Lesson summary
Students research a specific region of the tropical savannah in Australia and create a labeled illustration describing the climate, vegetation, animals, and the impact of fire upon the area.
Learning intentions:
Students will...
- examine how particular structural features and behaviours of living things enable their survival in the specific habitat of the Australian tropical savannah.
Success criteria:
Students can...
- explain how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples use fire to manage the landscape in the savannah, and how flora interacts with this element.
Partner acknowledgement
Cool.org would like to acknowledge the support of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA) in creating these resources.
Lesson guides and printables
Curriculum links
Select your curriculum from the options below.
Lesson details
Curriculum mapping
Australian Curriculum (v9.0) content descriptions:
Science:
Students learn to:
- examine how particular structural features and behaviours of living things enable their survival in specific habitats (AC9S5U01)
Cross Curriculum Priority: Sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.
Relevant parts of Year 5 achievement standards:
By the end of Year 5, students explain how the form and behaviour of living things enables survival.
Resources required
- Device capable of presenting a website to the class.
- Student Worksheet - one copy per student.
- Factsheet - About The Savanna
- Factsheet - Savanna Regions
- Australian Tropical Savanna Visual Explainer.
Skills
This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:
- communication
- critical thinking
- cultural understanding
- collaboration
Additional info
Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium - Will need to discuss the concept of Country, Classification and basic use of a spreadsheet.
Special thanks to:
Fish River Station, John Daly, Dr Jeremy Russell-Smith, Peter Jacklyn, Peter McConchie, Dr Tommy George, David Claudie, Dale Musgrave, Carolyn George and Victor Steffensen.
This is an original Cool+ lesson.
Related professional learning
Teach Caring for Country Using Fire
Quick summary: In this course, you will hear how John Daly uses fire stick techniques to care for Country. John works with scientists and farmers to reduce the impact of bushfires and protect communities.
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