MAKING SENSE OF PLANET EARTH AND BEYOND: LEVEL 4
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES
Students can
- investigate major factors and patterns associated with weather, and use given data to predict weather;
- collect and use evidence from landforms, rocks, fossils, and library research to describe the geological history of the local area;
- (a) use simple technological devices to observe and describe our night sky, e.g., binoculars, simple star maps;
(b) investigate and use models which explain the changing spatial relationships of the Earth, its moon, and the Sun, and the way different cultures have used these patterns to describe and measure time, and position, e.g., phases of the Moon, eclipses, tides, seasons, sun clocks;
- investigate a local environmental issue and explain the reasons for the community's involvement, e.g., replanting of a cleared hillside, re-introduction of indigenous birds to a local area.
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SAMPLE LEARNING CONTEXTS
- Natural hazards
- Papatuanuku, Rangi, and the children
- Te ao kowhatu
- Beaches
- Atlases
- Floods
- Deserts
- Monsoons
- Fossils
- Landforms
- Clouds
- The ocean
- Space probes
- Environmental organisations
- Māori as conservationists
- Antarctica
- Space travel
- Land reclamation
- Fiords
- Lakes
- Henges
- Weather forecasting
- The night sky
- Navigation
POSSIBLE LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Students could be learning by:
- using weather maps and/or satellite pictures to construct a table of data, to develop reading and interpreting skills;
- constructing a time line showing dates of natural disasters in New Zealand's history caused by the weather, e.g., Cyclone Bola;
- mapping ocean and wind currents to gain knowledge of world patterns;
- investigating unusual weather patterns linked to geological events such as major volcanic eruptions;
- relating the migration trails of sea-going Polynesians to the ocean currents, winds, and stars;
- making a model barometer to find out how barometers work;
- using barometers to record atmospheric pressure over a period of time;
- mapping climate types or prevailing winds on a world map to show world patterns and to practise map-reading skills;
- preparing a report or interview schedule on traditional Māori weather forecasting;
- using evidence of fossils or rock types to speculate about the geological history of an area;
- preparing questions to ask the local museum curator about the geology of the area;
- designing a mobile to show the relative positions of Sun, Moon, and Earth during solar or lunar eclipses;
- making a simple needle compass and demonstrating how it is used;
- drawing the shape of the Moon on as many different days as possible over a month, then discussing and comparing their results;
- attending a star party at which someone demonstrates the use of telescopes or binoculars to find interesting objects in the night sky;
- investigating the role of rahui in the guardianship of natural resources;
- writing a letter to the local council justifying why a mangrove swamp or wetland area should be conserved.
ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES
Teachers and students could assess the students':
- ability to interpret data, when the students read a given weather map and write a forecast based on their interpretation of this information;
- ability to record data regularly and accurately, when the students keep a diary of their own weather measurements;
- understanding of the cause of eclipses, when the students use a torch and two balls to simulate an eclipse;
- understanding of the space relationships of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, when the students make a model showing their relative positions;
- familiarity with the night sky, when the students identify several space objects;
- information-gathering ability, when the students prepare questions for, and collate answers from, an interview with the members of a local conservation group;
- personal awareness of a local environmental issue, when the students' individual contributions to a class big book are shared with a junior class.
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