Geography Year 7
General Capabilities Across the Curriculum
Teaching Resources
October 2020
Introduction
The following Geography project incorporates the teaching of four general capabilities;
literacy, numeracy, creative and critical thinking, and ethical understanding.
Each lesson will focus on building knowledge and skills to understand how vegetation in
our suburbs influences liveability. It is a collaborative project with students working in
groups to research, identify challenges, and present ideas and justification for action.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Overview of the project and inquiry into our values of greenery/green
spaces
Environmental impact
Guest speaker on the loss of Cockatoo habitat
Group presentation – brainstorm ideas for a local action project for the
presentation
Researching facts and identify key challenges
Literacy – Preview chart worksheet
Researching Social and health impacts
Ethical understanding – Jigsaw strategy
Gather information and data for presentation
Numeracy – Using of online data
Quiz questions for assessment next week
Creative and Critical thinking – Online Quiz
Student developed quiz
Formative assessment
Develop 3-minute presentation using data and justification of action (choice
of media)
Presentation of ideas for local action – invite local government
representative
Summative assessment
Assessment
Formative assessment - student-developed quiz (Week 8)
Summative assessment - group presentation (week 10).
Resource 1
Context of learning and
Geography project ‘Green Power.’
teaching
Year level
Year 7
Australian Curriculum
Unit 2: Place and liveability
Content
General Capability
Literacy: Comprehending and composing texts through
Outcome
listening, reading, and viewing element
Resource
Preview chart worksheet: Guides reading, research,
comprehension, find information, and learn vocabulary
Assessment and
Students will share some of their findings with their group
feedback tools
teaching their group something they have learnt that they
did not know before.
Justification for the
The resource is placed at the beginning of the project to
place of the resources
help students develop and practice their research skills,
in the project
finding and recording relevant information. As well they
share their new knowledge with the group, so they
practice accountability and collaboration.
Split-screen PowerPoint slide displayed to explain lesson content and general capability
Today we are learning about….
‘Green Power’
Today we are stretching our…
Research the impact of trees
on liveability
Literacy
(skill)
(content)
…muscles
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1. Look up this article on tree canopies https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-0617/tree-canopy-in-perth-how-hot-is-your-neighbourhood/9857710?nw=0
2. Find the information and fill in the boxes
Fill in the blanks:
‘The average ground temperatures of
different areas of Perth can vary by as
much as ……….. Celsius, and tree
……….. levels have a big influence on
how ….. your suburb feels.’
Fill in the blanks:
‘an increasing …….. to comply with strict
infill (new housing) development ……… is
putting canopy levels at ….. and
potentially turning up the ……. as a
consequence.’
What traditional element of Perth homes
According to CSIRO research scientist
is disappearing to make way for infill (new Peter Caccetta, what is the difference in
housing)?
degrees between the areas with no tree
canopy to the areas with full canopy
cover?
Which Local Government Area has the
What is the WA Planning Commission
lowest tree canopy coverage at just 8% of currently working on to identify trees for
its area?
retention before allowing development?
Apart from tree canopies, what other
elements make the land surface
temperature hotter?
What does it mean that Councils are
responsible for a ‘balancing act’? What
are they balancing?
List the three highest average land
surface temperature by Local
Government Area:
1.
2.
3.
List the three Local Government Areas
with the highest Tree canopy
percentage?
1.
2.
3.
What did you learn that was surprising to
you? Any new words? Write here new
things you learnt:
How did the article make you feel? Did it
give you any ideas? Write your thoughts
here, ready to share with your group:
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Resource 2
Context of learning
Geography project ‘Green Power.’
and teaching
Year level
Year 7
Australian
Unit 2: Place and liveability
Curriculum Content
General Capability
Ethical understanding – acknowledging sources and authors
Outcome
PowerPoint slide, Jigsaw Strategy – collaborative learning
Resource
strategy which groups and re-groups students to build their
collaborative skills
Assessment and
Students share their expert group findings and teach their
feedback tools
home group how to acknowledge specific sources
Justification for the
This resource is used in a lesson near the beginning of the
place of the
project to help students develop their inquiry skills and the
resources in the
ethics of acknowledging sources
project
Split-screen PowerPoint slide displayed to explain lesson content and general capability
Today we are learning about….
‘Green Power’
Acknowledging the source of
the information we use
(content)
Today we are stretching our…
Ethical understanding
(skill)
…muscles
R
5
6
esource: PowerPoint slide, Jigsaw Strategy
Activity: Jigsaw strategy for collaborative learning
1. Form students into groups of four. This group is their ‘home’ group. Each student is allocated a
number from one to four.
2. All the students re-group based on the number they were allocated and become the ‘expert’
group.
3. The expert groups are allocated a resource (newspaper article, book, website article, government
report) and are asked to work together to find out the best way to acknowledge that information
source in a school project. (20 mins)
4. An online link is provided showing referencing techniques
5. Students will re-join their home group and take it in turns to ‘teach’ the referencing technique they
have just learnt. (20mins)
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Resource 3
Context of learning and
Geography project ‘Green Power.’
teaching
Year level
Year 7
Australian Curriculum
Unit 2: Place and liveability
Content
General Capability
Creative and Critical thinking - Reflecting on prior
Outcome
learnings and transfer to a new context
Resource
Online quiz (using ‘Poll Everywhere’ app) To guide
collaborative learning and formative assessment
Assessment and
Students work in pairs to develop one true/false and one
feedback tools
multiple-choice question, based on what they have
learned so far. Students will upload the questions to the
online quiz app for the class quiz the following week.
Justification for the
This resource is used in a lesson mid-way through the
place of the resources
term to consolidate student learnings and assess levels of
in the project
understanding and capability
Split-screen PowerPoint slide displayed to explain lesson content and general capability
Today we are learning about….
‘Green Power’
Today we are stretching our…
Develop quiz to reflect upon and
Creative and Critical thinking
consolidate learnings
(skill)
(content)
…muscles
Resource: Online Quiz (Creative and Critical thinking)
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Activity: Online Quiz, PowerPoint Outline
1. Working with a partner
2. Develop one true/false and one multiple-choice question
3. Questions should reflect the material covered in class
4. Follow the directions to upload the questions to the online quiz program for the class quiz next
week
Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia https://www.ais.wa.edu.au/notosh-learningincubator-program retrieved 5-11-2020
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Resource 4
Context of learning and
Geography project ‘Green Power.’
teaching
Year level
Year 7
AC Content
Unit 2: Place and liveability
General Capability
Numeracy interpret various forms of data to understand
Outcome
and represent information
Resource
PowerPoint slide – guiding use of online data
To learn about navigating a dashboard with online data,
and practice finding information
Assessment and
The activity is initially whole of class, then students can
feedback tools
pair off or work individually to search for data
Justification for the
This exercise is placed in the project at the point where
place of the resources
students understand the key concepts and are ready to
in the project
source and apply relevant data to their presentation.
Split-screen PowerPoint slide displayed to explain lesson content and general capability
Today we are learning about….
‘Green Power’
Using online data
Today we are stretching our…
Numeracy
(skill)
(content)
…muscles
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Resource: PowerPoint for guided use of online data (Numeracy)
Activity: Learning about navigating a dashboard with tree canopy data by practising finding
information
1. Go to: https://www.dplh.wa.gov.au/urban-forest
2. Select ‘urban tree canopy dashboard.’
3. Select Tree Canopy button
4. City of Wanneroo
5. On your laptop find the answers to the questions on the slide
6. Repeat the exercise this time looking at the suburb where you live.
7. With a partner find the answers again
8. A further challenge is to find the canopy changes over time
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References
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2017). Australian Curriculum. Retrieved
from www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/#
Smith, J. (2017, Feb 9). Small Teaching Tip #11: The Benefits of Peer Teaching. Teaching and
Learning Team. Retrieved from https://tlt.cofc.edu/2017/02/09/small-teaching-tip-11/
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