Features of places: beaches
Content
Features of places
Students:
- investigate features of places and how they can be cared for, for example: (ACHGK005)
- description of the natural and human features of places
- consideration of how beaches can be nurtured and looked after
Background Notes for Teachers
Beaches are part of our Australian identity and are a foundation for our culture. Beaches are reflected in so many ways: our national symbols; our history; our sport; industry; music and the arts. Australians are internationally renowned for our connection to beaches and to the ocean.
Young students of geography will develop an understanding of the natural and human features as well as the way we use beaches for leisure, recreation and sport.
Sam Hood
Many of the sources used in this unit are the work of photographer Sam Hood. A Sydney based photographer, Hood had his own studio as well as working for many Australian newspapers. He was able to capture many sides of Sydney from the 1880s to the 1950s. His photographic works range from buildings, architecture, sports, the arts and representations of how Sydneysiders spent their leisure time.
Student Activities
Activity 1
At The Beach
Activity 2
Features of beaches
Activity 3
Beaches and people
Activity 4
Features and activities on Australian beaches
Activity 5
Beach activities
Activity 6
Caring for beaches
Resources
Picture books
Grandpa and Thomas by Pamela Allen
Magic Beach by Alison Lester
Greetings from Sandy Beach by Bob Graham
At The Beach by Roland Harvey
There’s a Sea in My Bedroom by Margaret Wild
eBooks available through State Library of New South Wales
101 Best Australian Beaches by Brad Farmer and Andrew Short
Sydney Beaches: A History by Caroline Ford
NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Geography K–6
Outcomes
A student:
- GE1-1 describes features of places and the connections people have with places
- GE1-2 identifies ways in which people interact with and care for places
- GE1-3 communicates geographical information and uses geographical tools for inquiry
Geographical Inquiry Skills
Acquiring geographical information
- pose geographical questions (ACHGS007, ACHGS013)
- collect and record geographical data and information, for example, by observing, by interviewing, or using visual representations (ACHGS008, ACHGS014)
Processing geographical information
- represent data by constructing tables, graphs or maps (ACHGS009, ACHGS015)
- draw conclusions based on the interpretation of geographical information sorted into categories (ACHGS010, ACHGS016)
Communicating geographical information
- present findings in a range of communication forms (ACHGS011, ACHGS017)
- reflect on their learning and suggest responses to their findings (ACHGS012, ACHGS018)
Geographical Concepts
- Place: the significance of places and what they are like eg location and features of local places and other places in the world.
- Space: the significance of location and spatial distribution, and ways people organise and manage the spaces that we live in (e.g where activities are located and how spaces can be organised).
- Environment: the significance of the environment in human life, and the important interrelationships between humans and the environment (e.g natural and human features of a place; daily and seasonal weather patterns of places).
- Interconnection: no object of geographical study can be viewed in isolation (e.g local and global links people have with places and the special connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples maintain with Country/Place).
- Scale: the way that geographical phenomena and problems can be examined at different spatial levels (e.g various scales and sizes by which places can be defined such as local suburbs, towns and large cities).
LAC
Learning across the curriculum
- Sustainability
- Critical and creative thinking
- Literacy
- Numeracy
- Civics and citizenship