Spatial variations in wellbeing 

This is the teacher notes page identifying the outcomes addressed in these lessons. Copy each lesson link and send it to your students. For printable versions of these materials log into the teacher information section of the Department of Education.

Introduction

In this lesson sequence, students will explore the access to green or open space in urban areas of Australia. They will then complete fieldwork and compare statistics with their own local area to help complete a response to the following question: ‘To what extent does where you live determine the amount of open space and wellbeing we have access to?’  

Students:  

• Learning intention – to understand the importance of green space for wellbeing; to understand the spatial variations across Australia in accessing green space; to conduct a sketch map to scale; to evaluate the degree to which where you live impacts on wellbeing. 

• Success criteria – students will be able to use data and their understanding of the spatial variations in NSW to evaluate the extent to which where you live determines the amount of open space and wellbeing people have access to. 

Content: Human wellbeing in Australia  

Students: 

•  investigate the reasons for and consequences of spatial variations in human wellbeing in Australia, for example: (ACHGK080)  

• identification of differences in human wellbeing in Australia using a range of indicators GS  

• examination of reasons for and consequences of differences in human wellbeing for TWO groups of people in Australia eg cultural groups, unemployed, the aged, young people, people with disabilities VR  

• analysis of how human wellbeing is influenced by where people live in Australia M 

Outcomes:  

• GE 5-6 analyses differences in human wellbeing and ways to improve human wellbeing 

• GE 5-7 acquires and processes geographical information by selecting and using appropriate and relevant geographical tools for inquiry   

1. The importance of green space

In this lesson, students will explore how access to green or open space like parks and yards and national parks can impact on personal wellbeing. They will then research variations in access to green space across Australia and discuss the consequences of this on wellbeing. 

Content: Human wellbeing in Australia  

Students: 

•  investigate the reasons for and consequences of spatial variations in human wellbeing in Australia, for example: (ACHGK080)  

• identification of differences in human wellbeing in Australia using a range of indicators GS  

• examination of reasons for and consequences of differences in human wellbeing for TWO groups of people in Australia eg cultural groups, unemployed, the aged, young people, people with disabilities VR  

• analysis of how human wellbeing is influenced by where people live in Australia M 

2. Access to green space

In this lesson, students will complete a sketch map of their home and local area to show how far they have to go to access green or open space. They will then complete observations including comparisons to national averages. 

Content: Human wellbeing in Australia  

Students: 

•  investigate the reasons for and consequences of spatial variations in human wellbeing in Australia, for example: (ACHGK080)  

• identification of differences in human wellbeing in Australia using a range of indicators GS  

• examination of reasons for and consequences of differences in human wellbeing for TWO groups of people in Australia eg cultural groups, unemployed, the aged, young people, people with disabilities VR  

• analysis of how human wellbeing is influenced by where people live in Australia M 

3. Open space and wellbeing

In this lesson, students will consolidate all knowledge and data on wellbeing from the past 5 lessons and use this to write a short response to an essay question for wellbeing, that is: ‘To what extent does where you live determine the amount of open space and wellbeing we have access to? 

 Content: Human wellbeing in Australia  

Students: 

•  investigate the reasons for and consequences of spatial variations in human wellbeing in Australia, for example: (ACHGK080)  

• identification of differences in human wellbeing in Australia using a range of indicators GS  

• examination of reasons for and consequences of differences in human wellbeing for TWO groups of people in Australia eg cultural groups, unemployed, the aged, young people, people with disabilities VR  

• analysis of how human wellbeing is influenced by where people live in Australia M