e5 Phase : Engage, Explore, Explain,

*Develops shared norms *Determines readiness for learning

*Establishes learning goals *Develops metacognitive capacity
Blooms Taxonomy : Knowledge
Lessons/relation to other units
Learning Intentions
from AusVELS
What will students know or
Activities/Tasks
- Several lessons go over time,
be able to do after the
&
construct a catch up lesson at the
lesson?
Resources
end of each phase, if required
Success Criteria
How will you know?
Evidence?

Lesson 1 Natural Disasters - Define natural disaster

Tuning In

Introduce the topic

Get students interested in
the topic
Determine prior knowledge
Allow students to share
their knowledge about
natural disaster

- Recognize a range of
natural disasters

Understand that natural

disasters may
uncontrollable
Define what a natural
disaster is

Watch introductory clip on

natural disaster

https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=uOeMRFQAntA

Assessment
Formative
(Used to inform teaching and
learning during the learning
process, Examples include self and
peer assessment, learning journals,
rubrics etc)
Summative
(Point in time assessment such as
end of unit tests and assessment
tasks)

Diagnostic
Discover prior knowledge
Formative
Observe and note the types
of questions commonly asked
by students in regards to
their area of interest.

Create a mind map of what

students know (See appendix A)
below
Create a question sheet of what
they would like to know
List questions asked by
(5 questions & answer as we go
students that will further

Lesson 2 Word definitions

Finding Out/Sorting Out

Introduce language based on

natural disasters
Discuss and clarify the
meanings
Use ICT skills

Lesson 3 Creating a rubric

for assessment
Sorting Out Going further

Allow students to have a

voice in what they need to
know

- Know and understand what

each word means in relation
to the relevant natural
disaster by using ICT

For example: tectonic

plates, evacuation, seismic
waves, drought and erosion
etc.

- To be able to responsive
of what they need to know
- To be able to aware of
what they need to work
towards

through unit)

drive the lesson

- Creating a word search wall

Formative
- Monitor contributions that
students make
Observe what students begin

- Ongoing process where

students can continue adding
words onto the word wall. Word
wall will begin this lesson.
Recommended website:
http://www.biologydiscussion.co
m/essay/natural-and-manmade-disaster-and-theirimpact-on-environment/7134

- Class activity:

Marking off criteria on the

rubric that

- Formative

Create a rubric
(See Appendix B
below)

Teacher observations/

Mark off as we go through unit

Monitor students

Class involvement/

Begin to create an
assessment for criteria that
they can mark off as they
move through the unit

-To become more familiar

with the purpose and layout
of a rubric

contribution

e5 Phase: Explore, Explain, Elaborate

*Prompts inquiry *Structures Inquiry *Maintains session momentum
Blooms Taxonomy: Comprehension
Lessons/relation to other units from
Learning Intentions
Activities/Tasks
Assessment
AusVELS
What will students know or
Formative
- Some lessons go over time, create a
be able to do after the
(Used to inform teaching and
catch up lesson at the end of each
lesson?
learning during the learning
phase, if needed
Success Criteria
process, Examples include
How will you know?
self and peer assessment,
Evidence?
learning journals, rubrics etc)
Summative
(Point in time assessment
such as end of unit tests and
assessment tasks)
- Watch a video clip on
Lesson 4 Natural Disasters around
- Students will understand natural disasters:
Formative
the World
that there are different
https://www.youtube.com/w
- Get the students to place
types of natural disasters
atch?v=Obu5ntdjY8Q
the natural disasters in order
Sorting Out/ Going Further
and will discover that they
(2011, Recent Natural
according to the video

Looking at natural disasters that

have occurred around the world

Students will use their ICT skills

to collect information and gain
knowledge

Lesson 5- Natural DisastersFollow up

Going Further

Student will learn and identify

short, mid and long term effects
of natural disasters and impact
on the environment
Use ICT skills and a range of
resources to gain knowledge

are different
- Identifying natural
disasters

Student will be able to find

more information about
2013- to present, Recent
Natural Disasters
Identify short, mid and long
term impact on the
environment
Answer specific questions

Disasters)
- In groups of four or five,
choose one natural disaster
from the video and find out
3-5 facts about it,
*MUST INCLUDE
LOCATION OF COUNTRY
ON MAP FOR LATER USE

Continuing on;
Write down their findings

- Teacher observations
Observe how each group is
presenting their information

Formative
Teacher observations
Observe how each group is
presenting their information
Summative
Presentation as a group
(provide opportunities for
students to present or report
upon their learning
experiences and teacher
provides feedback on their

work)
Diagnostic
Lesson 6 Natural Disaster that has
occurred in Victoria (Bushfires)

Tuning In

Students will use their ICT skills

to collect information and gain
knowledge
An introductory lesson to
bushfires.
What are bushfires?
Where/why do they occur?
How do they cause social issues
to arise?
Students discuss then go online
to see where in Australia
bushfires occur.
Victorian focus; compile case
studies on Kinglake 2009 and
Ash Wednesday 1983 bushfires.
Research from internet.
How to minimize effect and

Students will be able to

know about the types of
natural disasters that
have occurred within
Victoria
Research and make a list
of dates, cities (towns)
and major destructions
caused by bushfires at
places named.
Students will search on
the website:
- http://www.australia.
gov.au/aboutaustralia/australianstory/naturaldisasters
-

Name and briefly

describe the types of
natural disasters that
have occurred in
Victoria

Assess students skills and

prior knowledge about
minimising bushfire risk to a
property
Formative
Teacher observations
- Class
involvement/contribution

consequences of bushfires?
Effect on the land, impact on
property.

Lesson 7 But how bushfires occur

and impact on environment?
Sorting Out
Students will use their ICT skills
to collect information and gain
knowledge

Students will be given first half

of lesson to complete activity

Students will investigate

the science of bushfires
and the impact of bushfires
on environments and
communities.

- Procedural writing skills to

list and describe the steps
involved in what makes a
bushfire occur.

- How bushfires occur.

Refer to GeoScience
Australia and the Bureau of
Meteorology for more
information

Students will be encouraged

to think deeply about what
they produce and the
teacher will provide small
group and one on one

Formative
- Teacher observations
- KWL CHART
(See appendix C
Below)

from previous lesson

Lesson 8- Follow up/ Investigation

Outdoor activities/ Experiment

Students relate learning to real

life situations

Fire triangle

There are three basic

components that a fire needs to
start and continue burning: fuel,
oxygen and heat.

Ask students to predict what

http://www.ga.gov.au/hazar
ds/bushfire/bushfirebasics/where.html
http://www.bom.gov.au/clim
ate/environ/fires.shtml

Explain to students that a

fire will not burn if one of
these components is
removed.
Ask students what might
happen if one of these
components was removed?
CSIRO: The Fire triangle
Victorian Curriculum and
Assessment Authority: Fire
triangle
http://www.bushfireeducati
on.vic.edu.au/for-

conferencing to ensure
each student is bringing
their learning together in
their work.
Students will be encouraged
to write a few sentences to
explain their thinking.

Students organize their

diary in the form of a
KWLH chart (What do I
know? What do I want to
know? What have I learnt?
How will I find out?).
Students will draw and label
the fire triangle and then
explain how fuel, oxygen
and heat might affect a
fire.

Formative
Brainstorming:
As a class brainstorm ways
that types of preparation is
needed to reduce risk during
a bushfire period.
Reflection:
Students will reflect on their
learning. I learned that...

these three elements might be?

Lesson 9 Bushfire preparedness and

awareness
Going further

Identify possible fire hazards

using examples from their own
homes, their school and local
area

Identify what materials, factors

and risks are associated with
bushfire events

Learning to live with the threat

of bushfires.

What do we do during a
bushfire?

How does a fire extinguisher

work?

I enjoyed/did not enjoy...

I want to know more about...
I was surprised to discover
that...

educators/learning-aboutbushfires/ump-learnact1.html
K
K Communicate key
messages about bushfire
prevention and raise
awareness
K
Assess risk of students
own home and apply this
knowledge broadly to
properties in bushfire
prone areas
Identify possible
prevention measures to
minimise loss
K

Identify possible
prevention measures to
minimize loss

How does a fire

extinguisher work? Try
this CSIRO Science by
experiment.
http://www.csiro.au/heli
x/sciencemail/activities
/FireExtinguisher.html
Participate in pair and
group discussion

Formative
- Teacher observations
-Monitor students
contributions check their
responses
Follow an inquiry based
approach to learning

Evaluate and develop key

messages and persuasive
arguments
Lesson 10 _ EXCURSION CFA
Effects of natural disasters
(See appendix F for School Excursion Policy
below)

- Pre Excursion session:

- General Questions for
introduction include:
- What is CFA?
- Why does it have an important
role in society?
- Understand what roles the Country
Fire Authority (CFA) and the
Department of Sustainability and
Environment (DSE)
- Students will be given the
opportunity to familiarise
themselves further with the CFA

- Determine impacts on the

community
The three areas
students will learn
about are:
K Bushfire Awareness
K Bushfire Prevention
Bushfire Planning

Formative
Research the effects of a
natural disaster
Can use same one chosen
for presentation
Students reflect on their
learning by completing a
Questionnaire and use 2-3
key ideas

Teachers observations of
student contributions
during the excursion
students reflect on the
excursion
Provide opportunities for
students to present or
report upon their learning
experiences and teacher
provides informal feedback

website. Furthermore,
familiarize themselves within the
areas
K
To contribute and
Lesson 11- Reflection of Bushfire K T
listen respectfully to class
excursion
and group discussions as well
K
as questioning and
responding openly to the
ideas of others.

Recount on information
learned at excursion
Discussion on CFAs role
in fire education

Formative
Monitor students knowledge
Teachers observations of
student contributions during
classroom discussions
Diagnostic
Students participate in and
contribute to discussions,
clarifying and interrogating
ideas, developing and supporting
arguments, sharing and
evaluating information,
experiences and opinions

e5 Phase : Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate

*Presents new content *Develops language and literacy *Strengthens connections

Lessons/relation to
other units from
AusVELS
- Some lessons go over
time, create a catch up
lesson at the end of
each phase, if needed

Lesson 12 Fire to
shape our land
Going Further
-

Blooms Taxonomy : Application

Learning Intentions
Activities/Tasks
What will students know or
be able to do after the
lesson?
Success Criteria
How will you know?
Evidence?

Identify Indigenous
perspectives on bushfires
Explore how fire was used
in the past and still is by
Indigenous people

Locate and
gather
K
How has European
information from
settlement affected the
a range of
way in which Indigenous
sources
people use fire?
internet, journal
Think critically about

Students share their opinions

on bushfire (is it just
destructive or is it both
beneficial and destructive) by
K
creating a poem, narrative,
picture storyboard etc.
Working in teams: Students
work effectively in different
teams and take on a variety of
roles to complete tasks of
varying length and complexity.
They work cooperatively to

Assessment
Formative
(Used to inform teaching and learning
during the learning process, Examples
include self and peer assessment, learning
journals, rubrics etc)
Summative
(Point in time assessment such as end of
unit tests and assessment tasks)
K
K
K

Formative
Teacher questioning

Group engagement and discussion

- Teacher observations of students
contributions during class discussions
- Accuracy of dates and major disasters
Students record their response to the
Set of questions in their inquiry book or

articles, books
-

Further clarify
or extend
through
questioning

Develop research
and information
literacy skills

How can
bushfires be
important for the
environment?

Lesson 13
WORLDWIDE NATURAL
DISATERS
What happened around
the world?

bushfires and their effect

on the environment

Students will understand

that there are different
types of natural disasters
and will discover that they
are different
- Identifying natural

allocate tasks and develop

timelines.

Creating a graph of natural

disasters that occurred in the
country chosen and how many of
each one compare to Australia
Students should be pared
according to their own

kidblog.org (if applicable)

Formative
- Teacher observations
- Accuracy of dates and major disasters
Summative
Creating a model
Power point presentation

Organize and
represent
information

preference
to create a presentation
(the presentation will consist of
two parts: firstly they will
create a model of their natural
disaster explaining how it
happens. The second part will
require them to work on a power
point to explore their chosen
natural disaster. )

Peer Assessment
(See rubric Appendix D)
below

Student will be able to

compare and create Venn
diagram
Students to be able to
organise information visually
so they are able to see the
relationships between
chosen country and
Australia

- Compare both graphs side by

side and make notes of
differences

Formative

Use ICT tools

Lesson 14 How
many where?
-

disasters

Comparing data
Compare the
amount of natural
disasters that
occurred in the
chosen country,
to Australia by
using graphs

e5 Phase: Elaborate, Evaluate

- Teacher observations
Create Venn diagram
(See Appendix E below)
- Comparing data

*Facilitates substantive conversation *Cultivates higher order thinking *Monitors progress

Blooms Taxonomy: Analysing and Synthesizing
Lessons/relation to other units from
Learning Intentions
Activities/Tasks
Assessment
AusVELS
What will students know or
Formative
- Some lessons go over time, create a
be able to do after the
(Used to inform teaching and
catch up lesson at the end of each phase,
lesson?
learning during the learning
if needed
Success Criteria
process, Examples include self
How will you know?
and peer assessment, learning
Evidence?
journals, rubrics etc)
Summative
(Point in time assessment such
as end of unit tests and
assessment tasks)
Lesson 15 Community perspectives,
PROTECTION SCHEMES and bushfire
management
Going Further
-

Explain how different

organisations help rebuild towns
and manage bush fire recovery

Students understand the

importance, benefits and
support that are provided by
local community projects in
rebuilding communities after
a natural disaster such as a
bush fire.

To work in small groups

that encourage creative
thinking strategies in
response to the questions
asked and concepts
discussed throughout this
Unit.
To work in a class
environment and culture

Formative
Teachers observations of
student contributions during
classroom discussions
Students record their
response to the set of
questions in their inquiry

To understand and use a

collaborative ICT tool to create
interactive group mind maps.

that encourages the

contribution of ideas and
thought provoking
responses/insights to the
resources provided and
questions asked
throughout the Unit.

book
Groups choose how they
intend to explain and
represent their youth
community organization or
project to the class

To contribute and listen

respectfully to class and
group discussions as well as
questioning and responding
openly to the ideas of others.

e5 Phase: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate

*Assess performance against standards *Facilitates student self assessment
Blooms Taxonomy: Evaluation
Lessons/relation to other units from
Learning Intentions
Activities/Tasks
Assessment
AusVELS
What will students know or
Formative
- Some lessons go over time, create a
be able to do after the
(Used to inform teaching
catch up lesson at the end of each phase,
lesson?
and learning during the
if needed
Success Criteria
learning process, Examples
How will you know?
include self and peer
Evidence?
assessment, learning

Lesson 16 Have I found out what

I wanted to know?
Moving On
- See if all students questions have been
answered

Lesson 17 Have I succeed in

what I need to know? Have I
found out what I wanted to know?
-

See if all students questions have

Students will be able to

reflect on their learning by
completing a questionnaire
Able to create poster about
draws together their
learning from this unit.

Students will be able to

complete the rubrics
Reflection on key
understandings

Group task
Completing
questionnaire
Examples could be
creating a poster
-

journals, rubrics etc)

Summative
(Point in time assessment
such as end of unit tests and
assessment tasks)
This lesson fits into the
reflection stage of inquiry.
In this class, students
reflect on their learning by
completing a questionnaire
about the unit.
They use 2-3 key
ideas/learning from the Unit
and produce a piece of creating
a poster, written work or new
media, which draws together
their learning from this Unit.

Get out rubric and see if

Formative
you have marked off
K
Student teacher
everything on your list
conferencing of ideas
Get questionnaire sheet
Personalized piece reflects
and see if you have

been answered
See if all students have achieved
completing their rubric
- Catch up on any final questions
that need answering and completing
the rubric

found out what you

want to know
(See appendix H)

key understandings and is

well presented