Bushfire and ice
View Sequence overviewStudents will:
- discuss how different groups in the community are affected by bushfires.
- design a fire plan for a local community.
- review the movement of carbon through the Earth’s spheres.
- research ways to reduce a person's carbon footprint.
Students will represent their understanding as they:
- record the positive and negative aspects of shutting off a power supply in extreme weather events.
- prepare a fire action plan for an identified group in the community.
- prepare and present a plan to reduce the likelihood of bushfires by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
In this lesson, assessment is summative.
Students working at the achievement standard should:
- be able to explain how interactions within and between Earth’s sphere affect the carbon cycle.
- describe how they have addressed intercultural considerations when using secondary data.
- select and construct appropriate representations to organise, process and summarise data and information.
- analyse and connect data and information to identify and explain patterns, trends, relationships, and anomalies.
- analyse the impact of assumptions and sources of error in methods and evaluate the validity of conclusions and claims.
- construct logical arguments based on evidence to support conclusions and evaluate claims.
- select and use content, language, and text features effectively to achieve their purpose when communicating their ideas, findings, and arguments to specific audiences.
Refer to the Australian Curriculum content links on the Our design decisions tab for further information.
Whole class
Access to AV equipment and YouTube
Each group
Access to laptops and software to prepare infographics or brochures
Each student
Individual science notebooks or computers
Lesson
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkScience education consists of a series of key ideas and core concepts that can explain objects, events and phenomena and link them to the experiences encountered by students in their lives. The purpose of the Anchor routine is to identify and link students’ learning to these ideas and concepts in a way that builds and deepens their understanding.
When designing the Act phase of a teaching sequence, consider the core concepts and key ideas that are relevant. The Anchor routine provides an opportunity to collate and revise the key knowledge and skills students have learned, in a way that emphasises the importance of science as a human endeavour.
Bushfire science
Revisit the key learning that was covered during this sequence, by drawing a mind map that links the key ideas:
- Combustion requires fuel, oxygen and an ignition point.
- Combustion products are carbon dioxide and water.
- Global warming is increasing the frequency of bushfires (ice core evidence).
- The intensity of fire can be affected by topography, weather and fuel.
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkEach student comes to the classroom with experiences made up from science-related knowledge, attitudes, experiences and resources in their life. The Connect routine is designed to tap into these experiences, and that of their wider community. It is also an opportunity to yarn with community leaders (where appropriate) to gain an understanding of the student’s lives, languages and interests. In the Act phase, this routine reconnects with the science capital of students so students can appreciate the relevance of their learning and the agency to make decisions and take action.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider the everyday occurrences, phenomena and experiences that might relate to the science that they have learned. How could students show agency in these areas?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkImpact of bushfires
Revisit the T-diagrams students created in the Launch phase and discuss the impact of bushfires in the local regions.
- How are people directly affected by bushfire?
- What are the indirect effects of bushfire on the community?
- What does our community currently know about bushfires and what to do in a bushfire event?
- Does anyone have a bushfire plan?
- Do holiday makers need a bushfire plan?
- Which local areas are most at risk? Remind students of the topography and the fuel risk in the area.
- Where could people go if a bushfire was threatening our area?
- How could we communicate this to locals and visitors?
Optional: Discuss the approach used by areas in the US—shutting off the main power supply during high-risk weather. Watch the video Public safety power shutoff: a tool of last resort (3:00). Discuss the positive and negative aspects of this approach including who is affected and how they are affected.
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkWhen students use their knowledge and skills in new ways, they also have an opportunity to develop and use their creative and critical thinking skills. With scaffolded support, they can become more confident to work in a team and develop a stronger sense of autonomy. This results in stronger student outcomes, attitudes and sense of empowerment.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider what activity would allow students to showcase their knowledge and skills. Consider the current abilities of your students. What are they capable of explaining? What props could they design or build that would support their explanations? How much information would they need in their design brief to support their thinking? How does this connect with their lives and interests?
A key part of Science Inquiry, the Communicate routine provides students with an opportunity to communicate their ideas effectively to others. It allows students a chance to show their learning to members of their community and provides a sense of belonging. It also encourages students to have a sense of responsibility to share their understanding of science and to use this to provide a positive influence in the community.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider who might be connected to the students that have an interest in science. Who in their lives could share their learning? What forum could be used to build an enthusiasm for science. Are there members of the community (parents, teachers, peers or wider community) who would provide a link to future science careers?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkAction plan
Outline the two Act(ions) that students can use to communicate ways to reduce the impact and likelihood of a bushfire.
Part A—Fire action plan
Students need to prepare a fire action plan for themselves, members of their community, or visitors to the region.
Research local resources
Identify if the local fire authorities have resources provided for particular audiences that can be modified for a different audience.
Define the audience
Students should identify who could be their audience for the fire action plan. This may include:
- primary school students.
- their school peers.
- local businesses.
- older members of the community.
- community cultural groups.
- parents and their peers.
- visitors to the area.
Identify where their audience will see this information. Where will they visit? What information style will the audience use/see?
Identify what form of the fire action plan would be most appropriate for their audience:
- Persuasive texts
- Infographics
- Video presentation
- Brochures
- Storybook
- Advertisements
- News broadcast
- Website page
- Public education campaign
- Local environment plan
Identify the information that should be included in the student’s fire action plan that allows them to show what they have learned in this teaching sequence.
This may include explanations of:
- What is a bushfire?
- Combustion reactions.
- How will bushfires behave in the local area?
- Consider the biomass in the local environment, local climate, and when the risk is higher than usual.
- What to do in the event of a bushfire.
- Students should investigate any plans made by the local council and community groups.
- Who to contact for more information.
Part B—Local carbon plan
Students need to plan a way to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and therefore reduce the likelihood of bushfires in the future and present this to a particular audience (that could include peers, school leaders, or local government representatives).
Students use a carbon footprint calculator to determine the base levels of carbon that they currently contribute to the atmosphere. This can be repeated several times with students modifying their activities in the lifestyle to measure how much they can reduce their carbon footprint.
Students’ presentations could:
- provide evidence of how carbon dioxide levels have changed over time.
- discuss the greenhouse effect and how it supports life on Earth.
- use the carbon cycle to describe factors that are contributing to the increased levels of carbon dioxide.
- describe at least two ways that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could be reduced and how much this would make a difference.
- describe one way that the local community could contribute to the reduction in carbon dioxide levels and the potential impact of this in reducing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Reflect on this lesson
You might:
- consider the role of science communicators in informing the public of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
- develop individual bushfire plans.
- develop ways to reduce individual carbon footprints.