ASSIGNMENT 2: A DETAILED HaSS UNIT PLAN
What is the BIG idea for your unit?
Sub-strand/subject:
Year level: 5
Year level theme - a student centred statement
of no more than two sentences, paraphrasing the
relevant aspects of the Year Level description:
Students will learn about how the Australian
environment has been influenced and
managed in different times and places by
people, particularly Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders. They will also learn about
how environmental influences such as
bushfires and floods have influenced people
and how they have been managed.
Rationale: Part 1
Why is it important for students to
engage in the learning covered in this
unit (think about the knowledge,
understanding and skills covered by this
unit and explain why important)
Knowledge and Understanding Content
Descriptions covered (at least one and no
more than two)
Content Description 1:
The influence of people, including
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples, on the environmental
characteristics of Australian places
(ACHASSK112)
Content Description 2:
The impact of bushfires or floods on
environments and communities, and how
people can respond (ACHASSK114)
Knowledge and Understanding
Achievement Standards aspects
assessed
They identify and describe the
interconnections between people and the
human and environmental characteristics of
Length: 5 weeks
Concept focus (what concept development will be able to be
assessed – the AC: HASS concepts for the sub-strand/subject chosen)
Environment
Sustainability
Change
Interconnection
Rationale: Part 2
What are the links of this unit to the HaSS values?
Ecological Sustainability
Peace
Inquiry and Skills Content Descriptions covered (at least
three)
Questioning
Develop appropriate questions to guide an inquiry about people,
events, developments, places, systems and challenges
(ACHASSI094)
Researching
Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary
and secondary sources (ACHASSI095)
Sequence information about people’s lives, events,
developments and phenomena using a variety of methods
including timelines (ACHASSI097)
Analysing:
Examine different viewpoints on actions, events, issues and
phenomena in the past and present (ACHASSI099)
Evaluating and Reflecting:
Evaluate evidence to draw conclusions (ACHASSI101)
Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action
in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable
effects (ACHASSI104)
Communicating
Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of
texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and
non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and
conventions (ACHASSI105)
Inquiry and Skills Achievement Standards aspects
assessed
Students develop appropriate geographical questions for
an investigation
They locate, collect and organise data and information
from a range of sources to answer inquiry questions
places, and between components of
environments
They identify the effects of these
interconnections on the characteristics of
places and environments.
They identify and describe different possible
responses to a geographical challenge.
Brief description of the units purpose
(refer to Year level description)
Opportunities to incorporate Cross
Curriculum priorities (describe where and how
the identified CCP can be incorporated into the
learning program)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Histories and Cultures
Students will learn how Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islanders managed and
interacted with their environment.
Sustainability
Students will learn about their impact on
their environment and develop strategies
that promote sustainable practices.
Learning activities/experiences (think
creatively)
- Quiz where students answer questions
by moving around the classroom
- Short Quiz
- Class discussion based on images on
Smart Board
- Creating timelines
- Creating Mind Maps
- ‘What is the truth’
- Watch topic-related video
Students interpret maps, geographical data and other
information to identify and describe spatial distributions,
simple patterns and trends, and suggest conclusions.
They propose action in response to a geographical
challenge and identify the possible effects of their
proposed action.
Key Inquiry questions (essential questions) to guide
unit thinking (do not have to be limited to those in the curriculum
document)
What influence do we currently have on the Australian
environment?
How does our current influence compare to the influence
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders had before the
arrival of Europeans?
How does the environment influence human activity in
Australia?
How do we manage these influences? How does this
compare to management strategies used by Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islanders?
How has the relationship between Australian environment
and people changed over time?
Opportunities to incorporate General Capabilities
(describe where and how the identified GP can be incorporated into the
learning program)
Critical and Creative Thinking
Students will be Inquiring – identifying, exploring and
organising information and ideas
Intercultural Understanding
Students will:
Recognise culture and develop respect
Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and
practices
Develop respect for cultural diversity
Rationale for learning activities designed - reference to
relevant learning theory materials and the TfEL framework to
justify your learning approaches.
 - Analyse and create Aboriginal artwork
- Class discussion based on information
and questions shared by teacher
- Class discussion based on webpage on
Smart Board
- Creative writing from perspective of
European settlers
- Use App to find language group,
research how they interacted with the
land and present this information
creatively
- Prepare for excursion by writing down
expectations
- Go on excursion
- Evaluate and reflect on excursion
- Visited by guest
speaker(Ecologist/Expert on Aboriginal
land management)
- Create and conduct survey, then
analyse and present results
- Engage with ‘Virtual Farm’ resource
- Conduct debate

Assessment tasks Rationale for the assessment design for this unit
(reference to learning theories)

Formative (at least 2)

Short Quiz to see what their knowledge

-
is before unit
- Teacher shows Aboriginal artwork and
Dreaming stories that represent land
management strategies used by
Aboriginal Australians. Students choose
a particular painting or Dreaming story
and write a short paragraph about it,
placing particular emphasis on how it
represents/originated land-
management practices. Students can
then create their own Aboriginal Art
related to their artwork they had
chosen
- Students write half a page from the
perspective of the first Europeans in
Australia about the environmental
conditions they are experiencing, the
things they have brought with them
and their observations of the Aboriginal
people.
- Class divides into two halves and
conducts a debate based on statements
provided by the teacher
Summative (at least two) – attach your two
summative assessment tasks to the unit plan – just
describe them here.

- Groups of students choose an

Aboriginal language group from the
‘Welcome to Country’ App. The teacher
 should ensure that a range of
ecosystems are represented (Desert,
rainforest, coastal, wetland etc.). They
must research how these Aboriginal
language groups gathered food and
managed the environment in that area
and then present that information in a
creative way (poster, PowerPoint, video
etc.)
- Groups of students choose an
Aboriginal language group from the
‘Welcome to Country’ App. The teacher
should ensure that a range of
ecosystems are represented (Desert,
rainforest, coastal, wetland etc.). They
must research how these Aboriginal
language groups gathered food and
managed the environment in that area
and then present that information in a
creative way (poster, PowerPoint, video
etc.)

Teaching and learning sequence for the Where applicable incorporate and clearly describe the HaSS
5 week unit stages of inquiry into your session progression/structure. i.e.
Questioning, Researching, Analysing, Evaluating and Reflecting
and Communicating
Teaching focus Learner activity Assessment Resources used
Related to the
stages of Inquiry Aboriginal to Present?
Week 1 Introduction of topic and key Formative Assessment:
Questioning: concepts Short Quiz to see what
Students will their knowledge is before
develop Activity to engage children in unit.
questions topic: Pictures of different
elements of society around
Researching: classroom- teacher asks which
Sequence has most negative influence on
information Australian environment- then
about events, asks which has least negative.
developments When each question is asked,
and phenomena students move to the picture
using a variety of they think is correct- as a group
methods they must come up with an
including answer as to why they chose that
timelines picture.
There also pictures of different
environmental elements- teacher
asks which has most and least
negative influence on Australian
people. Students move to picture
of choice and explain why they
chose it.

Students will be given a short quiz

that assesses their knowledge
about environmental changes in
Australia over time, particularly
 related to the change of
Aboriginal to European land
management practices. This will
provide a base for the teacher to
work upon. (Formative
Assessment)

Teacher can put on board photos

of current day Australian
landscapes (farming, cities,
mines, timber forests etc.) and
paintings/representations of pre-
settlement Australia (what the
landscape looked like, agriculture
and land-management practices
used by Indigenous Australians).
Students discuss what changes
have taken place and the positive
and negative implications of
these changes.

Students are formed into groups

of 3-4. The topics of fires, floods,
forestry industry and meat and
livestock industry are assigned to
each group. Students research
their topic and compose a
timeline of key statistics they
find. At the beginning of the
activity, teacher tells students to
think about how Australia has
changed over time and the
influence on the environment.

Week 2 Focus on Aboriginal Land Formative Assessment: For students:

management. Teacher shows Aboriginal
Researching: artwork and Dreaming Landline video-
Students will Students create 2 Mind-maps of stories that represent land http://www.abc.net.au/lan
Locate and collect effects (positive/negative) of Fire. management strategies dline/content/2013/s3767
information from 1 is for human impact and the used by Aboriginal 527.htm
primary and other for environmental impact. Australians. Students
secondary
sources, and choose a particular For teacher:
sequence Play ‘What is the truth?’ Teacher painting or Dreaming story
information using makes statement to the class, and write a short The Biggest Estate on
a variety of students sit or stand depending paragraph about it, placing Earth- Bill Gammage
methods including on whether they think the particular emphasis on how
timelines
statement is true or false. it represents/originated Dark Emu- Bruce Pascoe
Analysing: Teacher explains why statement land-management
Examine different is true or false. Statements are practices. Students can Contemporary landscape
viewpoints on related to Aboriginal land then create their own burning patterns in the far
actions, events, practices and condition of Aboriginal Art related to North Kimberley region of
issues and Australian environment before their artwork they had north-west Australia:
phenomena in the
arrival of Europeans. chosen. human influences and
past and present
environmental
Evaluating and Students watch Landline video determinants- Tony
Reflecting: Vigilante et al.
Evaluate Teacher uses Smart Board to
evidence to draw show Aboriginal artwork and For teacher and students:
conclusions
Dreaming stories that represent
 land management strategies used
by Aboriginal Australians on
Aboriginal Land Management
article. Students choose a
particular painting or Dreaming
story and write a short paragraph
about it, placing particular
emphasis on how it
represents/originated land-
management practices. Students
can then create their own
Aboriginal Art related to their
artwork they had chosen.
(Formative Assessment)
Week 3 Focus on transition of Aboriginal
to European land management
Questioning:
Students will Teacher provides brief history of
develop transition from Aboriginal to
questions about European Land management.
events, Teacher encourages discussion
developments amongst students by asking
and systems questions about the positive and
negative implications of these
Analysing: changes.
Examine different Examples of Questions:
viewpoints on - What was different about
actions, events,
issues and Australia compared to England?
phenomena in the - What would the settlers need to
past and present bring to Australia?
- How would they produce their
Communicating own food?
Present ideas,
- What would be the impact on
findings,
viewpoints and the Australian environment as a
conclusions in a result of these changes?
range of texts and
modes Teacher accesses ‘Australian
agricultural and rural life’
webpage on Smart Board and
navigates with students, asking
questions, receiving suggestions
and encouraging discussion.
Students write half a page from
the perspective of the first
Europeans in Australia about the
environmental conditions they
are experiencing, the things they
have brought with them and their
observations of the Aboriginal
people. (Formative Assessment)
Formative Assessment:
Students write half a page
from the perspective of the
first Europeans in Australia
about the environmental
conditions they are
experiencing, the things
they have brought with
them and their
observations of the
Aboriginal people.
Summative Assessment:
Groups of students choose
an Aboriginal language
group from the ‘Welcome
to Country’ App. The
teacher should ensure that
a range of ecosystems are
represented (Desert,
rainforest, coastal, wetland
etc.). They must research
how these Aboriginal
language groups gathered
food and managed the
environment in that area
and then present that
information in a creative
way (poster, PowerPoint,
video etc.)
Aboriginal Land
Management: the
Relationship between
Aboriginal and European
Land Practices- Steven
Marshall
For teacher:
Aboriginal Land
Management: The
Relationship between
Aboriginal and European
Land Practices- Steve
Marshall
Discovering past methods
of food and fibre
production- Primezone
For teacher and students:
Australian agricultural and
rural life- State Library of
New South Wales
For students:
‘Welcome to Country App’
http://www.welcometocou
ntry.mobi/

Groups of students choose an

Aboriginal language group from
the ‘Welcome to Country’ App.
The teacher should ensure that a
range of ecosystems are
represented (Desert, rainforest,
coastal, wetland etc.). They must
 research how these Aboriginal
language groups gathered food
and managed the environment in
that area and then present that
information in a creative way
(poster, PowerPoint, video etc.)
(Summative Assessment).

Week 4 Excursion

Questioning Students prepare for excursion by

Develop writing what they hope to learn
appropriate on the trip and what they are
questions to expecting.
guide an inquiry
about people, Excursion? Where to? (Site of
events, planned burning eg. Cleland,
developments, dependant on time of year?)
places, systems (Wetland?) (Agricultural area?)
and challenges (Farm?)

Evaluating and Students review excursion by

Reflecting: writing down what they learnt
Evaluate evidence and if the trip met their
and own expectations
experiences to
draw conclusions

Week 5 Focus on Implications of current Formative Assessment: For Students:

and local land management
Evaluating and practices and potential
Reflecting: responses
Reflect on
learning to Guest speaker (Ecologist/Expert
propose personal on Aboriginal land management)
and/or collective visits class and educates them
action in about Aboriginal land
response to an management practices and the
issue or environmental state and effects
challenge, and of the local area.
predict the
probable effects Students form groups of 3-4 and
formulate a survey that asks
recipients their knowledge about
the environmental influences in
the local area and what strategies
they would be willing to and what
they think would be most
effective. They will present their
results in a creative way using
graphs and grouping of data.
(Summative Assessment)
Students access ‘Virtual Farm’
resource and interact with the
Class divides into two
halves and conducts a Virtual Farm-
debate based on http://virtualfarm.mla.com
statements provided by the .au/
teacher:
- Australia would benefit
from not having a meat
industry
- Australia has benefited
from arrival of Europeans
- We should adopt all
Aboriginal methods of land
management
Summative Assessment:
Students form groups of 3-
4 and formulate a survey
that asks recipients their
knowledge about the
environmental influences
in the local area and what
strategies they would be
willing to and what they
think would be most
effective. They will present
their results in a creative
 different farms. Teacher places way using graphs and
emphasis on the sustainability grouping of data.
and geography components of
the website. After using the
website, students write down 3
key learning points they have
received from the website about
sustainable practices that are
being used by farmers and
challenges presented by the
environment.

Class divides into two halves and

conducts a debate based on
statements provided by the
teacher:
- Australia would benefit from
not having a meat industry
- Australia has benefited from
arrival of Europeans
- We should adopt all Aboriginal
methods of land management
(Formative Assessment)

ICT resources available (no more than Learning resources to be used with the students (no
three) more than four)

- Australian agricultural and rural life-

interactive website
State Library of New South Wales 2016,
Australian agricultural and rural life, State
Library of New South Wales, Vincent Fairfax
Family Foundation, viewed 26 May 2016,
<http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_
collections/history_nation/agriculture/index.ht
ml>.

- Virtual Farm- online game

Meat and Livestock Australia 2012, The virtual
farm visit, Meat and Livestock Australia, viewed
26 May 2016,
<http://virtualfarm.mla.com.au/>.

- Welcome to Country- App

Weerianna Street Media 2015, Welcome to
Country, viewed May 26 2016,
<www.welcometocountry.mobi/>
Potential HASS sub-strand connections Potential other learning area connections

History
The nature of convict or colonial presence,
including the factors that influenced patterns
of development, aspects of the daily life of
the inhabitants (including Aboriginal
Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples)
and how the environment changed
(ACHASSK107)
Mathematics
Pose questions and collect categorical or numerical data
by observation or survey (ACMSP118)
Construct displays, including column graphs, dot plots and
tables, appropriate for data type, with and without the use
of digital technologies (ACMSP119)
Science
 Construct and use a range of representations, including
tables and graphs, to represent and describe
observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital
technologies as appropriate (ACSIS090)

Visual Arts

Explore ideas and practices used by artists, including

practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to
represent different views, beliefs and opinions
(ACAVAM114)

Develop and apply techniques and processes when

making their artworks (ACAVAM115)

Design and Technologies

Investigate how and why food and fibre are produced in

managed environments and prepared to enable people to
grow and be healthy (ACTDEK021)

Topic background resources (for teacher Pedagogical resources to support the teaching of the
use only) to support teaching learning for unit (at least 3 articles, book chapters, videos etc)
the unit (at least 3 resources - articles, book
chapters, videos etc)

- The Biggest Estate on Earth- Book

Gammage, B 2011, The Biggest estate on earth,
Allen and Unwin, Sydney.

- Dark Emu- Book

Pascoe, B 2014, Dark Emu, Magabala Books,
Broome, WA.

- Discovering Past Methods of Food and

Fibre Production- Unit Guideline
Primezone 2015, Discovering past methods of
food and fibre production, Primary Industries
Education Foundation, viewed 26 May 2016,
<http://piefa.edu.au/units/pastmethodsfoodfib
reproduction.pdf>.