qld (Cairns) 

• Darwin, NT 

• Enngonia, NSW (Bourke) 

• Oyster Bay, Tasmania (Swansea) 

Using the data from your average temperature and rainfall tables, create a column graph to represent this information.

Use the sheets below to record information for the two places you have chosen.

Lesson Two

Learning content:

• examines features and characteristics of places and environments

• acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools - maps

Work on Google slide presentations.

Please complete the following:

1. Finish creating your keynote page and include:

   1. your significant site or national park title

   2. pictures - 1-4

   3. headings and maybe 1 or 2 facts

2. Write out what you want to say for your presentation on palm cards or scrap paper

3. Practise how you will present your talk on your own:

   1. Point to parts of your site you will talk about

   2. Read or memorise your words about your site or national park

4. Work out the order of presenting each slide with your group

5. If you have time, your whole group may take it in turns presenting each slide in the correct order

6. Fast Finishers - someone in your group can make a title slide and someone could make a slide with a map

Lesson Two

PBL Class presentations.

Lesson One

Finish class presentations.

Lesson Two

Minerals - Jigsaw Learning

Students will need to use GeoScience Australia's website for Australian Mineral facts.

Teacher to show students how to navigate the site. Show students the legend/key beneath the maps which indicate the size/importance of the different mines.

Pairs of students are each assigned a different mineral.  They need to click on that mineral and scroll down to the map which shows where the minerals are found.  They then need to mark two large deposits of the mineral onto their map of Australia.

Later, the groups share their information onto a large map for the whole class, who can then add the information to their own maps.  To do this, a legend will need to be created, with a different colour representing each of the different minerals.

Information about the minerals can also be added into their Australia's Guidebooks from earlier in the term.