1.3 Teaching sustainability through geography

Dear Parents/Carers

The Australian Curriculum: Geography requires Year 4 students to learn about the environment, the use and impact of natural resources and how to achieve sustainable practices. Using this as a guide, students will begin a geography unit incorporating sustainability, focussing on the local area of Macquarie Harbour and the recent controversy that has arisen from the effects fish farming has on the area. Students will work toward answering the key inquiry question is the use and management of these natural resources, and waste emitted, sustainable for the environment? Through this inquiry process, students will further develop key skills, such as questioning, researching, evaluating and reflecting, and communicating.


The subject of geography allows a seamless integration of one of the curriculums priorities: sustainability. This practice is identified as being of extreme importance to the future of the environment, exploring ways to use the planets resources in a responsible way. Teaching through the concepts of environment and interconnection allows students to develop knowledge, understanding and skills that are essential to citizens of the 21st century, to manage some of the critical issues facing Earth. By learning about sustainability at a local level, students will have a deeper connection to the places and issues being focussed on. It is hoped this will lead to stronger motivation and more engaged learning.



 Students will begin by viewing the recent Four Corners episode ‘Big Fish’, which focuses on the damages claimed to being created by the fish farming practices in the area. 

Huon Aquaculture's fish pens

                        *see episode here*

 Students will then develop their own inquiry questions, which will guide their learning further. Following this, the class will go on an excursion aboard Captain Bill, Huon Aquaculture’s main harvesting vessel operating in Macquarie Harbour. On board, students will host a Q&A with the Environment Officer and Harvest Manager gaining understanding and insight into the environment practices the company employs. Students will then be given the opportunity to take part in using the surveillance and monitoring digital technologies, as well as witness the testing that the company completes each day to assess and maintain the aquatic environment surrounding the cages. At the end of the unit, students will present their information in an 'emaze' presentation, helping to further develop and demonstrate their communication skills.

The boat on which the students will travel and 'investigate' the issues

As we begin, I ask that you please engage with your child about the content. Discussions about sustainability of the environment and how this can be impacted upon by human developments coming from you will help make the notion more relatable. A great starting point might be an issue that has changed since you yourself were a child, and how it has impacted the environment. Working together, we can build your child’s interest and understanding of this crucial area of learning, for now and in the future.

1.2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

Dear Parents/Carers

I would like to begin by acknowledging and paying respect to the Toogee People as the traditional and original owners, and continuing custodians of the land on which this post is written.


I write to give you a sneak peek into the upcoming Year 4 history unit. Students will be inquiring into the diversity of Australia’s first people and the long and continuous connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to Country/Place. Through this unit, students will further their knowledge of Indigenous Australians and their connection to the local area, as well as strengthening their inquiry skills as they will be responsible for mapping out the processes for their own individual learning project on the subject. The unit will provide students with many opportunities to build their capability in other areas, such as literacy, numeracy, intercultural understanding and personal and social capability.

What and why are they learning this?

Using the two crucial documents which guide learning in Australian schools, The Australian Curriculum and The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, the unit has been developed to allow students an authentic experience learning about and from Aboriginal Peoples in the local area. Bringing it to a local level for all students strengthens the meaning behind the learning, especially for our Aboriginal students who are from the area. It is intended by the curriculum, that all young Australians are given the opportunity to learn about, acknowledge and respect the culture of Aboriginal people.

We will begin this learning journey by first hosting a yarning circle with a local Aboriginal Community Worker, discussing the Toogee Tribe, and areas where these Aboriginal People lived in this region. During the unit, students will employ various methods of learning, adopted from Aboriginal tradition, known as ‘8 ways of Aboriginal learning’. These include story sharing, learning maps, land links, and symbols and images. Students will also take part in an excursion, where the class will travel to neighbouring village Trial Harbour, to view Aboriginal middens, and the ‘ringing rock’, famous for its Aboriginal carvings and patterns.

Ringing rock, on Trial Harbours shore line

In this unit, students will learn in a hands-on, interactive manner. They will be involved in the decision making and approach to their learning, rather than just passive participants. Through this, students learn by doing, rather than just watching or talking.

Students taking part in a yarning circle . Photo courtesy of Google

How can you help?

I hope that you are as excited about this unit as I am. It will provide a wonderful opportunity for our school and the local Aboriginal community to develop a vital and long lasting partnership. I ask that as we move into the unit over the next ten weeks, that you open a dialogue with your child about the history behind our Aboriginal Peoples and the significance they hold in the area. This is a somewhat sensitive topic that requires communication and respect on both of our behalf’s.

1.1 Civics and Citizenship Education: Teaching controversial issues

They Did What?!?!?

 

Dear Parents/Carers

I am writing to share with you the fantastic Humanities and Social Sciences unit of work our Year 4 students recently completed. This term’s focus was the area of Civics and Citizenship Education. This subject provided students the opportunity to learn about and develop essential concepts, content and skills they will need as active citizens living in the 21st century. These include but are not limited to: perspectives and action, government and democracy, questioning, analysing and communicating. General capabilities have also been strengthened in this unit, such as literacy, numeracy, ICT, and personal and social capability.

 

Why teach this? What exactly did they learn?

 The theme chosen for this unit, unanimously voted for by the students was “Remote and rural living can impact upon a person’s ability to access goods, services and opportunities. This arose from much discussion about the local council’s controversial decision to severely cut operating hours of the swimming pools here on the West Coast.

                                 (Read media release).


Using a topic that is controversial allowed students to strengthen their listening and discussion skills, and respecting others. These are vital social skills that are required of citizens in a democratic society 

Originating from this theme, and the requirements of the Year 4 Australian Curriculum, students learnt about “the role of the local government and the decisions it makes on behalf of the community”. Students took an inquiry approach to their learning using various strategies. These have included the students having several meetings with council members, to discuss the repercussions of the pools limited pool seasons, such as young children not having the time to competently learn to swim. Meetings have been held with others impacted, for example when three classes from each of the six schools in the region joined together to discuss the issue and to decide upon courses of action. A petition-vote amongst the schools was conducted, and letters were written to local news stations and papers, as well as to the state government.

This type of learning allows students to ‘take the lead’, be responsible for their own learning, with opportunity to pause and reflect frequently on the experience

It affects us!

What is evident from this unit, is that students are more interested and willing to learn when the issue is relevant to them with a direct impact on their lives. Their motivation and engagement has increased their participation in the learning, evident through the standard of work produced .

 

 

How can you help?

I share this information with you as the students are still incredibly passionate about creating change towards the issue. Research shows that parents/carers play a key role in a student’s understanding of Civics and Citizenship education. I encourage you to please discuss the issue with your child, and to discuss with them how you as a family living on the West Coast can make your voice heard.