Unit 1: Are We There Yet? Australian Diverse Places and Environments

Content focus:

Students investigate the diversity of Australia’s places and environments with a focus on climate. In doing so, they study how climate affects places with a particular focus on vegetation, the way the land is used and the activities of the people who live in selected places.

Syllabus content area:
Climate of places

Students investigate the climates of different places

Key inquiry questions:

• In what ways are Australian places and environments similar and different?
• In what ways does climate influence the nature of vegetation and land uses found in different places?
• In what ways does climate affect the activities of people in different places?

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.
• Scale: the way that geographical phenomena and problems can be examined at different spatial levels. For example: various scales by which places can be defined such as local suburbs, towns and large cities.

Outcomes:
A student:

• demonstrates a developing knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of Australian places and environments
• describes the ways people, places and environments interact
• acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools for inquiry.

Inquiry skills:
Acquiring geographical information

• pose geographical questions
• collect and record geographical data and information

Processing geographical information

• represent data by constructing graphs
• draw conclusions based on interpretation of geographical information

Communicating geographically

• present findings in a range of communication forms
• reflect on their learning and suggest responses to their findings

Geographical tools:
Maps

• large-scale maps

Graphs and statistics

• data tables, column and line graphs, simple statistics

Visual representations

• • photographs, illustrations, story books, multimedia, web tools

Lessons and worksheets included in the download file:

Lesson 1: Are We There Yet? Picture Book Study :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 2: Are We There Yet? Getting started comprehension :: Worksheet 1 :: Worksheet 2
Lesson 3: Are We There Yet? Exploring Western Australia :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 4: Are we there Yet? Group-based investigation of places visited :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 5: Planning and researching a journey around Australia :: Resource Sheet 1
Lesson 6: My Journey Writing Task :: Worksheet 1