Lesson summary
Students will explore habitats in their local backyards, focusing on their school grounds. They will begin by looking at the word ‘habitat’ and how this relates to the concept of home. Students then create a birds-eye perspective of potential habitats on their school grounds, before taking the time to explore these through sensory experiences. Students will then reflect on this experience by developing a series of questions that can be used to guide further investigation of habitats.
Learning intentions:
Students will...
- understand the similarities between a home and a habitat
- understand why having a birds-eye view can be a valuable perspective to have
- recognise how utilising our senses can give us a different perspective.
Success criteria:
Students can...
- describe what a habitat is
- create a birds-eye habitat map, using a key and a title
- use the satellite view on Google Maps and explain why it is useful
- demonstrate the use of our senses in nature as a tool for mindfulness
- create questions to guide inquiry.
Lesson guides and printables
Lesson details
Curriculum mapping
Australian Curriculum content descriptions:
Year 5 English:
- Understand that the pronunciation, spelling and meanings of words have histories and change over time (ACELA1500)
- Clarify understanding of content as it unfolds in formal and informal situations, connecting ideas to students’ own experiences and present and justify a point of view (ACELY1699)
- Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)
Year 5 Science:
- Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment (ACSSU043)
- With guidance, pose clarifying questions and make predictions about scientific investigations (ACSIS231)
Year 5 HASS:
- Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary sources and secondary sources (ACHASSI095)
- Organise and represent data in a range of formats including tables, graphs and large- and small-scale maps, using discipline-appropriate conventions (ACHASSI096)
Year 6 English:
- Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, choosing and experimenting with text structures, language features, images and digital resources appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1714)
Year 6 Science:
- The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094)
- With guidance, pose clarifying questions and make predictions about scientific investigations (ACSIS232)
Year 6 HASS:
- Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary sources and secondary sources (ACHASSI123)
- Organise and represent data in a range of formats including tables, graphs and large- and small-scale maps, using discipline-appropriate conventions (ACHASSI124)
Year 5 & 6 Health and Physical Education:
- Plan and practise strategies to promote health, safety and wellbeing (ACPPS054)
- Explore how participation in outdoor activities supports personal and community health and wellbeing and creates connections to natural and built environments (ACPPS059)
Syllabus outcomes: EN3-4A, EN3-8D, EN3-1A, EN3-2A, ST3-10LW, ST3-4WS, ST3-11LW, GE3-4, PHS3.12, SLS3.13, ALS3.6
General capabilities: Literacy, Personal and Social Capability
Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.2
Relevant parts of Year 5 English achievement standards: Students encounter and decode unfamiliar words using phonic, grammatical, semantic and contextual knowledge. They create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences.
Relevant parts of Year 6 English achievement standards: Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences
Relevant parts of Year 5 Science achievement standards: Students analyse how the form of living things enables them to function in their environments. They follow instructions to pose questions for investigation
Relevant parts of Year 6 Science achievement standards: Students describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things. They follow procedures to develop investigable questions.
Relevant parts of Year 5 HASS achievement standards: Students represent data and the location of places and their characteristics in graphic forms, including large-scale and small-scale maps that use the cartographic conventions of border, scale, legend, title and north point
Relevant parts of Year 6 HASS achievement standards: Students record and represent data and the location of places and their characteristics in different graphic forms, including large-scale and small-scale maps that use cartographic conventions of border, source, scale, legend, title and north point.
Relevant parts of Year 5 & 6 HPE achievement standards:Â Students explain the influence of people and places on identities. They recognise the influence of emotions on behaviours and discuss factors that influence how people interact.Â
This lesson is part of the wider unit of work Backyard Bush Blitz – Years 5 & 6
Resources required
- Device capable of presenting a website to the class
- Drawing materials (pencils and paper)
- Generating Questions Factsheet – OPTIONAL
- Assessing Outdoor Hazards And Risks – OPTIONAL
- Student Worksheet – one copy per student
Skills
This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:
- Communication
- Creativity
- Critical thinking
- Cultural understanding
Additional info
Time required: 150 mins
Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion
This is an original Cool+ lesson.
