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Environmental and Zoo Education Centres – primary school resources

A collection of digital resources for primary school teachers and students to support teaching and learning from home, with a particular focus on geography, science and history. The resources were developed by Department of Education teachers from 25 Environmental and Zoo Education Centres in NSW and include Google Sites, ...

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Who was Quong Tart?

In this sequence of two activities, students learn about Quong Tart's contribution to Australian life by examining photographs and responding to questions. Based on Quong Tart's tea house, students redesign their classroom to create their own tea house experience.

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reSolve: Authentic Problems: Bottle Flipping

This sequence of four lessons explores fractions and statistical reasoning through conducting a series of fair tests to answer the question 'What fraction of a bottle needs to be filled with water to be the best for bottle flipping?'. The lessons focus on building understanding of fractions and collecting, organising and ...

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Neck ornament, c1890s

This is an Aboriginal neck ornament from central Australia, believed to have been made in the late 1800s. It comprises two pairs of eaglehawk claws, connected with resin to a string made of human hair. The ornament is 43 cm long and 4 cm wide.

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Sedge hunting baskets, 1936, 1980s

These are four hunting baskets from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. All are made from sedge grass. The top bag on the left and the two at the bottom were made in the late 1980s, while the bag on the top right-hand side was collected in 1936. The oldest bag is 113.5 cm high, 51 cm wide and 28 cm in diameter. The other ...

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Ceremonial headdress, c1921

This is a ceremonial headdress of the Wangkanguru (Wonkonguru) people, made at an Aboriginal settlement in the north-east of South Australia in about 1921. Its main features are three thick tassels made of rabbit-tail fur attached to string made of kangaroo fur and hair. It is 56 cm long and up to about 34 cm wide.

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experiMENTALS: Spooky slime

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students about the process of making spooky slime with cornflour to produce a substance that is a little like a liquid and a little like a solid.

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MoneySmart: The house of needs and wants

This is a unit of work integrating aspects of the mathematics, English and science curriculums around planning a school breakfast. The unit was written for year 3 and is intended to take about 12 hours. It consists of 11 student activities supported by teacher notes on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Student activities ...

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For the Juniors: Candles, cards and carols: Christmas in 1983

How do people celebrate Christmas now? This clip shows some of the ways Christmas was celebrated in 1983. People sent cards, gave presents and sang carols. Have things changed?

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Celebrations and Commemorations

This teaching and learning sequence has a focus on Australian celebrations and commemorations to coincide with the actual dates of the various significant celebrations and commemorations in Australia, culminating in a student-led inquiry on global celebrations.

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Thermal comfort – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This thermal comfort learning resource will guide students through an extended school based investigation. Students will develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

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Unit for Year 3 to 4 Butterflies: Engaging with nature

This unit of work engages students in preparing butterfly gardens in their schoolgrounds. It explores scientific entomology, features of caterpillars and butterflies, the lifecycle of butterflies, survival requirements, and the characteristics of butterfly gardens. The unit includes worksheets, assessment ideas, pictures, ...

Online

Research and adopt a veteran

This resource guides teachers through the process of researching the historical records of a Australian First World War veteran. School communities are encouraged to 'adopt' a local veteran. Part of the Bringing communities together series in response to the NSW State ANZAC Centenary.

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How does your garden grow?

This Stage 2 resource grew from a conversation between young students questioning why they could still buy grapes if they were out of season. This wondering led to a discussion around when we grow certain fruit and vegetables. The original stimulus was extended to cover planting for the seasons and factors that influence ...

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Waste and materials – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on waste and materials using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate ...

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Alien life form

Help an alien to understand how plants are adapted to life on Earth. Choose different combinations of leaves, seeds and roots. Design a plant that is best adapted to surviving in a particular environment. Adapt the plant for survival in specific environments: mangroves, cool rainforest, mountain slopes and arid land. ...

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Pushing and pulling

Move animals from a boat to their new home in a zoo. Put them on a cart, then use monkeys to push or pull them up a hill. Use the minimum amount of force needed to move each animal. For example, use a single monkey to push a pelican or use three monkeys to pull a zebra. This learning object is a combination of three objects ...

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Fair test

Run experiments in a plant research laboratory. Investigate the effects of different variables on the growth of lettuces, peas and tomatoes. Research the answers to questions about how to achieve optimum hydroponic growth conditions. Examine the effect of key variables on growth: nitrogen, temperature, light intensity and ...

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Light and shadows

Look at how a tree makes a shadow during a sunny day. Notice that objects always casts shadows that face away from the Sun. Examine how the shape and position of a shadow is related to the time of day and position of the Sun. Explore the shadows cast by different objects such as a bike, an umbrella and a child. Position ...

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Read between the lines: park

Read signs around a park to gather information that will help you answer a question about the park. Analyse the information in each sign to work out the implied meaning, and to determine people's opinions, feelings and ideas about the park and whether it is a healthy place for children. Record your opinion of what each ...