Education for sustainability
Linking Geography and Civics and Citizenship
Intro:
One of the final units of work that our year 5 students will focus on is sustainability. There will be opportunity to explore how events and countries all around the world are shaping the earth and its environment. Students will be able to discover what is being done to create a sustainable future on a community level and also what is being done politically on a governing level. The importance for educators to highlight the importance of a sustainable future is paramount as students will be active contributors in the coming future (Brett, 2017).
What students are learning:
The Australian curriculum places huge emphasis on sustainability as a priority to study in many different learning areas (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Agency[ACARA], 2018). One of these learning areas that highlight sustainability Is the Humanities and Social Sciences curriculum where we can pinpoint geography as an avenue to provide and explore rich understandings of creating a sustainable future. Students will be learning and developing knowledge about social, economic and environmental systems, understanding a variety of views and values that go into sustainable development and also the importance of determining sustainable ways of living (ACARA,2019). As highlighted, students will be able to attempt to gain this understanding through the learning area HASS where the unit will focus on the achievement standards for geography year 5:
The Australian curriculum places huge emphasis on sustainability as a priority to study in many different learning areas (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Agency[ACARA], 2018). One of these learning areas that highlight sustainability Is the Humanities and Social Sciences curriculum where we can pinpoint geography as an avenue to provide and explore rich understandings of creating a sustainable future. Students will be learning and developing knowledge about social, economic and environmental systems, understanding a variety of views and values that go into sustainable development and also the importance of determining sustainable ways of living (ACARA,2019). As highlighted, students will be able to attempt to gain this understanding through the learning area HASS where the unit will focus on the achievement standards for geography year 5:
. The text box above sourced from the Australian Curriculum HASS, indicates that students will:
- Be able to identify and describe interconnections between people and characteristics of places and environments
- They propose action in response to geographical challenges and possible implications form these actions
In regards to linking Civic and Citizenship education to this unit, we can highlight the achievement standards in year 5 which we hope students will gain understanding from. For year 5 students:
- Students will develop and pose questions about the society they live in where they will then be able to locate and gather information to answer thee questions.
- Students are able to present their ideas and viewpoints in a range of communication forms using civics and citizenship terms and concepts(Highlighted link to Standard)
Why are they learning:
Students are learning about Sustainability as it is an important aspect of the world they live in (Brett, 2017). The topic of environment is one where students had identified as being uncertain about. Previous class discussions showed many misconceptions students had in regards to humans impact of changing the environment around them. These misconnections need to be addressed in order for students to became active and informed citizens in the worlds they live in (Scamp & Preston, 2011). This unit will allow students to work collectively and investigate how individuals and groups are attempting to create change on a environmental and sustainable level. This will include change seen not only on a smaller local scale but also to what roles government bodies have in the fight for change. Investigations will also include how and why places have changed over time and if that is a good or bad thing for the environment, e.g. human interactions.
How they are learning:
Students will be conducting an inquiry based research task where they will be able to develop their inquiry skills and form a opinion on unique places in the world. In light of this, the inquiry skills for year 5 HASS describe that Students will develop appropriate questions to guide their inquiry tasks and then locate and collect relevant information from a variety of sources (ACARA, 2019).
Students will begin by grouping into threes where they will be asked to explore the website OneGreenPlanet(click to gain access to site). They will need to select one of the top 10 endangered places in the world and write down facts about the chosen place. For example some questions could include; where is its location and what are some threats towards the areas environment. This initial activity is researching and collecting information as part of their inquiry process. following the completion of this, groups will share and contribute to discussion while posing questions.
The next aspect of the unit will involve all groups to reform to create a poster on their initial endangered place on what it will look like over time. The poster will be placed in the classroom and will display a drawing of what the place will look like if not taken care of. Listed on this poster will be the dangers that threaten that particular environment. After this task, Groups will pair with other groups and share and discuss what kind of solutions they could come up with to create sustainability in that area.
To conclude this short unit, the class will create a debate session on the pros and cons of protecting heritage areas in the world. Discussion on what future solutions are plausible for positive change and what can local communities and governemnts do to help their own environment.
How parents can support learning:
Communication is critical when exploring important ideas such as sustainability. Parents should actively discuss with their children about their views on the environment to create interests for children. Parents also have the opportunity to elaborate on many concepts of sustainability through actions done at home such as recycling. Overall the ability for your child to gain better understanding in the classroom can be increased through the active influence of discussions at home which we hope to see throughout the remainder of the term
Kind regards, K-5 team.
References
References
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