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Caring for our carbon

Teacher guide Caring for our carbon

TLF ID M019916

Carbon is all around us and available to us in many different forms – as an atmospheric gas, as an energy source, and as a food source. This unit investigates the science of carbon and the issue of climate change as both a scientific concept and a political issue, and, through discussion and debate, support students' to arrive at their own considered opinion about where they stand on this millennium’s most contentious and pressing issue. The unit includes PDF resources and video quiz challenges for teachers and student and the library section provides extra resources and links to support student learning. Carbon is one of three WithOnePlanet modules that addresses environmental viability, cultural awareness, active citizenship and linking school communities in Australia and Timor Leste through technology.

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Educational details

Educational value
  • The unit embeds all three strands of the Australian Curriculum: Science; all seven general capabilities; and two cross-curriculum priorities including sustainability and Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia, as key components of the WithOnePlanet's carbon curriculum. It supports the skills, behaviours and attributes that students need to succeed in life and work in the 21st century.
  • By the end of this unit, teachers will be able to make evidence-based judgments on whether the students are achieving below, at or above the Australian Curriculum: Science Years 5 and 6 achievement standards.
  • The unit explores five essential questions: What is carbon? What is the carbon cycle? What is climate change and what role does carbon play in it? What is my carbon footprint and how can I reduce it? What can be done to mitigate climate change on a regional scale?
  • The WithOnePlanet INQuIRY teaching and learning model provides problem-and challenge-based activities, designed to build sequential and experiential learning, practical skills and actions, critical thinking, knowledge and awareness about the impacts of climate change on plants, people and place. The resources seek to engage students in the big idea of carbon and its effects on their immediate environment and that of their neighbours in the Asia Pacific region.
Year level

5; 6

Topics Technologies Adaptation (Evolution) Animal behaviour Growth (Animals) Decision making Plant structure and function Animal structure and function Life Habitats Carbon cycle Ecosystems Data analysis Climate change Cooperation Problem solving Community development Energy conversion Experiments Evidence Scientific inquiry Environmental impact Plant growth Explanations (Scientific inquiry) Interdisciplinary research Action projects
Learning area
  • Science

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: xpand Foundation
  • Organization: xpand Foundation
  • Address: VIC
  • URL: www.xpand.net.au
  • Publisher
  • Name: xpand Foundation
  • Organization: xpand Foundation
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC
  • URL: www.xpand.net.au
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Unknown
Learning Resource Type
  • Online
  • Text
Rights
  • © xpand Foundation. This material may be used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence, available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.