Human Landscape Change

Overview

Students examine how human activities alter landscapes and landforms. They will use geographical thinking to identify features of change, describe impacts, and propose protective management strategies.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify features of a landscape before and after human impacts
• describe how places and environments change due to human activity
• demonstrate ways to manage and protect affected environments
• use geographical inquiry to support claims with evidence

Success criteria

Students can:

• explain at least two ways human activity changes landforms or landscapes
• use observations/evidence from a case study to support their description
• suggest a realistic management strategy and justify why it would reduce harm

Curriculum links

• GELS-DFC-02: Students identify features or characteristics of places and environments
• GELS-PRI-01: Students describe how places and environments change
• GELS-MAN-01: Students demonstrate ways to manage and protect a place or environment
• HSIE Geography skills: investigating environments using evidence, observations, and appropriate geographical language

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Retrieval hook Teacher writes two prompts on the board: “What is a landform?” “How can humans affect it?” Students do a quick silent write, then volunteer one sentence to build a class definition bank.

2. 5–15 min · Case study stimulus Teacher displays/reads a short local or Australian example (e.g., riverbank erosion near development, coastal sand loss, quarrying impacts, urban stormwater effects). Students complete a “Before/After” table in pairs: landscape features they can see and likely causes from human activity.

3. 15–25 min · Geographical thinking: Change chain Teacher models a “Cause → Process → Effect” chain using one example (e.g., clearing land → more runoff/erosion → changed riverbank/landform). Students create their own change chain for their case study, then swap with another pair to check that each step is linked and uses correct terminology (erosion, deposition, sediment, vegetation cover, drainage).

4. 25–40 min · Impact identification (features) Students work in groups of 4 with a short data pack (photos, brief text, and one simple graph or table such as sediment load or shoreline position). Each group must:

• list 3 landscape/environment features showing change - state the main human activity causing the change
• describe the change using evidence 5. 40–52 min · Management pitch Teacher introduces the task: “Choose one management action to protect the landscape. Make a 60-second pitch that includes: what problem it reduces, how it works, and what evidence supports it.” Students select one strategy from a provided menu (e.g., riparian vegetation, erosion control/retaining structures, sediment traps, zoning/controls, sustainable water management, rehabilitation after extraction, community monitoring). Groups prepare a short pitch and write a justification sentence.

6. 52–58 min · Gallery share (quick formative checks) Groups present to the class. Teacher uses a simple feedback frame:

• “I heard features of change…”
• “I saw evidence used…”
• “Your management strategy connects to the cause/process…”

7. 58–60 min · Exit ticket Individually, students answer:

• “One human activity that alters landscapes is…”
• “One management action that could protect this environment is…”
• “I justify it because…” (use one piece of evidence or observation)

Resources

• Case study image set (before/after) and short text summaries
• Simple data pack per group (photo prompts, one graph/table, key terms strip)
• “Before/After” table printable or slide
• “Cause → Process → Effect” template
• Management strategy menu (teacher-provided)
• Exit ticket slips
• Markers, pens, highlighters
• Optional: projector and timer

Assessment

• Formative: teacher monitors groups’ change chains for clear links between cause, process, and effect
• Formative: check that impact lists include observable features and evidence from the pack
• Exit ticket: evaluate identification of human impacts and a justified management strategy aligned to the learning intentions

Differentiation

• Support:
• Sentence starters for description and justification (e.g., “The landscape has changed because…”, “Evidence from the data shows…”)
• Provide a worked example of one Cause → Process → Effect chain
• Offer a simplified data pack option with fewer elements and guided questions
• Scaffold for English language learners:
• Key term strip with visuals (erosion, deposition, vegetation cover, stormwater, sediment)
• Allow oral rehearsal in pairs before pitching
• Extension:
• Challenge prompt: “Predict one unintended consequence of the management strategy and propose a way to minimise it.”
• SEN/learning needs:
• Roles in groups (Reader, Evidence Finder, Speaker, Timekeeper) to reduce cognitive load
• Chunk tasks into short timed stages with clear success criteria for each