Disaster Resilience - Adaptation and Mitigation

Australian Curriculum content descriptions: 

Year 7 Geography:

• Strategies used to enhance the liveability of places, especially for young people, including examples from Australia and Europe (ACHGK047)

Year 8 Geography:

• Management and planning of Australia’s urban future (ACHGK059)

Years 7 & 8 Design and Technologies:

• Investigate the ways in which products, services and environments evolve locally, regionally and globally and how competing factors including social, ethical and sustainability considerations are prioritised in the development of technologies and designed solutions for preferred futures (ACTDEK029)
• Critique needs or opportunities for designing and investigate, analyse and select from a range of materials, components, tools, equipment and processes to develop design ideas (ACTDEP035)

Year 7 & 8 Science:

• Scientific knowledge has changed peoples’ understanding of the world and is refined as new evidence becomes available (ACSHE119, ACSHE134)
• People use science understanding and skills in their occupations and these have influenced the development of practices in areas of human activity (ACSHE121, ACSHE136)
• Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS125, ACSIS140)
• Measure and control variables, select equipment appropriate to the task and collect data with accuracy (ACSIS126, ACSIS141)

Syllabus outcomes: GE4-1, GE4-2, GE4-3, GE4-4, GE4-5, GE4-6, GE5-5, T4.1.1, T4.1.2, T4.1.3, T4.4.1, T4.6.2, SC4-5WS, SC4-6WS, SC4-13ES, SC4-15LW

General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability

Relevant parts of Years 7 & 8 Geography achievement standards:
Students propose action in response to a geographical challenge, taking account of environmental, economic and social factors, and describe the expected effects of their proposal.

Relevant parts of Years 7 & 8 Design and Technologies achievement standards:
Students explain factors that influence the design of products, services and environments to meet present and future needs. Students create designed solutions for each of the prescribed technologies contexts based on an evaluation of needs or opportunities. They independently and safely produce effective designed solutions for the intended purpose.

Relevant parts of Years 7 & 8 Science achievement standards:
Students plan fair experimental methods, identifying variables to be changed and measured. They select equipment that improves fairness and accuracy and describe how they considered safety. Students draw on evidence to support their conclusions.

This lesson is part of the wider unit of work Disaster Resilience Education – Years 7 & 8

Time required: 90 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion, facilitate activities

• Device capable of presenting videos to the class
• Challenge resources for the STEM challenge stations (also see STEM Challenges for station breakdown):
  • A large ramp-like object, such as thick cardboard or adjustable whiteboard
  • Connector pens – up to 10 per student (optional)
  • Marshmallows – full size – several large bags
  • Mini marshmallows or raisins – up to 15 per student
  • Pedestal fan (or similar) to simulate strong wind speeds
  • Pieces of thick cardboard or lasagna sheets
  • Playdough – enough for each student to create a figurine
  • Scissors – several per station
  • Small ping pong or rubber balls (optional)
  • Sticky-tape – 100 cm per student
  • Straws (paper preferred) – up to 25 per student
  • Timers – one per station
  • Toothpicks – up to 40 per student
  • Tub/s containing a thick layer of jelly – at least one for each earthquake station
  • Tub filled with damp sand
  • Tub that can hold several litres of water
  • Water – several litres in a pouring container
  • Watering can
  • Wooden skewers or icy-pole sticks – up to 35 per student
• STEM Challenges – one printed copy for each set of stations, single-sided
• Student Worksheets – one copy per student

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Adaptability
• Initiative
• Problem solving
• Collaboration

These lessons were designed in consultation with the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience.