Humanities and social sciences / Year 4 / Knowledge and Understanding / Geography

Curriculum content descriptions

The importance of environments, including natural vegetation, to animals and people (ACHASSK088)

Elaborations
  • identifying the main types of vegetation, including forest, savannah, grassland, woodland and desert, and explaining the relationship between climate and natural vegetation
  • exploring how vegetation has an important role in sustaining the environment by producing oxygen, protecting food-producing land from erosion, retaining rainfall, providing habitat for animals, sheltering crops and livestock, providing shade for people, cooling urban places, producing medicines, wood and fibre, and making places appear more attractive
  • explaining how people’s connections with their environment can also be aesthetic, emotional and spiritual
  • explaining the significance of vegetation endemic in the local area to survival of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples (for example, as a source of food, shelter, medicine, tools and weapons)
  • exploring strategies to protect particular environments that provide the habitats for animals (for example, planting bird-attracting vegetation)
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Intercultural understanding Intercultural understanding
Cross-curriculum priorities
ScOT terms

Attitudes,  Habitats,  Environmental stewardship,  Climate,  Conservation (Environment),  Sense of place

Online

Creating a food garden: vision

This learning activity is part of a sequence of 5 individual learning activities focused on creating a food garden. The order of these learning activities are: vision, site assessment, installing a no dig garden bed, planting and harvesting. OUTCOMES For children to: • appreciate what they would like to achieve from creating ...

Online

Creating a sensory garden

A sensory garden is a garden that engages all the senses: touch, smell, hearing, sight and even taste. Sensory gardens create a rich sensory experience as users directly and indirectly interact with the plants and the space. In addition to providing tips for creating a sensory garden and the best types of plants to choose, ...

Online

Creating a yarning circle: connecting to Landcare

This activity is designed to help you make connections with your local Landcare or environmental group and facilitate a partnership with these organisations. It is part of a sequence of 8 individual learning activities designed to support the use of yarning circles. OUTCOMES of this learning activity are for children to: make ...

Online

Creating a beneficial garden: investigation

Biodiversity has been perfected by nature over millions of years where invertebrates have played an important role in maintaining a balanced, biodiverse ecosystem. Invertebrates provide services to food crops including pollination and protection from pests. This learning activity is the second part of a sequence of 3 individual ...

Online

Creating a yarning circle: involving First Nations people

This activity is part of a broader activity sequence that has been developed to help you design, build and use a yarning circle in your school or community. It is part of a sequence of 8 individual learning activities designed to support the meaningful use of yarning circles in learning environments. It will help guide ...

Online

Creating a yarning circle: using your yarning circle

This activity provides a plan for how to use a yarning circle by introducing a yarning stick/talking stick. It is part of a sequence of 8 individual learning activities designed to support the meaningful use of yarning circles in learning environments. The outcomes of this learning activity are for children to: understand ...

Video

Farms and people’s connections to them: producer video

This is a video about the operation of the Outback Pride project and the value of the Australian native food produced in conjunction with Aboriginal peoples. To a visual background of the nursery at Reedy Creek in South Australia and some of 25 Aboriginal communities involved in the project in SA and Northern Territory, ...

Video

Trees and connection

Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man Bruce Pascoe explains his connection to Country and introduces us to a family of trees. In what ways does Bruce’s relationship with the Earth differ from yours?

Image

Places we protect

This is a rich, multilayered resource about 35 protected Bush Heritage reserves throughout Australia. The resource includes a map of Australia that displays the locations of the 35 reserves. Each location is linked to important information and images including: quick facts; visiting information; the animals, plants and ...

Video

Discovering past methods of food and fibre production: producer video

This is a video about the native food plants of the Mount Gambier region in South Australia and how they were used by the local Buandig Aboriginal people. It is introduced by ethnobotanist and author Neville Bonney who shows a wide range of local plants, often giving their names in Bungandidj language. The plants include ...

Interactive

Biodiversity – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

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

Text

Biosecurity surveillance at school

This activity outlines the process to undertake a biosecurity surveillance of a school environment. The teacher guide, slides and student sheets identify some invasive pests that represent a threat to NSW agriculture including cane toads, fire ants and exotic bees. The activity could be adapted for other locations.

Downloadable

Moving a town

This is an illustrated retelling of the engineering decisions made to relocate a town from low to high ground following a dangerous flooding event. Based on a real-life event, the story shows the creativity, innovation and collaboration required to manage the process and focuses on the value engineers brings to the local ...

Online

Creating a yarning circle: background

This activity introduces children to the idea of a yarning circle and its importance in First Nations Culture. It is part of a sequence of 8 individual learning activities designed to support the meaningful use of yarning circles in learning environments. OUTCOMES of this learning activity are for children to: understand ...

Online

Creating a beneficial garden: assessment

Invertebrates perform many different roles in a garden’s ecosystem and occupy many different habitats. In this activity, you will be completing an assessment of these animals. The aim of this activity is for children to identify invertebrates, appreciate different invertebrate habitats and understand the roles that these ...

Online

Creating a yarning circle: yarning circle activities

Yarning circles provide opportunities for all to be heard, for discussions to be had and for understandings to be reached. This learning activity provides activity ideas for use in a yarning circle and will support students to develop a calendar for the yarning circle; be empowered to utilise the space regularly and meaningfully; ...

Online

Creating compost

Compost is created when organic materials such as twigs, leaves, dry grass and kitchen food scraps break down. Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of landfill that is produced, and also provides soil full of good nutrients that can be used on the garden. OUTCOMES of this learning activity are for students to: ...

Interactive

Sustainable transport – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This sustainable transport 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.

Online

Soil – more than just dirt!

Explore different soil textures and discover their various properties. Through simple soil testing, children will learn to appreciate the true value soils have in helping plants grow. The learning outcomes of this activity are for children to: - understand how soil texture influences the amount of water and air it holds - ...

Online

Creating a beneficial garden: planting

Planting flowers with food crops increases biodiversity, and is known as beneficial planting. Beneficial planting not only makes our garden beds look more attractive to us, it also makes gardens look more attractive to pollinators and predators, which in turn, help to fertilise and protect crops from pest invertebrates. ...