Indigenous Liveability

Overview

In this lesson (Lesson 7 of 16) students explore Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) to understand how Aboriginal custodianship supports liveability through environmental care. Students connect Aboriginal Peoples’ relationships with Country to environmental management and the wellbeing of communities, including how modern challenges influence practice.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify key ways Aboriginal Peoples care for and manage Country through custodianship
• explain how these practices support liveability and environmental quality
• use geographic thinking to compare how different people value and manage environments
• reflect on how change (including environmental pressure) affects Country and community wellbeing

Success criteria

Students can:

• name and describe at least two custodianship actions linked to environmental management (e.g. caring for land, water, and biodiversity)
• explain a connection between custodianship and liveability (health, safety, access to resources, community strength)
• use evidence (from a short case study) to support a claim about environmental quality
• communicate ideas respectfully, using appropriate geography vocabulary

Curriculum links

• GELS-APC-01: Students recognise the connections Aboriginal Peoples have to Country
• GELS-APC-02: Students identify ways in which Aboriginal Peoples care for and manage Country
• GE4-APC-01: Students explain Aboriginal Peoples’ Custodianship, care and management of Country
• History and HSIE depth skills: students explain perspectives and use evidence from a case study to build understanding of change and impacts

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and purpose

• Teacher shares the lesson focus: “Today we investigate how Indigenous Protected Areas support liveability through custodianship.”
• Students write one sentence: “Liveability is…” and add one word for what they think affects it.

2. 5–15 min · Starter: Place, value, and care

• Teacher displays three statements on the board: “Country provides resources”, “People care for Country”, “Care protects environmental quality”.
• Students do a think-pair-share: Which statement best connects liveability to environment? Why? Teacher circulates with prompts.

3. 15–25 min · Mini-teach: Indigenous Protected Areas

• Teacher provides an age-appropriate overview of IPAs: Aboriginal custodians manage Country with agreed protections and responsibilities, supporting biodiversity, cultural practices, and community wellbeing.
• Students complete a guided note: 3 boxes titled “Country connection”, “Management actions”, “Liveability outcomes” (short phrases, not full paragraphs).

4. 25–40 min · Case study investigation (small groups)

• Teacher provides a short, teacher-made case study summary about an IPA (written text and/or a simple map or photo set with captions). Students should not be asked to research online during class.
• In groups of 4–5, students complete an “Explain the link” worksheet:
• Claim: “Custodianship improves liveability by…”
• Evidence: list two details from the case study
• Reasoning: explain how the evidence shows environmental quality and community wellbeing links
• Teacher supports groups using question stems: “How does this action care for Country?” “What problem does it help with?” “Who benefits, and how?”

5. 40–50 min · Whole-class discussion: perspectives on environmental quality

• Teacher leads a structured discussion using a “Two perspectives, one place” protocol:
• Aboriginal custodianship perspective
• Government/community planning perspective
• Students contribute using a sentence starter: “From the custodian perspective… / From the planning perspective… / A shared liveability goal is…”

6. 50–57 min · Quick geographic synthesis

• Teacher asks students to draw a simple cause-and-effect chain on paper: “Custodianship actions → environmental quality → liveability outcomes”.
• Students choose one link to expand into one short paragraph: 4–5 sentences max.

7. 57–60 min · Exit ticket

• Teacher collects an exit ticket with two prompts:
• “Name one way Aboriginal Peoples care for and manage Country.”
• “Explain one way this supports liveability.”

Resources

• Teacher-made case study handout (IPA summary) and captions/images
• Guided notes sheet with “Country connection / Management actions / Liveability outcomes”
• “Explain the link” worksheet (claim–evidence–reasoning scaffold)
• Cause-and-effect chain template
• Exit ticket slips or digital submission form (teacher choice)
• Coloured pencils/pens for diagramming

Assessment

• Formative: guided notes checked during mini-teach and group work (teacher observation of accuracy and respectful language)
• Formative: case study worksheet (claim–evidence–reasoning quality and correct links to environmental management/liveability)
• Summative-for-now: exit ticket responses demonstrating understanding of custodianship actions and liveability connections

Differentiation

• Support for students needing scaffolding:
• Provide sentence starters for CER and discussion (“This shows… because…”, “A liveability outcome is…”)
• Offer a word bank (e.g. custodianship, Country, environment, wellbeing, biodiversity, water, protection, community)
• Use a partially completed cause-and-effect chain for some students
• Extension for students ready to go further:
• Ask for an additional “challenge” link: “What modern challenge could make this harder, and what does good management look like in response?”
• Language support (EAL/SEN):
• Pre-teach 5–7 key geography terms with simple definitions on a class poster
• Allow oral responses first, then short written responses
• Diverse learners/engagement:
• Role-based group tasks (reader, evidence finder, explainer, checker) to ensure each student contributes