Unit

Plan: Geography- Biomes

Teacher Details

Unit Title

Year Level

Semester/Duration of unit

Jo Blackham / Elise Lavers

Biomes, Agriculture and Food Security

Term 2

What are students expected to learn?

Big ideas of the unit
Biomes vary in traits according to location, they serve different purposes and they support different life.
People use biomes for food and fibre production, and the ways in which this is done has changed over time.
Food security; threats and solutions for global attainment.

Inquiry questions
1. What is the role of the biotic environment in relation to food and fibre production?
2. How do humans manipulate biomes to produce resources such as food and textiles?
3. What are the future implications of changes in biotic environments for food and fibre production?
4. Are current agriculture practices in Australia and around the world sustainable for achieving global food security?

Achievement Standards
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Explain how geographical processes change the characteristics of places.

Predict changes in the characteristics of places over time
Identify the possible implications of change for the future
Analyse interconnections between people, places and environments
Analyse alternative strategies to a geographical challenge using environmental, social and economic criteria and propose and justify a response.
Identify geographically significant questions to frame an inquiry
Collect and evaluate a range of primary and secondary sources and select relevant geographical data and information to answer inquiry questions

Unit Outcomes: (From Year Level description summary of key points)

By the end of this unit, students will:
Know:

Understand:

Do:

- The distribution and characteristics of biomes as

regions with distinctive climates, soils, vegetation
and productivity (ACHGK060)

- The human alteration of biomes to produce food,

industrial materials and fibres, and the environmental
effects of these alterations (ACHGK061)

-Develop geographically significant questions and

-The environmental, economic and technological

factors that influence crop yields in Australia and
across the world (ACHGK062)

- The capacity of the worlds environments to

sustainably feed the projected future population to
achieve food security for Australia and the world
(ACHGK064)

- The challenges to food production, including land

and water degradation, shortage of fresh water,
competing land uses, and climate change, for
Australia and other areas of the world (ACHGK063)

plan an inquiry that identifies and applies appropriate

geographical methodologies and concepts.
(ACHGS063)
- Collect, select, record and organise relevant
geographical data and information, using ethical
protocols, from a range of appropriate primary and
secondary sources (ACHGS064)
- Apply geographical concepts to synthesise
information from various sources and draw
conclusions based on the Analysis of data and
information, taking into account alternative points of
view (ACHGS068)

What does the expected learning look like at this year level? [Reference to AC: selected CCPs, GCs & CDs]

Cross-curriculum priorities (3)

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander
histories and cultures
Asia and Australias engagement with
Asia
Sustainability

General capabilities (7)

Literacy

Numeracy
ICT Capability
Critical and Creative thinking
Ethical Behaviour
Personal and Social Capability
Intercultural Understanding

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What do students bring? - How can I find out?

Context community factors; site factors; class with diverse cultural backgrounds; access to ICT facilities at school and home
Relevant Data and Prior Learning (both class and individual) - bridging or extension skills and understandings to assist with differentiation.

- This unit is for a year 9 class within a government R-12 school, in a very remote location, with 29% indigenous enrolment.
- The students bring a broad range of skills and abilities.
- Varying levels of literacy, including reading ability and vocabulary.
- 4 Indigenous students within the class.
- Some students with very poor attendance.
- Not all have access to a tablet, but some do have their own for at school.
- Good ICT facilities available at school, though limited internet speed.
- Most students were introduced to geographical concepts in yr 8 HASS on landforms.

How will the learning be assessed? How will students demonstrate their learning?
Assessment strategies and tasks
Before

During

After

Collation of word wall words, definitions and

pics
On-going glossary
Pre-assessment question sheets.

Regular marking
Exit Cards
Discussions
Warm-ups
Fieldtrips
Observations of class contribution and work.

Poster Assignment
Peer assessment of biomes poster
Short test
Individual Inquiry: Food Security News Report
Student Evaluation sheet on the teaching and
learning of the unit.

Learning Plan: What does the Learning Look Like?

Remember to consider the following in your planning:
Engage/Tuning in - make links with students past and present learning experiences.
Explore/Finding Out - provide students with a common base of learning experiences so that they can actively explore the text, share experiences and
interpretations, develop common understandings; and also extend/deepen their knowledge by making connections with other texts.
Explain/Sorting Out - verbalise and illustrate the concepts they have been exploring using appropriate metalanguage.
Elaborate/Going Further - extending understandings of the main concepts and demonstrating skills and knowledge.
Evaluate/Going Further - assess their own learning, understanding and abilities in the topic.
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Regular Warm up Activities to revisit content from previous lesson or to introduce new language for the present lesson.
Explanation and definitions given for new key terms for growing glossary.
Explicit teaching through powerpoints and hand outs to introduce new concepts.
New skills (both practical and theoretical) will be taught through modelling and scaffolding (I do, we do, you do).
Some lessons will lend themselves to differentiation of tasks, where developing students can receive more support and modelling, while students of
higher readiness can continue will less support.

Differentiation

Lessons taught verbally and visually, with hand-outs, powerpoints, and teacher explanations to suit different learning styles.
Pre-assessment used where possible to determine student readiness for a task, and alter the challenges given to individual students.

What will challenge, engage and support learning?

Relevant resources etc

Excursions as often as possible outdoor fieldwork and interviews with local farmers, to make the content real rather than abstract.
Collecting raw data running surveys on food security.
Lots of visuals photos, powerpoints, videos.

Ways to monitor learning

Aim to get to each student each lesson for formative assessment.

Check books for completed and missing work at the end of every odd week.
Make the learning visible through assessment pieces.
Check for understanding through warm-up activities and exit cards.

Unit Overview
Week:

Key Concepts

1.
What is a Biome?
Characteristics and
Differences Between
Biomes.

2.

Teaching strategies/ learning activities

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Biomes Powerpoint + student note taking

Class group research on biomes from powerpoint & textbooks. Present

information to the class.

Begin Word Wall

Introduce and begin poster research assignment on individual Biomes. Explain

assignment sheet, rubric and group task delegation sheet.

Teach Fieldwork skills via smart board presentation and youtube video. Assign
fieldwork tasks for excursion.

Add fieldwork terms to glossary. Practice drawing annotated mud maps of a

place they love. Add glossary terms to word wall. Clarify group biomes poster
assignment. Visit each group to check in with their progress.

Local Biome Fieldwork.

Local fieldwork excursion to wetlands and dunes.

Analysis of fieldwork data via Ven-Diagram to compare the 2 sites, then brief
report written.

3.
Biomes and mapping them.

Continue with Group Assignment. PLUS give pre-assessment for mapping

lesson (brief exit card to establish their mapping knowledge).

Mapping Biomes the influence of Lattitude & Altitude. Mapping practice

tasks for finding lat/long locations, and for using climate data to determine
biome locations. Differentiated according to readiness, as determined by last
lessons questions.

Finish Group poster assignment.

Assessment
- Observe formative
presentations of Biomes to the
class.

- Formative mud map task.

- Formative fieldwork report
homework task.
- Formative meetings with
poster groups to check for
equal task distribution and
progress.
- Observations of fieldwork
participation.
- Summative Poster Due
Thursday L1
-formative assessment to
determine groups for
differentiated mapping skills
lesson.

4.
Manipulation of Biomes for
food production.

Thursday double = teach other students from biome posters. Give poster to
another group. What would you pack to stay at that biome? Review a third
groups responses.

How land is cleared and burnt and used to grow desired crops, then the area
revegetates as the people move on or the crop yield becomes unsuccessful
links to Aboriginal Australians and their way of life.

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5.

Local Food Production

Aquaculture and individual
Inquiry.

- Recap test
- Exit cards as formative
assessment and preassessment.

What factors affect food production? Discuss rainfall, soil quality, climate,
competing land use. Bring in supermarket products (eg coffee, wheat cereal,
bananas, kangaroo, fish). Have a world map on the smart board, and each desk
represents a certain country with a specific climate. What regions can those
foods be grown? What if irrigation is used, where can they be grown now?
What if less land is needed? What if fish can be produced inland? What about
hydroponics? What about damning of water occurs upstream? What about
climate change? Give each student a product, have them stand in a biome, and
narrate a story that forces the students to move according to where their product
can now be made. Link key biomes with food they produce.

Explicitely teach how biomes can be manipulated for food and fibre production.
Show videos, and hand out a text to be highlighted for key points. Exit card on
todays lesson and what students already know about local indigenous food.

Indigenous perspective (Guest Speaker preferably). What types of food

naturally occurred in the Ceduna area before white invasion/ settlement? How
have food gathering methods been manipulated to todays agriculture? Bush
Tucker Sue Haseldine? Ask Julie. Or NRM board.

RECAP LESSON: what have we learnt about biomes? What have we learnt
about manipulation of biomes for food production?

Open lesson with a discussion about what foods are produced in Ceduna area.
What factors make those foods suited to this area? Give answers. Visit
aquaculture shed. Finish by formulating questions to give to local farmer about
how farming has changed and why.

Excursion to local farm. Oyster leases at Denial Bay / butcher/ fish shop/

- class discussions
- observations.

View old and current machinery and techniques. Ask interview Qs and record
answers. Foodland where does the fresh produce and milk etc come from?
Links in the production chain.

6.

7.

Advancements in
Agriculture

Food Security & Threats to

it.

Introduce Inquiry assignment. Individual news report to be submitted either

as a video or an article for National Geographic (differentiated by interest).
Explain What an inquiry question is and how to formulate a strong
geographical inquiry question. Must be on an issue relating to the production
of a certain crop in both Australia and another country. Give examples and
model formulation of questions on the board.

Begin individual inquiries. Final news report must include maps showing
growing regions (Perhaps via GIS programs??), graphs of climate data of the
regions, and threats to the future production of this crop. Also must attain their
own primary information on peoples opinions of food security and the future
of food production.

Teach how to create a survey. Create one as a class. All write down answers in - observations of class
books. Use online phone voting program to cast a vote and gain on the spot data participation.
about our survey. Continue with Individual Inquiries

The role of technology in food production. Case study: Genetically Modified

Maize that is drought tolerant and can be grown in different areas, including
Africas driest countries. Is it a good thing? Teach both sides of the argument,
and formulate a class debate. Provide resources for the debate to reduce
research time. Must include environmental, social, and economic arguments.

Continue with individual Inquiries

Teach how to read and analyse tables and graphs, and draw conclusions from
them. Give examples relating to agriculture, and allow students to have practice
time.

Define food security. Play video from Ms Tassel. Class Discussion about finite
planet with growing population is it sustainable? Is it possible? Demonstrate
this with a bag of smarties being divided by more and more students as their
area for food production gets smaller and smaller.

- Exit cards

7.

8.

Food Security & Threats to

it.

Connections of food
production with India Case
Study

Define food security. Play video from Ms Tassel. Class Discussion about finite
planet with growing population is it sustainable? Is it possible? Demonstrate
this with a bag of smarties being divided by more and more students as their
area for food production gets smaller and smaller.

Jigsaw activity. Break up into reading groups. Each reading group has a
designated section of text to read about a different threat to food security. Teach
another group about your threat. Second group takes 5 key
points about that threat, and teaches them to a third group. Continue until all
groups have at least 5 key points on every threat written in their book. Exit card
: what are the threats to food security?

Continue with individual inquiries. Borrow school cameras for filming.

Threats to biomes from human manipulation (eg raised water table and salinity,
lack of biodiversity, loss of habitat, eg teach in depth the example of Borneo
orangutans).

Mind map. What can the world do to aim for food security? What can Australia
do? What can individuals do? Then Surprise! Food Security in action = plant a
class garden bed in a pot plant outside the room for germinating food seeds.
Make a class roster for watering the plants.

Introduce food production in India. What are the issues for feeding their
growing population? Eg water, competing land-use, pollution. Video +
powerpoint.

Complete assessment of learning sheets. Includes test questions about biomes

and food security, as well as self reflection and assessment of my teaching.

Final Double Lesson, present news reports. Miss Lavers will mark in week 9
and e-mail results.

- Exit cards

- Individual Inquiries
- Assessment of learning
sheets
- Observations