Upper Primary Years 5-7 SOSE and Science

Main Idea

The Great Barrier Reef Movie
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In this unit, students investigate the Great Barrier Reef and its coastal zone as natural systems, and as places visited and used by people. An investigation of, or field trip, to the Great Barrier Reef or a local coastal area forms the centre of this unit. The inquiry approach is built around the need to prepare for the investigation or the fieldwork, broaden student experiences and understandings during the investigation or the field trip, and consolidate and extend them following the study or visit. Teachers will be able to select and adapt activities to suit student needs and the type of coastal or marine environment investigated. These activities look at natural systems, human use and modification of the Great Barrier Reef and its coast, dangers and safety issues, pollution and care of the Great Barrier Reef and its coastal area.

Key Understandings

The Great Barrier Reef consists of the worlds largest system of coral reefs, mangrove and esturarine communities. It is part of a sensitive ecosystem which includes mangrove and estuarine communities. All are part of an important natural system in our environment.

People value the Great Barrier Reef and its coastal zone as an important natural system and as a place they use. Many people use the Great Barrier Reef and its coast for recreational and commercial activities. What happens upstream in the catchment affects the Great Barrier Reef and its coastal areas. An awareness of safety issues is important to people's enjoyment and use of marine and coastal areas.

Focus Questions

• Why do people go to the Great Barrier Reef and coastal areas?
• What would you expect to find at the Great Barrier Reef and other coastal areas?
• How can we care for and value the Great Barrier Reef and coastal areas?
• What are the dangers facing these areas? and
• How are the Great Barrier Reef and its coastal areas changing?

Key Terms

Beach, beachcombing, biodiversity, birds, bleaching, boardwalk, boats, breakwater, care, carnivore, catchment, cliffs, coast, coastal, conserve, contaminate, corals, crabs, danger, diving, environment, erosion, estuary, fish, fishing, food web, fragile, future, habitat, herbivore, jellyfish, litter, manage, mangroves, marine, mussels, nutrients, omnivore, organisms, pebbles, pollution, predator, reef, recycle, restore, rock pools, rocks, salt, sand, sand dunes, sailing, samphires, sea, seagrass, seabirds, seaweed, sediments, sensitive, shells, shore, snorkelling, solutions, stormwater, sun, sunscreen, swim, swimming, system, tides, value, vegetation, walking, wastewater, water, waves.

Key Learning Areas

• Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE);
• Science;
• Health and Physical Education; and
• English.

Key Competencies

• Collecting, analysing and organising information;
• Communicating ideas and information;
• Planning and organising activities;
• Working with others in teams; and
• Using mathematical ideas and techniques.

Outcomes

This unit focuses on the following core learning outcomes from the Years 1-10 SOSE and Science Syllabuses.

SOSE

In Place and Space

3.1 Students compare how diverse groups have used and managed natural resources in different environments.
3.2 Students create and undertake plans that aim to influence decisions about an element of a place.
3.3 Students cooperatively collect and analyse data obtained through field study instruments and surveys, to influence and care for a local place.
3.4 Students use and make maps to identify coastal and land features.
3.5 Students describe the values underlying personal and other people's actions regarding familiar places.
3.6 Students cooperatively identify an environmental issue of concern and contribute to its resolution.
3.7 Students describe how natural and built elements give character and importance to local and internationally recognised places.
3.8 Students articulate a code of environmental conduct for personal use of resources.
4.2 Students predict the impact of changes on environments by comparing evidence.
4.3 Students participate in a field study to recommend the most effective ways to care for a place.

In Time, Continuity and Change

3.2 Students create sequences and timelines about specific Australian environmental and social changes and continuities.
3.4 Students organise information about the causes and effects of specific historical events.

Science

In Life and Living

3.1 Students draw conclusions about the relationships between features of living things and the environments in which they live.
3.3 Students describe some interactions between living things and between living and non-living parts of the environment.
3.4 Students recognise patterns of similarity and difference within and between groups of familiar living things.
3.5 Students establish a model environment which meets the needs of living things within it.

Attached Documents

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The GBR & Coastal Zone - Teaching Unit
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