Features of places: our classroom
Key inquiry question #1
What are the features of and activities that happen in places?
Key inquiry question #2
How can spaces within a place be used for different purposes?
Content
How places are organised
Students:
- investigate activities that occur within places, for example: (ACHGK007, ACHGK008)
- discussion of why and how the spaces within places can be rearranged for different purposes eg. street fair, school hall
- examination of why various activities in an area are located where they are eg. school, shops
Background Notes for Teachers
The focus of this sequence of activities is on activities in places and how a space can be organised. Students will be familiar with their classroom and so they can then arrange it differently. This provides a good introduction to the concept of activities and spaces within a place. The inquiry can be expanded to include other spaces within the school such as the playground and where buildings, benches, and other objects are arranged within the school. The inquiry leads to students identifying their favourite activities within the classroom and communicating this through simple large-scale mapping.
Student Activities
Classrooms
Students rearrange the classroom to a different configuration. They discuss what is different and what is still the same.
Classrooms and people
Students explore other classrooms throughout the school and take photos and discuss the geographical differences.
Our classroom
Students, as a group, map their classroom and then label activities they can do in each space. Discuss what activities they could do/not do if it was arranged differently.
My dream classroom
Students rearrange the classroom based on desired purpose and activities and draw a map of their dream classroom.
NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Geography K–6
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
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)
- 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.For example, where activities are located and how spaces can be manipulated and altered
Learning aacross the curriculum
- Critical and creative thinking
- Work and enterprise
Resources
Picture books
I am Too Absolutely Small for School by Lauren Child
My Map Book by Sara Fanelli
Me on the Map by John Sweeney and Annette Cable
Imagine by Alison Lester
The Way to the Zoo by John Birmingham