Liveability Fact Files

Overview

Students continue the unit “Exploring Place Liveability” by creating a geography fact file about a chosen location. They will collect and record geographical information, use geographic tools for inquiry, and communicate findings using appropriate geographical terminology.

Learning intentions

• Students will collect and record geographical information about a chosen place’s characteristics and liveability.
• Students will use geographical tools (maps, data sources, and simple referencing) to support their information.
• Students will explain how features of a place can affect human wellbeing.
• Students will communicate their findings clearly using key geographical terminology.

Success criteria

• I can record relevant information under clear headings in a fact file (place, location, population features, services, environment, safety/transport).
• I can use at least two geographical tools/sources and note where my information came from.
• I can include key geographical terms accurately (for example: liveability, services, environment, transport, safety, wellbeing, accessibility).
• I can explain at least one connection between place characteristics and human wellbeing.

Curriculum links

• GELS-TAP-01: Students collect and record geographical information.
• GELS-TAP-02: Students use geographical tools for inquiry.
• GELS-COM-01: Students communicate information using geographical terminology.
• Human wellbeing focus: place characteristics that influence variations in wellbeing and how people experience liveable environments.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Starter: Fact file checklist. Teacher displays a simple fact file checklist (headings + required sources + terminology) and quickly reviews what “liveability” means in this unit. Students skim their chosen location topic page and identify what they still need.

2. 5–12 min · Model: Good liveability statements. Teacher models 2–3 examples of “because” statements (for example, “Public transport improves accessibility, supporting wellbeing by making it easier to reach services”). Students underline the cause-and-effect part and highlight relevant terms.

3. 12–30 min · Work time 1: Build the fact file content. Teacher circulates with a planning support sheet; checks students’ selected place and guides them to collect information that matches the headings. Students complete the fact file draft using one or more sources (maps, local council pages, statistics tables, or teacher-provided resource packs) and record details in dot points.

4. 30–40 min · Tool skills: Source check + terminology check. Teacher teaches a quick “source validity” routine (title/author/agency, date, and reliability cues) and demonstrates how to write short source notes. Students update their fact file with at least two source notes and add missing geographical terminology (using a word bank).

5. 40–52 min · Work time 2: Finish + mini-proofread. Teacher gives a proofreading routine: accuracy check, spelling, headings, and whether each paragraph links to liveability and wellbeing. Students refine their writing, ensuring every section answers: “How does this feature affect liveability and human wellbeing?”

6. 52–58 min · Gallery walk: Peer feedback. Teacher pairs students and assigns one feedback focus: clarity, terminology accuracy, or liveability links. Students swap books/worksheets and use a one-sentence feedback scaffold (“Your place is clear because… Your liveability link could be stronger by…”).

7. 58–60 min · Exit ticket: One connection + one next step. Teacher prompts: “Write one liveability connection you included today and one thing you will improve next lesson.” Students submit on paper or in their books.

Resources

• Fact file template (headings and source note lines)
• Map extracts or atlases, or printed map icons for locations
• Student device access or teacher-provided print resource packs (data tables, local information sheets)
• Source note strip (e.g., “Title / Agency / Date”)
• Geographical terminology word bank and sentence starters (“This supports wellbeing because…”)
• Checklist/rubric for teacher quick checks
• Highlighters/coloured pens for cause-effect linking
• Peer feedback cards

Assessment

• Teacher observation during work time 1 and 2: completion of required headings and accuracy of information.
• Formative check in tool skills step: students can correctly record at least two sources and use liveability-linked terminology.
• Exit ticket: verifies students’ ability to make a clear connection between place characteristics and human wellbeing.

Differentiation

• Support for students needing scaffolds: provide a partially completed fact file template with prompts under each heading; offer sentence starters and a reduced word bank; allow graphic organisers (icons + dot points) before writing.
• Support for EAL learners: include example “because” sentences, model key terminology visually, and permit first-draft dot points; encourage using bilingual dictionaries if available.
• Extension for students ready to go further (advanced learners): require an additional comparison micro-paragraph (e.g., “Compared with another suburb/town of similar size, this place’s liveability is affected by…”), plus one “trade-off” statement (benefit and limitation of a feature).
• For students with additional needs: allow audio recording of planning notes; use colour-coding for headings; check-in at 20 minutes with a short target (“Add one services or safety detail + one source note.”).
• Challenge for spatial learners: add a small annotated sketch map or a “route/transport access” diagram as evidence for liveability.