Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Part B: Adaptation
35 minutes	Part C: Native Flora And Bushfires
60 minutes	Part D: Adaptations In Your Area
5 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Independently or in pairs students complete a SEE THINK WONDER around the following image, using the questions provided on the Student Worksheet:

Step 2.

Once students have had time to reflect on this image, invite them to share some of their thoughts via a class discussion. Lead students to the idea that this image shows an area of bush that has recently experienced a bushfire. The new shoots on the trunks of the trees are called ‘epicormic shoots’. Although the old leaves have been burnt off and the trunks are black, the trees are still alive and not long after a fire they send new shoots out. Trees need their leaves for photosynthesis (converting sunlight into energy) and so these gum trees have evolved adaptations that help them live with and recover quickly from the impact of bushfires reducing their foliage.

Explain to students that in this lesson they will be looking at other adaptations that Australian plants have evolved to live with fire.

Part B: Adaptation

Step 1.

Pose the following questions to students:

What is adaptation?

Invite students to share their ideas with the class and record key points on the board.

Step 2.

Watch:

Living Things Change: Crash Course Kids (https://youtu.be/xDSFlRunlrU)

Step 3.

Invite students to reflect on how this clip helps them to understand the concept of adaptation. Work with students to add new ideas to the board and to refine existing ideas. The aim here is to come up with a class definition for adaptation.

The following definition could be used to guide you:

Adaptation is a characteristic that helps an organism live in its environment.

Part C: Native Flora And Bushfires

Step 1.

Now pose the following questions to students and invite them to record their thoughts on the Student Worksheet. They can use words or sketches to record their answers:

Do you know any examples of Australian flora?
What about the features of Australian flora - do any features stand out?

Optional: If you have a gum (eucalyptus) tree near your classroom or one that can be seen from the window, invite students to take a few moments to observe this tree using their senses. What does the tree look, feel, smell and sound like? (You could probably skip the ‘taste’ part, but students may already know what eucalyptus tastes like.)

Step 2.

Invite some students to share some of their answers. Prompt them with the following questions:

What types of flora did you think of? Trees, flowers, bushes?
Suggested answers: Australian native flora comes in all shapes, sizes and colours. There are towering eucalypts, prickly shrubs, soft grasses, and delicate orchids. There are flowers that have incredible smells, plants whose fruits and leaves you can eat, and trees whose bark can be peeled away and used to hold water or to write on. Did you know there are around 900 species of eucalyptus trees in Australia? Also, did you know that almost all eucalyptus species are native to Australia?
What features of plants did you think of?
Suggested answers: Some of the features we think of when we think of native Australian flora include gum nuts, gum leaves and gum blossoms.

Step 3.

Explain to students that they will now be looking at how native plants can live with bushfires. Bushfires have been a part of the Australian landscape for a very long time, and many of our native plants have had to find ways of living with fire.

Take a moment to invite students to suggest any adaptations that they may have heard of that help plants live with fire. Remind students of the epicormic shoots seen earlier in this lesson.

Step 4.

Students work in pairs to read through the How Have Plants Adapted To Bushfires? - Factsheet and make note of anything they find interesting or important about plant adaptations to fire:

Step 5.

Watch the following clip together (stop at 1:14):

Adaptations: Fire Ecology (https://youtu.be/W1WMYn_V-mE)

Step 6.

Invite students to share their observations with the class. Work with students to make a list of the adaptations they noticed in the article and clip, such as:

Epicormic shoots
Seed release triggered by fire
Germination without predators
Bark adapted to fire
Eucalypts try to promote fire
Tall crowns to avoid the worst of the fire
Lignotubers
Fire melts the resin of banksia to release the seeds
Orchids have reproductive organs underground
Prolific flowering after fire to promote seed spreading and regeneration.

Extension for Year 6 students: Students could take a look at the Flora, Fauna, Fire resource. Invite them to work in pairs or small groups to open up the resource and to work through the story until they reach the page listing all the species that have been studied following the Black Saturday bushfires.

Each group should select one plant species, read through the information about these plants, and answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What is the name of this plant?
What did you find interesting about this plant?
Did you find any information about how this plant is adapted to fire?

Each group can then pair up with another group to share what they found, and to answer the following question:

How are the plants similar and how are they different?

Part D: Adaptations In Your Area

Step 1.

Explain to students that they’re now going to head outside and look for some examples of the plant adaptations in your schoolyard.

Each student will need their workbook and a pencil. The teacher could take some rulers.

Remind students of any outdoor learning guidelines that you have before set out.

Step 2.

Head outside. Draw student attention to any native plants in your area. These could include gum trees, shrubs and grasses. Invite students to spend a few minutes making two sketches of any examples that you find: one of the features of adaptation they are focusing on, and one of the whole plant with an arrow to where the feature is found.

Explain to students that although the sketches are just a rough draft, they should be detailed enough to refer to later.

Sketches should include:

A rough outline detailing main features
Annotated labels
Measurements (where possible)
Date and time.

Step 3.

Once students have had enough time observing and sketching, head back to the classroom. Students could then create a communication piece/poster that includes a more detailed scientific drawing of one of the features they observed, as well as supporting information about this feature (taken from the factsheet or from further independent research).

Note: The details and complexity required for this poster could be differentiated according to the age and ability of students.

You could share the Scientific Drawing Guidelines with students.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to complete the following (also available on the Student Worksheet):

I used to think…
But now I think…

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Beyond Bushfires - Plant Adaptations And Fire

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