Finding+Out

**Finding Out ** Students are to undertake experiences to assist them to gather new information about the topic. **Lesson One (45-60 mins) HUMANITIES – History / ENGLISH 'Fire to Shape Our Land'** Today’s lesson will focus around how fire was used in the past (and still is in part of Australia) by Indigenous people. To start the lesson read the poem “Kakadu Man” by Bill Neidjie and have the students brainstorm ideas about what they think it means. Students will then form into groups of 4 and start their investigations into how Indigenous people used fire effectively to manage the land and ecosystems in which they lived before European settlement. Students are encouraged to explicitly explore these practices and why they have changed through the use of internet sites and books that are already in the classroom. Once research has been completed, students will then work individually to create their own poem about what fire means to them based on the information that they have just learnt. This activity is designed to see if there are differing opinions on fire and whether it can be used for good or if it is something that only results in complete devastation. Invite students to share their work with others and perhaps suggest that all pieces can be published and made into a class book. To understand that bushfires have long been a part of Australian history by Indigenous people and what the practices were. To encourage students to think critically about bushfires and the effect on Australian bush conservation. Further investigation will be carried out on this later in the unit. //**Groupings**// Small groups, Individual // How did Indigenous people use fire for effective land management? // // How has European settlement affected the way in which Indigenous people use fire? // // Do you think bushfires can be important for the environment? //
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HUMANITIES – History 'Back in Time'** Students will be divided into pairs to investigate the history of bushfires in Victoria. Each group will be responsible for researching a specific decade set by the teacher (eg. 1900-1910) and create a timeline of events that will be published and displayed on ‘The Wall’, which was created in an earlier class. Each group will be directed to conduct their enquiries through [|www.dse.vic.gov.au] to identify the date and year of the fire, how many hectares of land was lost and any other significant information they think is appropriate. Using A4 paper the pairs will record the information that they have found and then come together as a whole class to organise the dates in chronological order. To gain an understanding of the history of bushfires, why it is important to be familiar with them and how they have shaped our landscape. Pairs, whole class // Why is it important to know the history of bushfires? // // What effect do bushfires that have happened in the past have on us today? // // How can we use knowledge of bushfires for future management plans? //
 * Lesson Two (75 mins)
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ENGLISH / SCIENCE / THINKING PROCESSES 'Scientist For A Day'** Students work in groups of 4 and investigate the science of bushfires from different professional perspectives. There will be a Meteorologist, Ecologist, Horticulturalist and Fire Researcher. Each group will need to research on the computer and from books the role that these scientists have played in the understanding of bushfire behaviour and the effect on the Australian environment both today and in the past. Students will find the most of the information that they require at []. Students will need to prepare recommendations for future bushfire management plans based on the professional that they have studied, and present a short oral presentation to the class. It is expected that the students will engage in healthy debate within the groups to express why their point of view should be included in the presentations. Students to understand and appreciate that there are many people involved in investigating the affects of bushfires on communities and the environment and not all of them will have the same opinions on effective management. Small groups // Are bushfires a necessary part of Australian ecology? Discuss reasons why/why not? // // Whose responsibility is it to manage bushfires? // // How has science contributed to the prediction, monitoring and management of bushfires? // // What technologies are there to monitor bushfires? //
 * Lesson Three (45-60 mins)
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ENGLISH / PERSONAL LEARNING / ICT 'Plan & Prepare'** Students will begin today’s class by reading a recount of the 1939 Black Friday bushfires by Murray Thompson []. They will then watch a short clip (4.46mins) of other members of the community and how they were affected by these fires as well []. This activity is designed to get the students thinking about how the townships responded to the emergency and the preparation that they had back in 1939. Students will then form into groups of 4 and discuss the personal safety procedures people should take if they were caught up in a bushfire at home or in a car nowadays. They will be encouraged to discuss their answers with the whole class. The next activity involves going to [] which is an interactive website to help assist with what you should do if you were in danger of a bushfire. The students will be able to build on the information that they already have. The second part of the lesson involves the students preparing their own personal survival plans that will assist them in a bushfire emergency using resources from the Shire of Yarra Valley. **//Learning Purpose//** To understand and appreciate events that have happened in the past and how they have helped to form strategies to assist us today. To educate on safe management plans and create an individual action plan that students can use in the case of an emergency. This lesson will also follow through to the ‘sorting out’ stage and they will be able to build on the resources that they have after their visit from a CFA Fire Fighter. Small groups, individual, whole class // What did you notice about the way people responded to the 1939 Black Friday Bushfires? // // Why is it important to be prepared for bushfires? // // Who are the important people to contact if we are faced with an emergency? //
 * Lesson Four (45-60 mins)
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