Jessica Cassidy (S00206692) & Jody Jorgensen (S00206057) EDSS341 – Assignment 3

regardless of whether they are human or man-made. The unit does provide teachers will multiple sources to guide them in the teaching of the unit,
however it is absolutely essential that the teacher knows the states and territories of Australia, including all of the capital cities. Students will be provided
with inquiry questions that will need guidance and scaffolding so that they are able to be successful in their learning journey of this unit. The teacher will
need to be able to understand what the inquiry questions are asking, and know what additional resources would be appropriate to guide those students
who require extra scaffolding to understand what is expected of them within the activities. The teacher will also need to know the most effective way for
the students to represent their geographical and mathematical data that they collect. To have this unit be successfully taught, the teacher would need to
read through the whole unit prior to teaching it, that way they know what the students are expected to do so they can effectively teach the students the
content that they need to be able to achieve their learning objectives and learning intentions.

This unit of work should be implemented within a safe and supportive learning environment that caters for the diverse needs of all students. The teacher
would need to have background knowledge on who their students are and their academic abilities. The environment that this unit plan is taught in would
need to promote equity, excellence and diversity. It should also be acknowledged by all teachers implementing this unit plan, that it does contain content
about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait People, and may contain images or videos of people who may now be deceased. Cultural respect should always
be shown and represented by the teacher when teaching this type of content, most importantly when acknowledging the traditional owners of the land.
Student prior knowledge:
Students will use their prior knowledge that they acquired in Year 2 to recognise the states and territories of Australia, and where they are located on the
map. Students would already have the skills to research and present results through observations and ICT sources that they have been provided with
(Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2014). Students will also be able to recognise that places have meaning and that they can
have importance to certain groups of people (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2014). Students would also use their prior
knowledge to represent data and the location of places by using graphs, tables and maps (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority,
2014). Using the knowledge that they have previously acquired, students will use geographical information that they have either been provided with or
have sourced themselves, to help interpret their findings (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2014).
Learning Objectives:
To investigate how Australia can be represented on a map as states and territories and investigate the geographical location of capital cities and regional
centres around Australia. To explore and identify the major national features of Australia, including whether they are either a natural or human feature,
and locate them on an Australian map within their respective state or territory. Commented [JC1]: AITSL Standard 3.1: Demonstrated here
is the learning objective for the overall unit. This is the overall
Learning Intentions: learning goal for the unit that the students will be aiming to
In this learning unit, we will be learning about the different states and territories of Australia, and the different natural and human major national features achieve.
that are within Australia.
Connected curriculum:
Within this learning sequence, there are two learnings areas of the Australian curriculum that are connected. The main focus of this learning sequence is
around HASS, and the substrand Geography. The students will be looking at the different states and territories of Australia and the major national
features - both natural and human, within Australia (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2014). Gathering data statistics of
different aspects of the two focus areas; states and territories and the major national features, the learning area of Mathematics is integrated.
Jessica Cassidy (S00206692) & Jody Jorgensen (S00206057)
individually, however the capital cities will be
answered collaboratively as a class.
Major National Features of Australia
• Show the YouTube Video that highlights the
different human and natural features of
Australia
• Giving students their own blank map of
Australia, get the students to watch the video
again so they can record the major national
features that may be within the different states
or territories
• If students would like, the video can be paused
each time to allow them to record their
answers in to the correct state
• Inquiry Questions
o Have the students heard of all of these
major national features before?
o Which feature sounds the most
interesting?
• Hand out mini cards that have pictures and
names of each of the major national features
that the students can categorise into their
respective states. Students can keep these
cards for future reference.
EDSS341 – Assignment 3
Assessment for Major National Features of
Learning: Teacher Australia VIDEO:
will be able to (MacGregor, 2015) Commented [JC5]: AITSL Standard 3.4: Throughout this
determine if the unit, many resources have been selected to be used within
each individual part of the unit. The particular resource that has
students are able to been chosen here is a video for the students to watch
correctly identify the collaboratively with the class.
states and
territories of Commented [JC2]: AITSL Standard 1.5: Demonstrates
differentiation for those students who work more effectively
Australia and when there is ICT involved. Also caters for those students who
successfully can’t record their answers as quickly by pausing the video to
provide them with extra time.
categorise the
AITSL Standard 2.6: Demonstrates the integration of ICT into
major national the lesson sequence
features from the AITSL Standard 3.3: Demonstrates the teaching strategy of
integrating ICT within the lesson. Using a range of teaching
video. Students
strategies keeps students more engaged with the content that
responses will act they are learning about.
AITSL Standard 4.5: Demonstrating to students how to safely,
as evidence to
responsibly and ethically use ICT within the classroom.
inform future
Commented [JC3]: AITSL Standard 3.3: Demonstrates the
learning activities
utilisation of inquiry questions. Inquiry questions are an
for the unit. effective teaching strategy that are used within the classroom
to highly engage students within the learning activity.
Commented [JC4]: AITSL Standard 1.5: This activity
differentiates and caters for those students with specific
learning needs, in particular those students who are more
visual learners. These students may need visual cues or
references to be able to identify what the teacher is talking to
the class about. These cards are available to these students to
use for future reference, therefore these students are able to
keep these to support their learning throughout the unit and the
assessment.
AITSL Standard 3.4: Another example of a particular resource
being selected and used within the lesson and/or unit. These
cards will be specifically useful to the students for when they
are completing their assessment at the end of unit. The
students can also use these cards for future reference in case
they can’t remember what a particular major national feature
looks like.
 Jessica Cassidy (S00206692) & Jody Jorgensen (S00206057) EDSS341 – Assignment 3

Finding Out Gradual Release Map of Australia - Significant Places Assessment as Map of Australia: Refer to
of Responsibility • Globes will be placed on each group of tables. Learning: The Appendix 1 Commented [JC15]: AITSL Standard 3.4: Students are
Students are to locate where Australia is on teacher will be given another resource that has been selected to support them
with their learning.
the globe. This is determining if the students taking anecdotal Commented [JC6]: AITSL Standard 3.4: Students are
Murdoch Model of can identify what Australia looks like and notes on whether
physically given a globe to support them in visually being able
Inquiry where it is located. the students are to locate the country of Australia. This resource has been

• Map of Australia projected onto the interactive able to transfer the selected by the teacher and is being used by the students.

whiteboard knowledge that they Commented [JC7]: AITSL Standard 2.6: Integration of

Group Work • Similar to the ‘Tuning In’ activity, the students acquired in the Interactive Whiteboard to further engage students.

will be required to collaboratively name the ‘tuning in’ stage, to

different states and territories of Australia complete this

• Inquiry Questions activity. Identifying

o What are the capital cities for each of if the students are
the states and territories? able to complete
• As a class identify the capital cities for each the different
state and territory of Australia. Students can activities
have an Atlas if they need it to refer to. independently,
• Exploring Google Earth on Interactive without guidance or
Whiteboard. Investigating how the whole minimal instruction. Commented [JC14]: AITSL Standard 5.1: The teacher is
country looks like from a bird’s eye view. Zoom demonstrating how they will be assessing student learning at
this stage of the unit.
in on each state and ask the following Commented [JC8]: AITSL Standards 2.6 & 4.5: Integration
o Inquiry Questions

and demonstration of how to safely use ICT with the class.
§ Can any major national features

that we previously identified be

seen?

§ What do the major national

features look like up close? Commented [JC9]: AITSL Standard 3.3: Integration of
inquiry questions are being used. Inquiry questions are an
effective teaching strategy.
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians Map of Australia:
Map of Australia: Refer to
• Students look into how Australia can be
Appendix 3. Commented [JC16]: AITSL Standard 3.4: Demonstration of
represented in different ways by looking at a
the selection and utilisation of another resource within the unit.
map of Indigenous Australia.



Jessica Cassidy (S00206692) & Jody Jorgensen (S00206057) EDSS341 – Assignment 3

• Exploring how each of the boundaries

represents a different traditional tongue/dialect
(language)
o Investigate into why there are more
boundaries and the differences
between each of the boundaries.
Different languages for each boundary
area. The oral traditions of the
Indigenous people were used to map
their landscapes
• Inquiry Questions
o What are the differences between this
Indigenous map and the more
commonly known map of Australia?
o What do each of these boundaries
mean?
o Which map has more boundaries?
o Why do you think there are more
boundaries on the Indigenous map?
o How many boundary areas are within
each state?
o Which state has the most boundary
areas? Commented [JC10]: AITSL Standards 1.4 & 2.4:
• Students will record their answers to the Demonstration of the integration of the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander culture. Students are developing their
inquiry questions knowledge, understanding and respect for their culture, history
• Using the data that they have collected for and language.

each state from the inquiry questions, students

are to create column graphs using an ICT

device, and the program Excel to create the Commented [JC11]: AITSL Standard 2.5: Demonstration of

column graphs students collating the answers that they have recorded and
merging these into column graphs. The teacher has
Major National Features demonstrated how they have got the students to record their
Resources: answers using a literacy strategy of inquiry questions, and then
using those answers, the students have to use the numeracy
Major National Features: Uluru Resources: (How strategy of displaying information with a column graph to
• Inquiry Questions Uluru came to be, ABC represent their answers to the different questions.

Education, n.d.) AITSL Standard 4.5: Teacher is providing students with the
opportunity to use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically.
Jessica Cassidy (S00206692) & Jody Jorgensen (S00206057) EDSS341 – Assignment 3

o What are the major national features of Great Barrier Reef

each state? Resources: (Cassidy,
• Finding out prior knowledge for what they 2018) and (The Great
know. Go through each state as a class Barrier Reef: World’s
• What are the major features of each state and largest living organism,
investigate the major national features, why ABC Education, n.d.)
are they a major national feature, are they Kakadu Resource: (Kakadu
natural or man-made? Cultural significance? History in rock art, ABC
Which state/s are they in? Education, n.d.)
o Uluru Blue Mountains:
o Great Barrier Reef (Landforms of the Blue
o Blue Mountains Mountains, ABC Education,
o Kakadu n.d.)
o The Daintree The Daintree: (Discover the
o The Bungle Bungles Daintree’s secrets, ABC
o The Pinnacles Education, n.d.) and (The
o Sydney Opera House Assessment as Daintree, where rainforest Commented [JC12]: AITSL Standards 1.4 & 2.4: Students
and reef meet, ABC are developing their knowledge and understanding on the
Learning: Teacher cultural significance of certain Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Education, n.d.) Islander major national features.
will use the Gradual
Survey The Bungle Bungles: AITSL Standards: 2.6 & 4.5: The teacher has integrated ICT
Release of (Attenborough, 2008) into this part of the unit by requiring students to research each
• Students are to create a survey for their of the major national features, using the websites personally
parents to see what they know for each state Responsibility sourced and recommended by the teacher. This allows for
model here to The Pinnacles: (Australia's students to use ICT safely, ethically and responsibly.
in regards to the major national features. Coral Coast, 2016)
Students will also ask their parents which determine if the Commented [JC17]: AITSL Standard 3.4: The teacher has
students can selected a wide range of resources for the students to use
national features they would like to visit most within their research.
for a holiday. successfully create
• Students generate a table and present their a survey and
data within a table. generate the
• Students then create a graph with the results responses to
from the table, interpreting their results, did the formulate a range
parents know what major national features
of responses that
are? If so how many did they know from each
will guide their
state? Commented [JC13]: AITSL Standard 2.5: Within this activity
• The following inquiry questions will be there is a range of literacy and numeracy strategies being
used.
presented to the students BEFORE they hand