Summary: People use scientific knowledge to evaluate claims, explanations or predictions in relation to interactions involving the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.
Global Systems
“outline how global systems rely on interactions involving the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, including the carbon cycle”
Notes
| Activity/Resource | Notes |
|---|---|
| [Research] Atmosphere Diagram | This activity will vary depending on what materials you have available (low-material version can just involve the class white/smartboard; students could also be given A3 cardboard, or they can simply complete this activity in their books) Provide students with a list of the different layers of the atmosphere (with km ranges given) – they should construct an appropriately scaled diagram. Once this is complete/verified, provide students with an additional list of objects/phenomena that are located at different altitudes, e.g. aeroplanes or jets, mountain (peaks), tallest building, clouds, satellites, meteors (breaking up), weather balloons, the Ozone layer, Aurora Borealis/Australis, the ISS, the Karman line, height of Felix Baumgartner‘s space dive Students should work together to research + produce an image similar to this. Students can also be encouraged to add labels or additional information (e.g. air density, temperature in each layer) |
| [Literacy] Label Atmosphere Layers | This activity can be formulated in different ways. In general, the teacher provides students with a blank template of the atmosphere layers with an accompanying altitude axis. You can then provide students with a set of layer names + descriptions for them to place on their diagram. Alternatively, you can transform this activity into a communicative gap activity, whereby students pair up and are given two sets of incomplete information about the atmosphere layers. |
Natural Events
“describe some impacts of natural events, including cyclones, volcanic eruptions or earthquakes, on the Earth’s spheres”
Notes
| Activity/Resource | Notes |
|---|---|
| [Case Study] Cyclone Tracy | Questions/points of inquiry students could investigate include: – the path of Cyclone Tracy (and how it was monitored by the BoM – can be an opportunity for students to interpret or produce table/map data) – a timeline of events (this can be done at the start as a text passage students analyse for important information) – the public’s initial response and preparation – the environmental and social impact of the cyclone – general features of cyclones (e.g. area of least air pressure, wind speed and anemometers) |
Global Systems
“evaluate scientific evidence of some current issues affecting society that are the result of human activity on global systems, eg the greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, effect of climate change on sea levels, long-term effects of waste management and loss of biodiversity”
“discuss the reasons different groups in society may use or weight criteria differently to evaluate claims, explanations or predictions in making decisions about contemporary issues involving interactions of the Earth’s spheres”
Notes
| Activity/Resource | Notes |
|---|---|
*Will continue adding/refining ideas here over time.
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