Geography / Year 8 / Geographical Knowledge and Understanding / Unit 1: Landforms and landscapes

Curriculum content descriptions

Different types of landscapes and their distinctive landform features (ACHGK048)

Elaborations
  • identifying different types of landscapes (for example, coastal, riverine, arid, mountain and karst) and describing examples from around the world, including Antarctica
  • identifying some iconic landscapes in Australia and the world, and describing what makes them iconic
  • describing some of the different types of landforms within a landscape
  • exploring the names, meanings and significance of landform features from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander perspective
General capabilities
  • Numeracy Numeracy
ScOT terms

Landforms

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Catchment management: where the river meets the sea

Eighty-five percent of Australians live within 50km of the coast. This activity looks at the waste that washes downstream in our catchments, the impacts it has on our estuaries, wetlands and coastal areas where the rivers meets the sea. Students will: understand the different journey water takes through a catchment; learn ...

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Catchment management: what’s in a drop?

Water is a precious resource, yet water is also wasted every day. This activity investigates water consumption and how you can reduce the amount of water wasted. OUTCOMES of this learning activity are for students to: understand the urban water cycle; learn different ways to reduce water usage; discover how much water is ...

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Catchment management: water sustainability

Water is an important resource, and is required by all living species to survive. Water is also important for many industries and businesses. This activity investigates the different land uses over time across your local catchment. OUTCOMES are for children to: understand the natural and urban water cycle; learn about the ...

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Catchment management: the story of a river

Water moves through the environment by the Water Cycle. This activity investigates the journey of a river through the catchment. It is part of a sequence of 5 individual learning activities designed to support understandings of catchment management. Follow water through the environment and explore the changes to water quality ...

Video

Foreign Correspondent: Cenotes

The Yucatán Peninsula is located in south-eastern Mexico and covers a vast area of coastline south of the Gulf of Mexico. It is a popular tourist destination for people who travel to cities such as Cancún to enjoy sandy white beaches. Explore the subterranean freshwater caverns of this region and discover why this pristine ...

Interactive

Rainforest: read a brochure

Read a six-page brochure about the climate of a temperate rainforest in Victoria. Look at maps of Australia showing patterns of temperature and rainfall. Find out what clothing to bring and how to get to the rainforest from the airport. As you go, look up the meaning of tricky words.

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Geography: Landscapes and Landforms

Join Shona from Geoscience Australia and explore the formation of Australia's coastal, desert and mountain landforms and landscapes.

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Geological Timewalk Booklet

This 58 page booklet explores geological timescales in the context of the Australian continent. Each section discusses a single geological time interval, and outlines the major geological, climatic and biological events which occurred in that interval, including continental drift, the break-up and amalgamation of continental ...

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Weathering, erosion, landforms and regolith - Teacher notes and student activities

This 112 page booklet explores the processes of weathering, erosion and deposition. It highlights the different types of weathering, erosion and transport and provides examples of famous landscapes to enhance the understanding of these processes. It includes case studies about the formation of many Australian landforms ...

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The Australian Coast - Teacher notes and student activities

This 100 page booklet explores the major physical environmental characteristics of the Australian coast. It also provides an outline of the major physical processes which shape the coast and introduces the human-induced processes which impact upon Australia’s coast. The booklet contains a glossary, links to online resources, ...

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Volcanoes : Teacher notes and student activities

This 80 page booklet covers a range of topics concerning volcanoes. It includes information about causes of volcanic eruptions, volcano types, where volcanoes are found and why, Australia's hot spot volcanoes and the hazards and benefits of volcanoes. Activities cover the science of eruptions and their impact on people, ...

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Introduction to the Geography of Australia

This short video introduces the physical geography of Australia using a colourful topographic map. Students are shown the three major physical regions of the continent, the lack of large mountains and consider why relatively few people live in Australia given its size.

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Exploring Australia's Seafloor

This video, presented by marine ecologist Dr Rachel Przeslawski, explores how marine scientists make maps of the seafloor and what these maps are used for. Dr Przeslawski talks about her experiences as a marine scientist involved with making maps from ships and discovering the depth, shape and hardness of the sea floor. ...

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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 ...

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Foreign Correspondent: Sustainable tourism

The Yucatán Peninsula in south-eastern Mexico is a popular tourist destination. This clip focuses on examples of sustainable tourism - tourism that aims to have a low environmental impact. View Tulum, a town under threat of being developed similarly to Cancún, a major tourist resort destination.

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Foreign Correspondent: New dam, new house: The Mekong

The mighty Mekong river provides a way of life for millions of people, and is arguably the most important resource in the developing country of Laos. Discover how villagers are being relocated to make way for hydropower dams on this river, which stretches for nearly 5,000 kilometres from the mountains of Tibet to Vietnam. ...

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.

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BTN: China's internal migration

For decades China has experienced a mass migration of people from rural to urban areas. This large-scale movement of people is putting pressure on the resources and facilities of cities such as Shanghai. Watch this clip, first broadcast in 1993, to find out the reasons for China's internal migration and the challenges it ...

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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 ...

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BTN: World population explosion, 1996

The growth of the world's population and the pressure this places on resources and the environment is a highly debated topic. Watch this clip from 1996 to find out about the trends and concerns associated with population growth at that time, and consider how perspectives and patterns may differ today.