The Land Where I Live: Discover, Classify, and Regenerate

Australian Curriculum content descriptions: 

Year 7 Science:

• Classification helps organise the diverse group of organisms (ACSSU111)
• Science knowledge can develop through collaboration across the disciplines of science and the contributions of people from a range of cultures (ACSHE223)
• Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS125)
• Communicate ideas, findings and evidence-based solutions to problems using scientific language, and representations, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS133).

Year 8 Geography:

• Strategies used to enhance the liveability of places, especially for young people, including examples from Australia and Europe (ACHGK047)
• The influence of social connectedness and community identity on the liveability of place (ACHGK046).

Year 8 Science:

• Solutions to contemporary issues that are found using science and technology, may impact other areas of society and may involve ethical considerations (ACSHE135)
• Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS140)
• Construct and use a range of representations, including graphs, keys and models to represent and analyse patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS144).

Syllabus outcomes Year 7: SC4-14LW, SC4-17CW, SC4-6WS, SC4-9WS, SC4-11PW, SC4-5WS, SC4-7WS.

General capabilities: Literacy, Numeracy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural Understanding and Personal and Social Capability. 

Cross-curriculum priority:  Sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. 

Relevant parts of Year 7 achievement standards:
Students predict the effect of human and environmental changes on interactions between organisms and classify and organise diverse organisms based on observable differences. Students describe situations where scientific knowledge from different science disciplines and diverse cultures has been used to solve a real-world problem. They explain the possible implications of the solution for different groups in society.

Relevant parts of Year 8 achievement standards:
Students construct representations of their data to reveal and analyse patterns and trends and use these when justifying their conclusions.

Teaching Time: 140 mins (best spread over two lessons).

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – Will need to discuss the concept of Country, Classification and basic use of a spreadsheet.

• Butchers paper (1 sheet per group)
• Marking pen (1 per group)
• Sticky tape dispensers (1 per group)
• Student worksheets – one copy per student
• Video access to the film Regenerating Australia.

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

• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Social skills

Regenerating Australia is a Regen Studios film developed and produced in association with WWF-Australia. Cool.org and Regen Studios would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of Shark Island Foundation, Documentary Australia Foundation, and our philanthropic partners in the development of these teaching resources.