CROSS CURRICULUM UNIT PLANNER

Level 1/2

Topic: Friends of Our Environment: Discovering our Environment

Through Artwork and Science

Timing & Duration: 1 full day each week for 8 weeks, to be known as Friends of our Environment Friday.
Inquiry/Focus Question (s): How do you see our local environment? What makes up our local environment?
make up our environment? How has our local environment changed over time?

What does our landscape look like?

What plants and animals

Delivery of Unit:
Typically, there would be an introduction session, which would be completed as a class. Students then will go off using the information gathered
during this initial session, to complete the other tasks for the day. Essential skills needed to complete the tasks, will be introduced during the first
four days of the week.
Strands/Key Learning Ideas from Subjects: Victorian Curriculum
SUBJECT

Curriculum Point

1. Science Understanding- Biological Sciences

2.
3.

4.
5.

Science
Foundation-Level 2

Living things have a variety of external features and live in different places
where their basic needs, including food, water and shelter, are
met(VCSSU042)
Living things grow, change and have offspring similar to
themselves (VCSSU043)

Skills and knowledge to be utilised and built on during the unit

Observations
Looking for connections, similarities and differences in
our natural environment
Recognising the requirements of plants and animals,
and how these differ from species to species
Recognising the development of plants and animals

Create artworks, and media art pieces

Science Inquiry Skills- Planning and Conducting

Participate in guided investigations, including making observations using
the senses, to explore and answer questions (VCSIS051)

Science Inquiry Skills- Recording and Processing

Use a range of methods, including drawings and provided tables, to sort
information (VCSIS053)

The Arts:

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CROSS CURRICULUM UNIT PLANNER

Level 1/2

Topic: Friends of Our Environment: Discovering our Environment

Through Artwork and Science

Visual Arts, Dance, Drama,
and Media Arts

Visual Arts

Level 1 and 2

Explore and Express Ideas

Analysing artworks, for meaning and purpose, along

with identification of local environment
Express thoughts and feelings in a variety of ways
Experimenting with different techniques and materials

Explore ideas, experiences, observations and imagination and express

them through subject matter in visual artworks they create (VCAVAE021)

Respond and Interpret

Respond to visual artworks by describing subject matter and
ideas (VCAVAR024)

Media Arts
Media Art Practices
Use media technologies to capture and edit images and sounds and text to
tell stories (VCAMAM022)

Drama
Drama Practices
Use voice, facial expression, movement and space to imagine and establish
role and situation(VCADRD022)

Dance
Dance Practices
Use choreographic devices to select and organise movement ideas and
create and practise dance sequences (VCADAD022)

Level 1
English

Analysing visual and written information

Summarising and classifying information
Creating meaningful texts, using the correct text
features for the text type
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CROSS CURRICULUM UNIT PLANNER

Level 1/2

Topic: Friends of Our Environment: Discovering our Environment

Through Artwork and Science

Writing- Creating Texts
Create short imaginative and informative texts that show emerging use of
appropriate text structure, sentence-level grammar, word choice, spelling,
punctuation and appropriate multimodal elements(VCELY194)

Reading and Viewing- Interpreting, analysing, evaluating

Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning about
key events, ideas and information in texts that they listen to, view and read
by drawing on growing knowledge of context, text structures and language
features (VCELY186)

Level 2
Writing- Creating Texts
Create short imaginative, informative and persuasive texts using growing
knowledge of text structures and language features for familiar and some
less familiar audiences, selecting print and multimodal elements appropriate
to the audience and purpose(VCELY230)

Reading and Viewing- Interpreting, analysing, evaluating

1.

Read familiar and some unfamiliar texts with phrasing and fluency by
combining phonic, semantic, contextual and grammatical knowledge using
text processing strategies, including monitoring meaning, predicting,
rereading and self-correcting (VCELY221)

Geographical Concepts and Skills- Place, space, and

interconnection

Geography
Foundation- Level 2

Identify and describe the features of places at a local scale and how they
change, recognising that people describe the features of places
differently(VCGGC057)

Analysing the natural environment

Identifying the features of the natural environment
Identify the changes that have occurred in our natural
environment

Geographical Knowledge- Places and our connections to

them
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Country/Place on which the school is
located and why Country/Place is important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait
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CROSS CURRICULUM UNIT PLANNER

Level 1/2

Topic: Friends of Our Environment: Discovering our Environment

Through Artwork and Science

Islander peoples, and the ways in which they maintain special connections
to particular Country/Place (VCGGK066)

General Capabilities
(The blocks shaded in, are
represented in the unit)

Cross-curricular
priorities
Are embedded in the curriculum
and will have a strong but varying
presence depending on their
relevance

Ethical

Personal and social

Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander histories and culture
Looks into Indigenous art- ways of
representing the natural environment
Maintaining a connection to the landdisplayed in art
Engaging with Indigenous people
through art, to see how ways of life,
are expressed through ways of knowing
and thinking

Critical and Creative thinking

Asia and Ausralias engagement

with Asia

Intercultural

Sustainability
Basis for the unit
Looks into the local environment, and the

diversity of the local area

Aims to create a sense of ownership to the

environment
Exploring and understanding the environment
Helps to create world views through

experiences

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CROSS CURRICULUM UNIT PLANNER

Level 1/2

Topic: Friends of Our Environment: Discovering our Environment

Through Artwork and Science

Learning Intentions
Week-by-Week

Suggested Activities aligned to the Learning Intentions.

English
Introduction to the Unit
This day will be to introduce
students to the unit, and
complete a series of activities
in the local area, that will
inform the rest of the unit.
Students will refer back to
the day over the unit.
Week 1:
Investigate the plants and
animals of the local area, of
Gippsland.

Week 2:
Explore and analyse their
data from Bug Blitz and bug
catch completed at school.

The Arts

Science

Geography

Bug Blitz Day

Particular interest and importance will be placed on the Bug Catching activity of the day.
Write a recount about the Bug
Blitz day, in particular, talking
about the plants and animals
they discovered during the day.

Students create an illustration of a

plant or animal that interests them,
and was found during the Bug Blitz
day.

Students will use their bug

catching skills, and complete a
bug catch in the school grounds.
Students will photograph any
bugs found for future reference.

Plan and draft a digital storybook,

showing the different bugs found
at different locations.

Use digital technology to create a

digital storybook, recording their
voices reading each page. Students
may also choose to add music to
their storybook.

Explore the different bugs found

at different sites. Explore why
this might be the case.

Explore the differences in the

environments between the two
bug catching sites. Explore how
this could influence the different
sorts of bug life found at the
sites.

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CROSS CURRICULUM UNIT PLANNER

Level 1/2

Topic: Friends of Our Environment: Discovering our Environment

Through Artwork and Science

Week 3:
Look at the natural
environment of the local
area.

Create a Venn Diagram about the

similarities and differences found
in aerial photos of the area.

Look at how a variety of local artists

have represented the local
environment, in the past and
present. One essential groups of
artists will be Indigenous artists.
Where possible Indigenous artists
will be invited in to discuss their
artwork, and how it connects to the
environment.

Look at past and present aerial

photos of the local area.
Compare and contrast the
photos, discussing the increase in
human activity on the
environment, and the decrease of
natural habitat for plants and
animals.

Week 4:
Animal Investigation: Part 1Animal Appearance and
Movement
Investigate a native animal to
the local area of choice,
preferably one seen at Bug
Blitz or on the school
grounds.
Week 5:
Animal Investigation: Part 2Habitat of animal.

Create a small report about the

animal, using a provided graphic
organiser template.

Find out how the animal moves, and

try to mimic the movement of the
animal. Encourage students to look
for videos on YouTube.
After a while, break into small groups
and each show how chosen animal
moves.

Students will need to include in

report: the physical
characteristics of animal, some of
the basic needs of the animal,
and the way the animal moves.

Students will finish report, by

discussing the habitat of the
animal.

Create a diorama, showing their

chosen animal in its natural habitat.
Students should try to use natural
materials found around the school
grounds, to add interest and
authenticity to artwork.

Identify what the chosen animal

takes, and provides back to the
natural environment.

Identify the habitat of chosen

animal, and identify the main
features of this environment.

Week 6:
Plant Investigation: Part 1
Students complete the initial
steps of an experiment
looking into the requirements
of plants, and explore the
visual elements of plants.

Start a report for the experiment,

including creating a hypothesis
and writing up what they have
done so far. Students can choose
to use the graphic organiser
handed out, or create they own
format.

Create a visual artwork, showing all

the parts of a favourite plant. Trying
to create the correct texture, colour,
and shape.
Students may choose to create a
series of images looking at the one
plant.
Students may like to go out into the
school grounds to look at different
plants, and take photos.

Start an experiment, looking into

the conditions needed for a plant
to grow.

Look into the requirements of a

local plant, seen during Bug Blitz
day or in the school grounds.

Students will also go out into the

school gardens and find and
collect weeds. Students bring
these weeds back to the
classroom to look at the
structures of plants.

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CROSS CURRICULUM UNIT PLANNER

Level 1/2

Topic: Friends of Our Environment: Discovering our Environment

Through Artwork and Science

Week 7:
Plant Investigation: Part 2
Students complete report and
experiment into the needs of
plants.

Finish writing up their report.

Including putting collected
information into tables and
graphs, and analysing the results.
Along with a closing statement,
about what the students have
learnt from the experiment.

Create an artwork that shows the life

cycle of a favourite plant. The
artwork should include all the
important stages and changes the
plant goes through during the life
cycle.

Collect all the information from

the experiment into tables and
graphs. (This may need to
become part of each day during
the week, to allow students to
see plant growth)
Label artwork created the week
before, with the important parts
of a plant. Students will also find
out what each part of the plant
does.

Week 8:
Conclusion of the Unit

Students have time to finish off work.

Students also have time to complete any self-assessments they need to complete, and choose the piece of work they would like to have a peer
assessment completed.
Students will schedule a time with the teacher to discuss all their work, and explore what they have learnt over the unit.
Show and Share time- each students will pick a piece of work, and describe to the class, why it is their favourite piece.

DIFFERENTIATION
OF THE
CURRICULUM

Scaling Up:
Encourage students to delve into a subject/task in depth.
Add extra content to reports, and go beyond the questions of the reports.
Ask students to write reports without graphic organisers, or create their own template.
Scaling down:
Help students to find information, and pair students with another student who can help the student find appropriate
information.
Provide fact sheets for students who struggle to find information to write reports.
Provide alternate graphic organisers that allow students to write key words and short sentences, along with drawing pictures.
When available, use the help of ESOs to assist students to find information.
Provide alternate tasks for students, who struggle with the open ended nature of some tasks. This may also include creating a
schedule for students to follow.
Summative Assessment:
Students will complete a self-assessment sheet for all work completed during the unit.
Students will pick a piece of work from the unit, to be assessed by a peer.
Students work is assessed as a whole, at the end of the unit by the teacher.

Adjustments for the

Needs of Learners

Assessment
(Formative,
Summative, Self

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CROSS CURRICULUM UNIT PLANNER

Level 1/2

Topic: Friends of Our Environment: Discovering our Environment

Through Artwork and Science

and Peer
Assessment)

Resources

Formative Assessment:
During each week, students will have a chance to sit with the teacher, and talk about their work. The teacher will provide
suggestions on improving the work, and how students can extend themselves during the unit.

Recount graphic organiser

Blank Venn Diagram- self created template
Aerial photographs of local area, both past and present/ Google Earth enabled device
Examples of artwork from local artists, including Indigenous artists- variety and number of artworks, will depend on the local
area.
Animal Report graphic organiser
Computers/ iPads (need to be available for all days)
Range of art supplies (need to be available for all days)
Young seedlings
Science Report graphic organiser (age appropriate)
Information fact sheet on the parts and their roles of plants

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