Unit 4: Great Australian Landmarks

Content focus:

Students investigate distinctive and well-known features of the Australia environment to determine why they became national landmarks. In doing so, examine the ways people influence the characteristics of places, including their management. Students identify key Australian landmarks and their distinctive features. Students complete a research activity on their choice of a national landmark.

Syllabus content area:
Factors that change environments

Students investigate the ways people change the natural environment in Australia and another country

Environments shape places

Students investigate how the natural environment influences people and places

Humans shape places 

Students investigate how people influence places

Key inquiry questions:

1. What is the difference between a natural and cultural landmark?
2. What factors determine whether something is becomes known as a landmark?
3. What are Australia’s most famous landmarks and where are they located?
4. In what ways are Australian places similar and different?

Geographical concepts:

• Place: the significance of places and what they are like. For example: places students live in and belong to and why they are important.
• Space: the significance of location and spatial distribution, and ways people organise and manage the spaces that we live in. For example: location of a place in relation to other familiar places.
• Environment: the significance of the environment in human life, and the important interrelationships between humans and the environment. For example, how and why places should be looked after.
• Interconnection: no object of geographical study can be viewed in isolation. For example: local and global links people have with places and the special connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples maintain with Country/Place.
• Change: explaining geographical phenomena by investigating how they have developed over time. For example: changes to environmental and human characteristics of places.

Outcomes:
A student:

• describes features of places with particular reference to weather, climate and seasons
• describes the weather and seasonal patterns of familiar places
• identifies ways in which weather and climate impact on people – their activities and routines
• communicates geographical information and uses geographical tools for inquiry.

Inquiry skills:
Acquiring geographical information

• collect and record relevant geographical data and information, using ethical protocols, secondary information sources, for example, by observing, using maps, visual representations, the media or the internet

Processing geographical information

• evaluate sources for their usefulness
• represent data in different forms
• represent different types of geographical information using maps
• interpret geographical data and information

Communicating geographically

• present findings and ideas in a range of communication forms as appropriate
• reflect on their learning to propose individual and collective action in response to a contemporary geographical challenge and describe the expected effects of their proposal on different groups of people

Geographical tools:
Maps

• globe

Fieldwork

• observing, collecting and recording data

Graphs and statistics

• column and line graphs, weather data

Visual representations

• photographs and illustrations

Lessons and worksheets included in the download file:

Lesson 1: Identifying Australian landmarks (cultural and natural) :: Teaching Resource PPT :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 2: Great Barrier Reef :: Worksheet 1 :: Reef Beat Posters
Lesson 3: Uluru :: Teaching Resource 1
Lesson 4: Sydney Opera House :: Resource Sheet1 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 5: Kakadu :: Resource Sheet 1
Lesson 6: Port Arthur :: Teaching Resource 1 :: Teaching Resource PPT
Lesson 7: ‘Big Things’ :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Teaching Resource PPT :: Resource Sheet 2 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 8: Research Project :: Resource Sheet 1