Summary of Teaching Unit/Resource:

Geography Rationale

The Australian Curriculum Geography comprises of three equally important elements that are crucial for global citizenship: exploring, understanding and analysing the world in which we live. The curriculum emphasises that Studies of Society and Environment learning during middle years is centred on students gaining understanding of the complex interactions and interdependence of people and their environments in local, global and regional settings. Geography programs are in many instances directly associated with sustainability and future environment education, making geography education a prominent aspect of educating for the 21st Century. Consequently, the absence of geography in primary school curricular would result in ill-informed and irresponsible citizens.

Unit Overview

The following activities guide students through the various domains of Bloom’s taxonomy in order to develop higher-order thinking. Lessons progress from imparting general knowledge of the much debated population issue to the analysis and application level by making suggestions for the future. In this way learning advances from concrete to abstract as reflected in the Australian Curriculum. Consistent with the critical and creative thinking capability filtered across the Curriculum, learning in this unit encourages purposeful, productive and intentional thinking skills that contribute to a sustainable future

Australian Curriculum Links:

Geography Understanding

• Differences in the economic, demographic and social characteristics between countries across the world (ACHGK032)

Geography Inquiry and Skills

• Develop geographical questions to investigate and plan an inquiry (ACHGS040)
• Collect and record relevant geographical data and information (ACHGS041)
• Interpret geographical data and identify distributions, patterns, and relationships to draw conclusions (ACHGS044)
• Present findings and ideas in a range of communication forms (ACHGS045)

Assessment Strategies:

• Population Portfolio
• Each student will create a portfolio for this unit. Students will add to the portfolio the following tasks:
  • PCQ Chart
  • Population Data (comparing countries)
  • Reflecting on Research (written paragraph)
  • Short Report (reflection on readings and research)

Download the Resource Below:

Population Problems – A Geography Unit That Tackles 1 Big Issue (DOCX)

Population Problems – A Geography Unit That Tackles 1 Big Issue (PDF)

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