Australian Geography Series: Year 6

For Ages: Year 6 Year 6 - A Diverse And Connected World is part of the Australian Geography Series which comprises nine books in total. This book has been written specifically for students in Year 6, who are living in Australia and studying Geography. The activity book is arranged into three sections: Connecting Places, Global Distribution and Environmental Hazards. Each section is closely linked to the new Australian National Curriculum for Geography. Click here for sample pages from this book The first section, Connecting Places, is designed to raise students’ awareness that places do not develop in isolation, but are connected by the movement of people and their activities. Students will be able to recognise that natural resources play an important role in the growth of places and the economic activities that develop around them. This connection does not only link places within the Australian context, but extends to neighbouring countries that share historic, cultural and economic ties with Australia. The second section, Global Distribution, outlines the distribution of population in Australia and the world. Students will be asked to explore concepts such as: how the location of a place can influence population growth, why citizens in some countries have higher living standards than others and how the natural resources in a place generate industries and employment. Students will reflect on the causes of poverty in the world and research programmes that aim to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries. The third section, Environmental Hazards, focuses on hazards that affect people and places and our responses to these hazards. Tasks will require students to assess the risks from various environmental hazards and evaluate action plans for survival. A major component of this section is a case study on the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. This environmental disaster will be considered from multiple perspectives by students, who will then synthesise their research findings to suggest prevention and management strategies. Year 6 is a teacher-friendly resource for 11-12 year olds studying Geography. An inquiry-based approach is applied in the activities and research tasks. Students are challenged to weigh up the visual and graphic data presented, to form their own understandings about how people and places are connected to one another and the world. Author: Lisa Craig