Teaching Sequence

10 minutes	Part B: Article Analysis
30 minutes	Part C: Create a Cultural Burning Infographic
15 minutes	Part D: Burning In Our Local Area
5 minutes	Reflection and Extension

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin by explaining to students that in this lesson they will be investigating how cultural burning practices have been used to manage fires in the Northern Territory.

They will be drawing on their knowledge of and vocabulary related to ecosystems, expanding on topics on traditional management of the land by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and interpreting data.

Step 2.

Before they begin, spend some time reviewing students' prior knowledge about cultural burning practices:

What are they?
How do they work?
Why are they important?

You could also spend some time reviewing your guidelines for discussion. Explain to students that there are respectful protocols that you and your students can adopt in terms of language when discussing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures. You can find some information here.

Part B: Article Analysis

Step 1.

Have students access the article: The Conversation - Indigenous innovation could save a billion tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Step 2.

Students work independently to read through the article, taking notes as they go. The online article contains video so headphones may be required.

Write on the board or present on screen the following suggested categories for their note-taking:

Benefits

Outcomes

Costs

Opportunities

Step 3.

Once complete, hold a brief class discussion about the article, including:

The main point of the article (what was the article about?)
The main research findings presented in the article
The benefits, outcomes, costs and opportunities of the proposed actions presented in the article.

Part C: Create a Cultural Burning Infographic

Step 1.

Explain to students that their goal for this lesson will be to create an infographic on the topics within the article. They can use the software on their devices, or paper and craft supplies, depending on availability or access.

Step 2.

Along with the previous categories on the board add some additional categories that might be relevant, such as:

Collaboration

Employment

Climate Change

Seasons

Cool Burning

Students are encouraged to add any further categories or themes that they identified in the article

Step 3.

Independently, or in small groups, students to conduct additional research. Within The Conversation website, there are a number of other article and resources on this topic. Images or graphs are also great additions to their infographics.

Step 4.

Students may volunteer to present their infographics to the class.

Step 5.

Facilitate a class discussion:

What stood out to you as the most interesting in your research?
What surprised you as the most unexpected part of your research?
What did you learn from the other group's presentations?

Part D: Burning In Our Local Area

Step 1.

Ask students to think about how cultural burning might help in your school's local region or state. Invite students to work in their pairs to consider the following and to brainstorm some ideas in response to the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

How could we apply the lessons learned in the Northern Territory in our area?
What might need to change to accommodate your climate, landscape or social circumstances?
What season might be the best suited to this cultural burning in your local area, based on what you know about the local climatic conditions?
Are you aware of any cultural burning practices that are already happening in your local area?
What other bushfire mitigation strategies are you aware of? Are these used in your local area?
What other climate change mitigation strategies are you aware of? Are these used in your local area?

Step 2.

Students may volunteer to present their findings, or you might gather as a class to discuss what you've learned.

Reflection

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

Have your thoughts or opinions about the article changed through the course of this lesson? Explain your answer.
Have your thoughts or opinions about the cultural burning changed through the course of this lesson? Explain your answer.
What has this lesson made you think about?
What questions do you now have about this topic?

Extension

Bushfires have an enormous impact on our carbon footprint. While fires may seem like a natural process, out of human control - compared to emissions from cars for example - we actually can manage and reduce their impact. Cultural burning practice such as those presented in this article are an important way for us to address the United Nations targets and goals for action on climate change.

Return to the article The Conversation - Indigenous innovation could save a billion tonnes of greenhouse gases to investigate how traditional fire management techniques can be used to reduce our carbon footprint. Consider how these approaches could be implemented to help your local council or state meet their goals.

You could use the brainstorming session in Part D to guide further independent inquiry into existing cultural burning practices in your area and how these have been applied (if there are none in your local area, broaden your search across your state or territory). There are a number of examples of cultural burning practices on The Conversation website, the ABC News site and on YouTube.

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 the Bushfires - Fighting Fire with Fire

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