TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

By: Melanie, Sissy, Robin & Matt

Facing global issues

Hi there! This is Earth speaking. Will you spare a moment to listen to me? I have some very important things to discuss.

We must face up to some urgent environmental problems! All living things depend on my environment, but the way you humans are living at the moment, I will not be able to keep looking after you.

The issues I am worried about are:• The supply of clean air and water• Wasting resources• Protecting all living things• Global warming and climate change.

My global challenge to you is to find a sustainable way of living.

“Education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of people to address environment and development issues…It is also critical for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and attitudes, skills and behaviour consistent with sustainable development and for effective public participation in decision-making.” (UNEP, 1992)

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro 1992

Need to work on

  This unit is designed to familiarise students with the notion

of environmental sustainability. children learn about social responsibility, particularly practical steps that they can employ to monitor their wastage…… tackle environmental problems and issues.

influence children to think about the bigger picture, the quality of life for future generations

ethical awareness, values education The value of environmental education     To develop critical thinking processes.

Lesson 1 - Energy LITERACY LESSON: ENERGY

Tuning In: Today we are going to talk about how reliant we have become in the modern world

on uninterrupted access to energy (electricity, gas, petrol-oil) Initial discussion re: heatwave we experienced over summer and the problems the

interruption of power supply caused. How were the students affected? Complete a list on the black-white board of student responses.Making Conclusions:

Students are to respond in sentence form with correct grammar to these questions. If the power went out?

How would the classroom be affected at this moment? What changes would occur in the school? How would getting up and getting to school this morning have been affected? Would there be any problems getting to school or going home? What will be affected when you get home?

Going Further: Once these responses have been made finish with class discussion on how we rely on

the use of energy. Students are then to complete Energy Smart Schools ‘Clean & Green’ word-search.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/kids/pdfs/activity_book_color.pdf

VELS REFERENCES LESSON 1 Writing At Level 3, students write texts containing several logically ordered paragraphs that express opinions and include ideas

and information about familiar topics. They write narratives which include characters, setting and plot. They order information and sequence events using some detail or illustrative evidence, and they express a point of view providing some information and supporting detail. They combine verbal and visual elements in the texts they produce. They meet the needs of audiences by including appropriate background information.

They write a variety of simple and compound sentences and use verb tenses correctly. They use punctuation to support meaning, including exclamation marks and quotation marks, and accurately use full stops, commas and question marks. They use vocabulary appropriate to context and spell most one- and two-syllable words with regular spelling patterns, and frequently used words which have less regular spelling patterns. They use sound and visual patterns when attempting to spell unfamiliar words.

Humanities awareness of the limited nature of resources and the unlimited nature of wants understanding of production, distribution

and/or consumption of resources in basic contexts; for example, that oranges grow on trees and are sold in supermarkets ICT for communicating At Level 3, students initiate and compose email messages to known and unknown audiences and, where appropriate,

send replies. Students create folders in their mailbox to organise the storage of email messages they wish to keep. They locate information on an intranet, and use a recommended search engine and limited key words to locate information from websites. They develop and apply simple criteria to evaluate the value of the located information.

Building social relationships At Level 3, students demonstrate respect for others and exhibit appropriate behaviour for maintaining friendships with

other people. They support each other by sharing ideas and materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and acknowledging individual differences. They work with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict.

Working in teams At Level 3, students cooperate with others in teams for agreed purposes, taking roles and following guidelines established

within the task. They describe and evaluate their own contribution and the team’s progress towards the achievement of agreed goals.

Lesson 2 - Energy

NUMERACY LESSON: ENERGY Following the discussion in previous lesson we will be discussing where energy comes from, and

how it is generated. Students prior knowledge will be assessed through guided discussion. Focus will be on the production of energy and what is required to make-generate this power.

ACTIVITY: Run, Run, Run. We use a lot of energy to heat and cool buildings like your home and our school. However, our

bodies are able to heat themselves. When people feel cold, they can turn on the heating, put on a jumper or choose to do something active. In this activity we will measure how long it takes to feel warm by being active and how long that warmth lasts.

Materials: stopwatch, measuring tape or trundle wheel, witches hats or markers, worksheet. PROCESS: Students are to work in groups of three. 1 student will be running. 1 student will

record times with a stopwatch. 1 student will record the distance covered. (on provided worksheet)

Mark out 100 metres with witches hats. Students to run back and forth (at their own speed) between the markers. Record the time each student starts their run and time with stopwatch how long it takes for them to feel warm. Students stop activity when warm. Record the distance they ran and how fast they ran. When they start to cool down, calculate how long they were warm

When activity is completed we will have a brief discussion while the class cools down about how effective exercise is as creating heat energy.

VELS REFERENCES LESSON 2

Measurement, chance and data [Maths] At Level 3, students estimate and measure length, area, volume, capacity, mass and time using

appropriate instruments. They recognise and use different units of measurement including informal (for example, paces), formal (for example, centimetres) and standard metric measures (for example, metre) in appropriate contexts. They read linear scales (for example, tape measures) and circular scales (for example, bathroom scales) in measurement contexts. They read digital time displays and analogue clock times at five-minute intervals. They interpret timetables and calendars in relation to familiar events. They compare the likelihood of everyday events (for example, the chances of rain and snow). They describe the fairness of events in qualitative terms. They plan and conduct chance experiments (for example, using colours on a spinner) and display the results of these experiments. They recognise different types of data: non-numerical (categories), separate numbers (discrete), or points on an unbroken number line (continuous). They use a column or bar graph to display the results of an experiment (for example, the frequencies of possible categories).

Movement and physical activity [P.E.] They participate regularly in physical activities for the purpose of improving skill and health, and

identify and describe the components of health-related fitness. They begin to use basic games’ tactics. They work with others to achieve goals in both cooperative and competitive games.

Economic knowledge and understanding [Humanities] awareness of the resources used for production; for example, land, labour, minerals and equipment Working in teams [Interpersonal] At Level 3, students cooperate with others in teams for agreed purposes, taking roles and following

guidelines established within the task. They describe and evaluate their own contribution and the team’s progress towards the achievement of agreed goals.

LESSON 3+4

TIME0 500 1000

GRAPH 1.

DISTANCE COVERED

Students to complete a graph displaying the results of the Run, Run, Run activity.Under the graph the students are to write a brief reflection in sentence form describing what they have learnt about energy and its production and alternatives to putting on the heater to get warm. EXTENSION MATHS ACTIVITY: Exploring

mean, median and mode using the data gathered in the Run, Run, Run activity.SCIENCE ICT ACTIVITY:•Students conduct research on the computer to find how power is generated in Victoria and create pictorial representation of the cycle.•Science activity students create a circuit using wire, battery and light globe; to experiment with energy concept.

VELS REFERENCES Measurement, chance and data At Level 3, students estimate and measure length, area, volume, capacity, mass and time using appropriate

instruments. They recognise and use different units of measurement including informal (for example, paces), formal (for example, centimetres) and standard metric measures (for example, metre) in appropriate contexts. They read linear scales (for example, tape measures) and circular scales (for example, bathroom scales) in measurement contexts. They read digital time displays and analogue clock times at five-minute intervals. They interpret timetables and calendars in relation to familiar events. They compare the likelihood of everyday events (for example, the chances of rain and snow). They describe the fairness of events in qualitative terms. They plan and conduct chance experiments (for example, using colours on a spinner) and display the results of these experiments.

ICT for visualising thinking At Level 3, students use ICT tools to list ideas, order them into logical sequences, and identify relationships

between them. Students retrieve their saved visualising thinking strategies and edit them for use in new, but similar situations. They explain how these strategies can be used for different problems or situations.

Science knowledge and understanding At Level 3, students classify a range of materials such as solids, liquids and gases according to observable

properties, and demonstrate understanding that this system of classification of substances is sometimes problematic. Students describe examples of reversible and non-reversible changes in substances.

Students identify the actions of forces in everyday situations. They use the words push and pull in discussing how things can be moved and stopped. They identify forms of energy and energy transformations in the everyday world. They use appropriate scientific vocabulary to describe and explain their observations and investigations.

Science at work At Level 3, students plan, design, conduct and report collaboratively on experiments related to their questions

about living and non-living things and events. They select and use simple measuring equipment, use a range of appropriate methods to record observations, and comment on trends. They describe the concept of a fair test and identify the variables associated with an experiment. They develop fair tests to make comparisons and explain how they have controlled experimental variables.

‘ My Place’ Lesson 5 LITERACY LESSON: ‘MY PLACE’ (N. Wheatly & D.

Rawlins) Read the class the book ‘My Place’ emphasise the

changes to the landscape (nature-ecology) and the life of the characters ( focus on energy and resource use). Look at the four text blocks on every double page. Discuss with the students the four subjects they always cover. (home & family, community & environment, pets, celebrations) What are the two elements of the landscape which are found in every map? What do they symbolise?

Model activity for students on black-white board draw timeline (and discuss concept), illustrate (what are relevant images?) and write reflection (create example with students)

Students are to form small groups (3-4). Each group will be given a copy of ‘My Place’ they are to: Starting at the back of the book, read through and track the

changes to the environment over time. Each group is to complete a timeline, with illustrations and

short reflections on the changes to the environment between each of the periods in the book. Students are to designate responsibilities within the group.

VELS REFERENCES Reading At Level 3, students read and respond to an increasing range of imaginative and informative texts with some unfamiliar ideas and information,

vocabulary and textual features. They interpret the main ideas and purpose of texts. They make inferences from imaginative text about plot and setting and about characters’ qualities, motives and actions. They infer meaning from material presented in informative texts. They identify how language is used to represent information, characters, people, places and events in different ways including identification of some simple symbolic meanings and stereotypes. They use several strategies to locate, select and record key information from texts.

Writing At Level 3, students write texts containing several logically ordered paragraphs that express opinions and include ideas and information about

familiar topics. They write narratives which include characters, setting and plot. They order information and sequence events using some detail or illustrative evidence, and they express a point of view providing some information and supporting detail. They combine verbal and visual elements in the texts they produce. They meet the needs of audiences by including appropriate background information.

They write a variety of simple and compound sentences and use verb tenses correctly. They use punctuation to support meaning, including exclamation marks and quotation marks, and accurately use full stops, commas and question marks. They use vocabulary appropriate to context and spell most one- and two-syllable words with regular spelling patterns, and frequently used words which have less regular spelling patterns. They use sound and visual patterns when attempting to spell unfamiliar words.

Speaking and listening At Level 3, students vary their speaking and listening for a small range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They project their voice

adequately for an audience, use appropriate spoken language features, and modify spoken texts to clarify meaning and information. They listen attentively to spoken texts, including factual texts, and identify the topic, retell information accurately, ask clarifying questions,

volunteer information and justify opinions. Humanities skills At Level 3, students use a range of historical evidence, including oral history, artefacts, narratives and pictures, to retell events and describe

historical characters. They develop simple timelines to show events in sequence. They explain some of the differences between different types of historical evidence, and frame questions to further explore historical events. Students draw simple maps and plans of familiar environments observing basic mapping conventions.

Civic knowledge and understanding At Level 3, students demonstrate understanding of the contribution of people from the many culturally diverse groups that make up the

Australian community. They sequence and describe some key events in Australia’s democratic history. They describe symbols and emblems of national life in Australia and identify values related to symbols and national celebrations and commemorations. They describe the purpose of government, some familiar government services and the roles of some leaders and representatives. They explain the difference between rules and laws and describe the qualities of a good law. They explain why protection and care for the natural and built environment is important.

Building social relationships At Level 3, students demonstrate respect for others and exhibit appropriate behaviour for maintaining friendships with other people. They

support each other by sharing ideas and materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and acknowledging individual differences. They work with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict.

Working in teams At Level 3, students cooperate with others in teams for agreed purposes, taking roles and following guidelines established within the task. They

describe and evaluate their own contribution and the team’s progress towards the achievement of agreed goals.

•Tryptich lesson 6 Integrated lesson – Art, Literacy and

Humanities. Tuning In. Whole class discussion - review the

environmental changes that took place in ‘The My Place’ place book over the last 300 years.

Teacher models Tryptich activity on the whiteboard.

Triptych Art activity – students create their own painting – using MCubbin ‘s ‘The Pioneers’ as model – to show their own local environment and how it has changed – first panel (100 years ago) – 2nd panel (now) – 3rd panel (100 years into the future.)

Making Conclusions Students are to write a short reflection on

how the local environment has changed over time, using the Tryptich as a reference. Comparing the different periods.

Going Further. In groups of four discuss their writing and

tryptich and compare how their pictures are similar or different.

Whole class discussion on what differences the groups have in common.

VELS References Reading At Level 3, students read and respond to an increasing range of imaginative and informative texts with some unfamiliar ideas and information,

vocabulary and textual features. They interpret the main ideas and purpose of texts. They make inferences from imaginative text about plot and setting and about characters’ qualities, motives and actions. They infer meaning from material presented in informative texts. They identify how language is used to represent information, characters, people, places and events in different ways including identification of some simple symbolic meanings and stereotypes. They use several strategies to locate, select and record key information from texts.

Writing At Level 3, students write texts containing several logically ordered paragraphs that express opinions and include ideas and information about familiar

topics. They write narratives which include characters, setting and plot. They order information and sequence events using some detail or illustrative evidence, and they express a point of view providing some information and supporting detail. They combine verbal and visual elements in the texts they produce. They meet the needs of audiences by including appropriate background information.

They write a variety of simple and compound sentences and use verb tenses correctly. They use punctuation to support meaning, including exclamation marks and quotation marks, and accurately use full stops, commas and question marks. They use vocabulary appropriate to context and spell most one- and two-syllable words with regular spelling patterns, and frequently used words which have less regular spelling patterns. They use sound and visual patterns when attempting to spell unfamiliar words.

Speaking and listening At Level 3, students vary their speaking and listening for a small range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They project their voice adequately for an

audience, use appropriate spoken language features, and modify spoken texts to clarify meaning and information. They listen attentively to spoken texts, including factual texts, and identify the topic, retell information accurately, ask clarifying questions, volunteer

information and justify opinions. Humanities skills At Level 3, students use a range of historical evidence, including oral history, artefacts, narratives and pictures, to retell events and describe historical

characters. They develop simple timelines to show events in sequence. They explain some of the differences between different types of historical evidence, and frame questions to further explore historical events. Students draw simple maps and plans of familiar environments observing basic mapping conventions.

Civic knowledge and understanding At Level 3, students demonstrate understanding of the contribution of people from the many culturally diverse groups that make up the Australian

community. They sequence and describe some key events in Australia’s democratic history. They describe symbols and emblems of national life in Australia and identify values related to symbols and national celebrations and commemorations. They describe the purpose of government, some familiar government services and the roles of some leaders and representatives. They explain the difference between rules and laws and describe the qualities of a good law. They explain why protection and care for the natural and built environment is important.

Building social relationships At Level 3, students demonstrate respect for others and exhibit appropriate behaviour for maintaining friendships with other people. They support

each other by sharing ideas and materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and acknowledging individual differences. They work with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict.

Working in teams At Level 3, students cooperate with others in teams for agreed purposes, taking roles and following guidelines established within the task. They

describe and evaluate their own contribution and the team’s progress towards the achievement of agreed goals. Arts At level 3, students show evidence of arts knowledge when planning arts works for different purposes and audiences and identify techniques and

features of other people’s works that inform their own arts making.

DRIP,DRIP,DRIP LESSON 7 Numeracy Lesson: Drip, Drip, Drip. (This lesson is based on Data collection

and analysis)

Discuss with the students the importance of water to our everyday life. Ask focused questions to stimulate discussion: Where does our water come from? Where does the water from our taps, drains, toilets etc. go? Why is it important to recycle and save water? Introduce the concepts of finite and infinite, follow with brief discussion: Is the water we use finite or infinite? Is that a reason why saving and recycling water is so important? (ask for class explanations)

Next component: What can we do as a class to save water? (Discuss)  ACTIVITY: At the start of the school day students take their containers and place them underneath assorted taps around the

school: Staffroom, bathrooms, drink fountains and assorted taps. They are left there for the day and retrieved for the last class to analyse the data. When retrieved the amount of water and location is recorded as this data forms the basis of the worksheet.

Examples (teacher modelling) of the mathematical equation necessary will be done on the whiteboard at this stage: Ask students how they would find the solution and work through process. Choose data from one location and work through worksheet with the students.(6 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month, 1 year)

Students complete the ‘Priceless Drops’ activity sheet and class discusses the implications of using water at this rate.

  Going Further: To further students’ understanding of household water conservation. By doing a home water-use survey, students will recognise how we use (and waste) water and how water can be

saved at home.  Activity sheet 15a: Water Survey lists the average household water usage for various activities. In column 3, students calculate their household usage taking into account the number of people in their house. In column 4, students explore ways to conserve water at home. Students can visit http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/water/Protect/default.asp to find specific information about water

usage and conservation.

Work sheet 1. Work sheet 2.

VELS REFERENCES Number They estimate the results of computations and recognise whether these are likely to be over-

estimates or under-estimates. multiplication by single digits (using recall of multiplication tables) and multiples and powers of ten

(for example, 5 × 100, 5 × 70 ) Measurement, chance and data At Level 3, students estimate and measure length, area, volume, capacity, mass and time using

appropriate instruments. They recognise and use different units of measurement including informal (for example, paces), formal (for example, centimetres) and standard metric measures (for example, metre) in appropriate contexts. They read linear scales (for example, tape measures) and circular scales (for example, bathroom scales) in measurement contexts. They read digital time displays and analogue clock times at five-minute intervals. They interpret timetables and calendars in relation to familiar events. They compare the likelihood of everyday events (for example, the chances of rain and snow). They describe the fairness of events in qualitative terms. They plan and conduct chance experiments (for example, using colours on a spinner) and display the results of these experiments. They recognise different types of data: non-numerical (categories), separate numbers (discrete), or points on an unbroken number line (continuous).

Geographic knowledge and understanding They compare the various ways humans have used and affected the Australian environment.

Students recommend ways of protecting environmentally sensitive areas in a sustainable way. They provide examples and evidence based on their inquiries

Building social relationships At Level 3, students demonstrate respect for others and exhibit appropriate behaviour for

maintaining friendships with other people. They support each other by sharing ideas and materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and acknowledging individual differences.

Waste data collection lesson 8

•Numeracy lesson - Data collection and analysis.•Tuning in:•Ask students in pairs to find items in the classroom they can refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle.•Then discuss what they have found and whether it should be recycled etc.•Finding out:•Class discussion on what rubbish they have thrown away today and what they have recycled etc.•Bring all the class bins to the front of the class.•Each student comes to the front of the class and takes something out of the bin.•Sorting Out:•Ask students how the rubbish should be classified e.g.Plastic, paper etc. •Then discuss whether it will be recycled, reused etc. – students should debate this – encourage debate through asking why? And getting them to justify their answers.•Making Conclusions:•Create a graph showing the findings – i.e. kind of rubbish, how much? how much recycled? Reused? etc.•Model how to do the graph – but elicit ideas from students.•Going Further:•Students keep a diary on what they recycle.

VELS REFERENCES Measurement, chance and data They use a column or bar graph to display the results of an experiment (for example, the frequencies of

possible categories Building social relationships At Level 3, students demonstrate respect for others and exhibit appropriate behaviour for maintaining

friendships with other people. They support each other by sharing ideas and materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and acknowledging individual differences. They work with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict.

Working in teams At Level 3, students cooperate with others in teams for agreed purposes, taking roles and following

guidelines established within the task. They describe and evaluate their own contribution and the team’s progress towards the achievement

Humanities awareness of the limited nature of resources and the unlimited nature of wants understanding of

production, distribution and/or consumption of resources in basic contexts; for example, hat oranges grow on trees and are sold in supermarkets .

Science knowledge and understanding At Level 3, students classify a range of materials such as solids, liquids and gases according to observable

properties, and demonstrate understanding that this system of classification of substances is sometimes problematic. Students describe examples of reversible and non-reversible changes in substances.

Speaking and listening. Level 3, students vary their speaking and listening for a small range of contexts, purposes and audiences.

They project their voice adequately for an audience, use appropriate spoken language features, and modify spoken texts to clarify meaning and information.

They listen attentively to spoken texts, including factual texts, and identify the topic, retell information accurately, ask clarifying questions, volunteer information and justify opinions.

Whole School Waste Collection - Lesson 9 Integrated Lesson - Humanities ,Numeracy, Literacy and ICT. Tuning – in Whole class discussion – review findings from previous lesson on the waste in the classroom

– What is recycled? Discuss how today they are going to collect data on the whole school. Discuss scale/scope from local (our classroom) to global (our school, all classrooms), What

will we find when we survey today? More people, more waste, more landfill area needed, more opportunity for waste reclamation - jot student ideas on whiteboard.

Finding out and sorting out. Pairs survey the school - record and count items in the classroom bin, recycling bin, waste

paper bin, compost bin - ask teacher if there are other RRRR practices in the classroom and record responses (eg. On-going collection of materials for art projects as example of re-using waste)

Making conclusions. Return to classroom for computer work in pairs and enter data into excel spreadsheet -

then discuss results – what can be recycled or reused? Going further. Discussion in groups to explore understandings of observations - What statements and/or

conclusions can be drawn from this activity? Work out how long it would take our school to fill a basketball stadium? How can we get more waste in the recycling bin? AND come up with 3 solutions/ideas for our school to reduce consumption and waste eg. build a vegie garden and collect food scraps from the classrooms.

Whole class discussion on group findings.

VELS REFERENCES Working Mathematically. Collection of mathematical data using technology. Speaking and Listening. They listen attentively to spoken texts, including factual texts, and identify the

topic, retell information accurately, ask clarifying questions, volunteer information and justify opinions.

Humanities. Awareness of the limited nature of resources and the unlimited nature of wants

understanding of production, distribution and/or consumption of resources in basic contexts; for example, hat oranges grow on trees and are sold in supermarkets .

Building social relationships (Interpersonal Development) At Level 3, students demonstrate respect for others and exhibit appropriate

behaviour for maintaining friendships with other people. They support each other by sharing ideas and materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and acknowledging individual differences. They work with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict.

Science knowledge and understanding At Level 3, students classify a range of materials such as solids, liquids and

gases according to observable properties, and demonstrate understanding that this system of classification of substances is sometimes problematic. Students describe examples of reversible and non-reversible changes in substances.

Civics: Class Rules Lesson 10  Learning Purpose: To complete the unit of work on the environment, refresh the class behaviour charter and directly

implement some of the environment information covered. Assess the comprehension of subjects covered.

Engagement:  Initial class discussion re class charter and refresh re its importance. Question why did we make a charter? Why is

it important? Introduce task: To design a class charter re recycling & sustainability. On board list a few examples to start discussion. Group activity to devise 5-10 points for charter. Group discussion: share ideas and vote on points to include in charter. Students individually to make a visual representation of the charter

 Procedure:  Class discussion 10-15min (assess existing knowledge, introduce task) Group work 15min (running record asses participation) Class discussion 15-20min (assess understanding) Individual work 15-20min (assessment tool)   Extension Activity:  1.Compile an entire class document to display in class (use as a reward for quick finishers or for student effort) 2. Discuss with the principle the opportunity to expand this charter to whole school and present at assembly. 3. Implement garden/ recycle/ compost ideas.    Observations of students’ learning: Assessing how students work together, in the engagement exercise and

in the group work will help illustrate how students are working socially. Throughout this lesson student input is a big factor and I will be able to assess what and how they’ve learnt. I would be looking for input in the class discussion at the end of the lesson too.

Teacher’s Resources:   Board-work, Paper / art supplies, Worksheets / examples

VELS References: Reading (English) At Level 3, students read and respond to an increasing range of imaginative and informative texts with some unfamiliar ideas and

information, vocabulary and textual features. They interpret the main ideas and purpose of texts. They make inferences from imaginative text about plot and setting and about characters’ qualities, motives and actions. They infer meaning from material presented in informative texts. They identify how language is used to represent information, characters, people, places and events in different ways including identification of some simple symbolic meanings and stereotypes. They use several strategies to locate, select and record key information from texts.

Writing (English) At Level 3, students write texts containing several logically ordered paragraphs that express opinions and include ideas and

information about familiar topics. They write narratives which include characters, setting and plot. They order information and sequence events using some detail or illustrative evidence, and they express a point of view providing some information and supporting detail. They combine verbal and visual elements in the texts they produce. They meet the needs of audiences by including appropriate background information.

They write a variety of simple and compound sentences and use verb tenses correctly. They use punctuation to support meaning, including exclamation marks and quotation marks, and accurately use full stops, commas and question marks. They use vocabulary appropriate to context and spell most one- and two-syllable words with regular spelling patterns, and frequently used words which have less regular spelling patterns. They use sound and visual patterns when attempting to spell unfamiliar words.

Speaking and listening (English) At Level 3, students vary their speaking and listening for a small range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They project their voice

adequately for an audience, use appropriate spoken language features, and modify spoken texts to clarify meaning and information. They listen attentively to spoken texts, including factual texts, and identify the topic, retell information accurately, ask clarifying

questions, volunteer information and justify opinions. Civic knowledge and understanding (Interpersonal Development) They explain the difference between rules and laws and describe the qualities of a good law. They explain why protection and care

for the natural and built environment is important. Community engagement (Civics and Citizenship) At Level 3, students contribute to the development and support of class rules . They work with other students to identify a local

issue and plan possible actions to achieve a desired outcome. They describe the benefits of action at the local level and the democratic aspects of the process. They participate in activities to protect and care for the natural and built environment.

Building social relationships (Interpersonal Development) At Level 3, students demonstrate respect for others and exhibit appropriate behaviour for maintaining friendships with other

people. They support each other by sharing ideas and materials, offering assistance, giving appropriate feedback and acknowledging individual differences. They work with others to reduce, avoid and resolve conflict.

Working in teams (Interpersonal Development) At Level 3, students cooperate with others in teams for agreed purposes, taking roles and following guidelines established within

the task. They describe and evaluate their own contribution and the team’s progress towards the achievement of agreed goals.

Assessment rubricCategory Exemplary Proficient Partially Proficient Incomplete

Focus on the Task A true team member who works hard and helps others in the group.

A strong group member who tries hard!

Sometimes an active group member, but needs to try harder.

Sometimes chooses not to help out, and does not complete tasks.

Work Habits Completes assigned tasks and does not depend on others to do the work.

Completes most assigned tasks.

Does not follow through on most tasks and sometimes counts on others to do the work

Does not complete tasks. Depends on others to do all of the work.

Listening, Questioning and Discussing

Respectfully listens, discusses, asks questions and helps direct the group in solving problems.

Respectfully listens, discusses and asks questions.

Has trouble listening with respect, and takes over discussions without letting other people have a turn.

Does not listen with respect, argues with teammates, and does not consider other ideas. Blocks group from reaching agreement.

Research and Information-Sharing

Gathers information and shares useful ideas for discussions. All information fits the group’s goals

Usually provides useful information and ideas for discussion.

Sometimes provides useful information and ideas for discussion.

Almost never provides useful information or ideas for discussion.

Problem-Solving Actively seeks and suggests solutions to problems.

Improves on solutions suggested by other group members.

Does not offer solutions, but is willing to try solutions suggested by other group members.

Does not try to solve problems or help others solve problems.

Group/PartnerTeamwork

Works to complete all group goals.

Usually helps to complete group goals.

Occasionally helps to complete group goals.

Does not work well with others and shows no interest in completing group goals.

Triptych Comprehensive understanding of key learning. Visually impressive and very detailed.

Sufficient effort to represent information based on understandings, Visually appropriate.

Some understanding of key learnings, mediocre visual presentation.

Limited representation of key learning. Minimal information and needs more attention to visual aspects

Towards a sustainable future

Well, I hope you now see that if you take up my

challenge your world will be a better place. There are many ways to work towards a sustainable future. Imagine it… a world with:

• A stable climate• Clean air and water• Non-polluting, renewable fuel supplies• Healthy natural environments.

This is what you can achieve if you work together with my natural system.

You must work together to live sustainably. That will mean a better environment and a better life for all living things on Earth, now and in the further.

ReferenceBooks:

M. Driscoll, & D. Driscoll (2008), A Child’s Instruction to The Environment, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.

N. Wheatly & D. Rawlins (2008), MY PLACE, Published by Collins Dove.

C. Jakab (2007), Global Issues: Energy Use, Macmillan education Australia Pty Ltd.

Websites:

Do Something, Unit 5: Priceless Drops, http://www. planetark.org

Energy Smart Schools ‘Clean & Green’ word-search: http://www.eere.energy.gov/kids/pdfs/activity_book_color.pdf

http://www.olliesworld.com/planet/aus/educator/Energy_290802pdf

http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/

http://www.bom.gov.au/

http://www.visy.com.au/recycling/

http://www.ceres.org.au/

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/collection/pub/search/

Victoria Essential Learning Standards: http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/