EEO311

Learners Living in their world Humani9es

SCOPE & SEQUENCE UNIT PLANNING
Dura&on: 10 weeks

STUDENT NAMES: Emily Glen and Amber Medina

Weekly Focus:
Cross-curriculum priority - Sustainability

Key Concepts/Values
To understand that we are connected
to the places around us
Topic:
To take responsibility in caring for our
Our Global Footprint: the places around us
environment

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Year Level:
2

Big Idea:
To recognise that there are many dierent
types of environments and they play a role as
caretakers of their surroundings.

Teaching proposal
Through this unit it is envisaged that students will learn about: (What are the big ideas/understandings you want to address for this
topic?)

As students progress through the Australian Curriculum, they begin to realise the signicant role they play within their
own communiMes and as a global ciMzen. In this sequence of lessons where level two students explore Our Global
Footprint: the places around us, they will begin to recognise the way that they are connected to dierent places in the
world and that their acMons aect the environments around them. According to the Department of Environment and
Heritage, environmental educaMon for sustainability is a concept encompassing a vision of educaMon that seeks to
empower people of all ages to assume responsibility for creaMng a sustainable future (2005, p. 2). Sustainability is
considered a priority within the Australian Curriculum as it is in the best interest of everyone to ensure the health and
wellbeing of Australia, our planet and the people within it. This unit of work provides students with the opportunity to
recognise that environments provide homes for people and animals and that we depend on many things that our land
produces (food, coXon, paper, fossil fuels). With this in mind, the overarching theme of sustainability is incredibly broad
and can be built upon throughout the many years of schooling. According to CuXer-Mackenzie & Hoepper (2014, p. 397),
sustainability explores both social and economic dimensions and our ecological footprint is inherently linked to quality of
life. This is further supported by the Sustainability Curriculum Framework (Department of the Environment, 2010, p. 4)
as it discusses the importance of educaMng students on how to contribute to a more sustainable future. Each acMvity
within this unit of work seeks to explore these key ideas in a meaningful and relevant way, promoMng deeper thinking
and creaMvity in nding soluMons.

Our sequence focuses specically on the direct impact that students can have in helping the environment and how their
choices have an impact beyond themselves. Hicks (2011, p. 11) suggests that by allowing students to imagine parMcular
scenarios and quesMons concerning sustainability issues, they are more likely to engage and nd it easier to think about
the long-term eects. The lessons that we have designed take this into account as students build on their knowledge by
rst thinking about places they are familiar with, such as their school. Students are encouraged to make use of their
inuence within the school by sharing their ideas on how to improve and care for the land that they have. This rich
acMvity guides students toward thinking about their role as acMve ciMzens in their community and how they have the
ability to bring about change with their voice and acMons. The next stepping-stone is their parMcipaMon in an excursion to
Edendale Farm where they experience a dierent environment rsthand, seeing the animals and plants that live there
and how they have something to oer us (e.g. worm farm, chickens laying eggs). They then move toward studying new
environments and compare the negaMve and posiMve impact humans can have on these dierent places. When
discussing sustainability in educaMon, Holdsworth & Sandri highlight the importance of providing a space within the
curriculum to explore new ways of thinking, quesMon and jusMfy world views and deeply reect on our personal posiMon
in society (2014, p. 49). Many of the tasks have strong links to civics and ciMzenship a
well as geography emphasising the way that sustainability can be used across a range of curriculum areas. Students must
think criMcally and creaMvely about ways that they can care for the environment. This also requires a level of empathy for
dierent environments and the people and animals within them, thus developing their social capability and ethical
understanding.

Understandings:
Key Skills
At the end of this unit, students will
At the conclusion of this unit students will be
understand that:
able to:
1. There are dierent environments with
Explain why parMcular places are
unique characterisMcs.
important to certain people including
2. Places are important to people
themselves
3. Our acMons can impact an environment
Describe the characterisMcs of
4. Environments can change over Mme
dierent environments
5. We are individually responsible for our
Discuss and evaluate the ways that
surroundings
students personally impact their
surroundings

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