Humanities and social sciences / Year 7 / Inquiry and skills / Analysing

Curriculum content descriptions

Interpret and analyse data and information displayed in a range of formats to identify and propose explanations for distributions, patterns, trends and relationships (ACHASSI158)

Elaborations
  • interpreting the possible meaning of images and symbols in primary sources
  • using and interpreting various types of maps (for example, weather, political, topographic, thematic and diagrammatic maps and isoline or isopleth maps)
  • using aerial images of contrasting places to identify differences (for example, differences in housing density and services)
  • interpreting a variety of graphic representations (for example, tables, charts, graphs, weather maps and satellite images) to identify trends (for example, an increase in the number of people engaged in casual work), spatial and temporal patterns (for example, the patterns of a selected hydrological hazard over time and place) and to observe, describe and contrast the spatial associations of geographical phenomena (for example, the relationship between economic activities, river systems and the availability of surface water)
  • using data to make predictions about future trends (for example, the trend of shopping online, trends in working hours or how people work, changing liveability factors, the rise of knowledge-based work)
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Numeracy Numeracy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Data analysis,  Distributions (Statistics)

Online

Sustainable Agriculture- Water management

This is a unit of work about the regeneration and sustainable management of a mixed family farm and the natural watercourse that flows through it. Focusing on Yan Yan Gurt West farm in Victoria, the unit takes the form of a geographical case study with a sequence of six student activities. They include: an introductory ...

Online

Trade and Investment at a Glance

Using an illustrated report from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, this Teacher guide provides ten learning sequences that engage students in the analysis and interpretation of data about Australian imports and exports. Students: identify Australia's major exports and imports; investigate international trade ...

Video

Marla Spivak: Why bees are disappearing

This is a video of a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk by Professor Marla Spivak about the dramatic decline in the number of bees. The 16-minute video begins with a discussion of why humans should care about bees, including their critical importance for the world's food supply. Professor Spivak explains that ...

Online

ABS: agricultural resource management practices, Australia, 2011-12

This is a digital resource containing data on various agricultural practices used on Australian farms, and was collected in a 2011-2012 Australian Bureau of Statistics survey. This resource provides information about farming practices including pasture and crop cultivation, livestock and feral animal management, fertiliser ...

Interactive

IEA Key World Energy Statistics - Google Play app

Explore global energy statistics including data on the production, supply, consumption and prices of the major energy sources. Select specific countries, energy sources and indicators, and view data in tables and graphs. Includes also energy forecast data and historical comparison, and a comprehensive glossary. Free when ...

Online

Human landscapes – inquiry-based learning through Sydney Metro – Stage 4

This inquiry-based unit of work was created, trialled and peer reviewed as part of a professional learning program in inquiry-based learning for school teachers. The professional learning courses were part of a pilot partnership between the NSW Government’s Sydney Metro transport agency and Western Sydney University. Students ...

Interactive

Laptop wrap – improving liveability

A page with a focus on using geographical data to plan for future community needs, with supporting activities and links to resources.

Video

Magical Land of Oz: Join the Numbat Taskforce!

Numbats are native Australian marsupials that can be found in Western Australia and South Australia. Unfortunately, their numbers are declining rapidly. What are the causes? What can we do to combat this and protect these unique Australian animals? Find out what one community group, the Numbat Taskforce, is doing to help ...

Video

ABC News: Light rail plan for western Sydney

Long lines of cars, frustrated drivers in peak traffic: familiar? As the population of Australia's major cities continues to rise and spread outwards, increased strain is placed on existing infrastructure such as roads. People often look to government to fix urban problems. Could a light rail system solve Sydney's western ...

Video

BTN: Aboriginal astronomy

Many ancient cultures studied the night sky, and we know this because it is reflected in some of the earliest stories we have on record. Learn about one of these stories in this video. Other than the Dreamtime stories, what other evidence might there be that the Aboriginal people studied the stars?

Video

Catalyst: What is a megafire?

Join Catalyst reporter Anja Taylor as she visits the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico and discovers the impacts of recent megafires on the landscape there. What is a megafire? And how is a megafire different from a regular wildfire? How have recent fires permanently transformed the landscapes that Anja and Professor Craig ...

Video

Magical Land of Oz: Koalas and climate change

The koala population in rural NSW has been declining over the years due to drought and heatwaves. What causes some of the temperature extremes experienced in this region? Dr Mella believes koalas normally get most of the moisture they need to stay hydrated from eucalyptus leaves. What has changed in recent years that means ...

Video

This Day Tonight: A city without a heart?

Iconic but sterile. Nationally significant yet isolated. The city of Canberra regularly seems to divide opinion. Watch this clip and take an intriguing look at life in Canberra at the start of the 1970s. As you'll see, arguments about the liveability of Canberra are nothing new.

Video

Catalyst: How will fire change the climate?

Considering the impact of a changing climate on the severity and frequency of fires is one thing, but how about the impact of fires on climate? Why does Professor David Bowman describe this scenario as a 'fire spiral'? What are the consequences of a world with fewer forests? As Professor Craig Allen explains, drought and ...

Video

Battling erosion on the Gold Coast

Queensland's iconic Gold Coast beaches experienced severe erosion as a result of wild weather in early 2013. The liveability of beachside homes in the area is under threat. See the local council's attempts to shore up the coastline and hear some questions being asked about the best way to protect the landscape. Where does ...

Online

Australia's Trade through Time

Using an interactive timeline created by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, this Teacher guide provides 12 series of learning experiences that engage students in the analysis and interpretation of data about Australian trade from 1900 to the present day. Students study videos, tables, images and texts in order ...

Online

Life expectancy PowerPoint

This teacher resource is a PowerPoint presentation designed to address common student misunderstandings about life expectancy. It emphasises that life expectancy is an average, that most people live for much longer or shorter than their life expectancy and that, when life expectancy is low, it is mostly because of a very ...

Online

Daily extremes

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page that provides tables of data for the top ten temperature and rainfall records around Australia on the day, month, season or year selected. Highest and lowest maximum and minimum temperatures, as well as the highest rainfall totals, are displayed and ranked. The tables ...

Online

Mapping our waterway

This is a 29-page PDF unit of work for year 7 that comprises a two-part teaching and learning sequence on waterways. 'Assessing the health of the waterway' involves students collecting data to assess the water quality of a local waterway, while 'Creating a map of the waterway' involves them using Google maps to display ...

Online

Daily maximum temperature extremes graphs

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page that provides graphs that show the percentage area of the selected state or territory and the percentage area of Australia that experienced extremely hot, cold or wet conditions on each day of the month selected. Graphs on this page are available for the previous seven ...