Human Biome Impacts

Overview

In this sixth lesson of the unit Exploring Australia’s Landscapes and Biomes, students investigate how humans change biomes for farming, grazing, water use and materials. They will use short case studies to identify impacts, compare responses, and propose a realistic improvement plan for one biome.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• Understand that human activities can modify natural systems within biomes.
• Analyse how agricultural practices connect to changes in soil, water, biodiversity and climate patterns.
• Use evidence from a case study to explain cause-and-effect relationships.
• Suggest and justify management options that reduce harmful impacts while supporting food production.

Success criteria

• I can identify the biome being studied and describe key features of the environment.
• I can explain how specific human actions lead to environmental impacts (cause and effect).
• I can use evidence from the case study to support my explanation.
• I can propose one management strategy and justify how it would improve outcomes for the biome.

Curriculum links

• The Western Australian curriculum focus on investigating people’s effects on environments and how environments function as interconnected systems.
• Humanities and Social Sciences emphasis on using inquiry skills: locating information, examining sources, and developing evidence-based explanations.
• Geography-oriented learning about land use, environmental change, sustainability and interconnections in landscapes and environments.
• Skills for communicating findings using appropriate terms and structured responses.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes: Activate prior learning

• Brief recap: “What makes a biome a biome?” and “What kinds of change can humans cause?”
• Students share one example from previous lessons (teacher records on the board).

2. 5–12 minutes: Mini input—biomes + human modification

• Teacher explains how agricultural expansion, irrigation, fertilisers, grazing and land clearing can alter ecosystem processes.
• Focus language: cause, effect, evidence, sustainability, trade-off.

3. 12–22 minutes: Case study stations (group of 7)

• Set up 3 short case studies (e.g., irrigated agriculture in a dry region, grazing impacts on grasslands, cropping in a woodland/shrubland area).
• Students rotate through stations in pairs, filling a simple organizer:
• Human activity used for food/production
• Environmental impact(s)
• Possible reason the impact occurred
• One piece of evidence (fact, statistic, or description from the station card)

4. 22–34 minutes: Systems thinking—cause-and-effect mapping

• Whole-class co-construct one example map using a student-selected station.
• Students then create their own cause-and-effect chain in books for one chosen case study:
• Human action → immediate change (e.g., clearing, altered water flow) → ecosystem impact (e.g., erosion, habitat loss) → broader consequence (e.g., reduced biodiversity, poorer soil health)
• Teacher circulates, checks accuracy of links, and prompts with questions:
• “What changed first, and what changed next?”
• “How do you know?”

5. 34–48 minutes: Response planning—sustainable management

• Students independently design a “management option” for the selected case study.
• Include:
• Strategy (e.g., fencing to manage grazing, riparian buffers, contour farming, soil conservation, improved irrigation efficiency, pest control, native vegetation corridors)
• Justification using at least two impacts from the cause-and-effect map
• A realistic trade-off (e.g., cost, time, farmer workload, short-term yield vs long-term soil health)

6. 48–55 minutes: Share and refine

• Students share in a short round robin: each person explains their strategy and justification in 60–90 seconds.
• Listener feedback prompts: “What evidence supports your claim?” and “What additional impact might also be affected?”

7. 55–60 minutes: Exit ticket

• Students answer one prompt: “Choose one human impact and one management response. Explain the cause-and-effect link using evidence.”

Resources

• Three printed case study cards (short, readable paragraphs with 2–3 evidence points each)
• Cause-and-effect mapping sheet or lined page template
• Markers/coloured pens for mapping links
• Example teacher model of a simple system chain (board)
• Student notebooks and pencils
• Timer for rotation and drafting
• Exit ticket slips or one question on the back of the organizer
• Optional: a map of Australia biomes and a blank legend for quick location checks

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observation during station work and systems mapping (accuracy of cause-and-effect links).
• Formative: review of student cause-and-effect chain and management plan for evidence use and clarity.
• Summative-in-class evidence: exit ticket demonstrating explanation of one cause-and-effect relationship with evidence.

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide sentence starters for cause/effect (e.g., “Because…, this led to…”).
• Offer a partially completed model map for students to extend.
• Provide a reduced case study option with fewer evidence points.
• Extension:
• Challenge students to include a second-order effect (e.g., how soil erosion affects water quality and then biodiversity).
• Ask for comparison of two strategies and which one best balances food production and environmental protection.
• EAL/SEN:
• Pre-teach key terms in context only when needed during the lesson (trade-off, soil health, habitat).
• Allow oral responses recorded by the teacher if written work is difficult.
• Grouping:
• Use pairings that mix strengths so students can share reading and reasoning tasks at stations.