Lesson summary
Students explore the impact of coal mining on the landscape, using a chocolate biscuit to simulate a coal strip-mine.
Learning intentions:
Students will...
- examine the consequences of the management of Australian landscapes.
Success criteria:
Students can...
- demonstrate the impact of open-cut mining on the landscape
- explore reasons why coal mining can be conducted in an unsustainable way.
Lesson guides and printables
Curriculum links
Select your curriculum from the options below.
Lesson details
Curriculum mapping
Australian Curriculum (v9.0) content descriptions:
Geography:
Students learn about:
- the management of Australian environments, including managing severe weather events such as bushfires, floods, droughts or cyclones, and their consequences (AC9HS5K05)
Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability.
Relevant parts of Year 5 achievement standards:
By the end of Year 5, students explain the influence of people on the characteristics of places and in the management of spaces.
Resources required
- Chocolate chip biscuits x 1 per student
- Toothpicks x 1 per student
- Napkins x 1 per student
- Pens
- Student Worksheet x 1 per student.
- White paper
Skills
This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:
- Communication
- Critical thinking
Additional info
Level of teacher scaffolding: Low - Assist with understanding and conducting the experiment.
This is an original Cool+ lesson.
Related Professional Learning
Refresh your Geography Curriculum
Quick Summary:
Connect what is being taught in your geography classroom to the world outside, using sustainability education.
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