Content focus:

Students investigate the diversity of Australia’s places and environments starting with the picture book-based study: Are We There Yet? They then have the opportunity to plan their own journey. In doing so, they investigating what is special about the places they plan to visit.

Geographical concepts:

• Place: the significance of places and what they are like. For example: places students live in and belong to and why they are important.
• Space: the significance of location and spatial distribution, and ways people organise and manage the spaces that we live in. For example: location of a place in relation to other familiar places.
• Environment: the significance of the environment in human life, and the important interrelationships between humans and the environment. For example, how and why places should be looked after.
• Interconnection: no object of geographical study can be viewed in isolation. For example: local and global links people have with places and the special connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples maintain with Country/Place.
• Scale: the way that geographical phenomena and problems can be examined at different spatial levels. For example: various scales by which places can be defined such as local suburbs, towns and large cities.
  

Key inquiry questions:

• In what ways are Australian places and environments similar and different?

Outcomes:
A student:

• examines features and characteristics of Australian places and environments
• describes the ways people, places and environments interact
• acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools for inquiry.

Inquiry skills:
Acquiring geographical information

• pose geographical questions
• collect and record geographical data and information
  

Processing geographical information

• draw conclusions based on interpretation of geographical information
  

Communicating geographically

• present findings in a range of communication forms
• reflect on their learning and suggest responses to their findings
  

Geographical tools:
Maps

• large-scale maps

Visual representations

• photographs, illustrations, story books, multimedia, web tools

Lessons and worksheets:

Lesson 1: Weather and climate :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 2: Factors affecting climate :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 3: Factors affecting climate (continued) :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 4: Constructing and interpreting climate graphs :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 5: Australia’s climate regions and related vegetation :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Resource Sheet 2 :: Worksheet 1
Lesson 6: Different places, different climates :: Resource Sheet 1 :: Resource Sheet 2 :: Resource Sheet 3 :: Resource Sheet 4 :: Resource Sheet 5 :: Resource Sheet 6 :: Worksheet 1 :: Worksheet 2