Natural Features of Australia

Overview

In this third lesson of Places Near and Far, students investigate deserts, rivers, beaches, forests and mountains as natural features of Australia. They use photographs, maps and a simple recording table to identify where features occur and explain how they influence the way places look and are used.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify and describe common Australian natural features.
• Students will use maps and photographs to locate natural features.
• Students will compare natural features in different Australian places.
• Students will ask questions about how natural features shape places.

Success criteria

• I can name and describe at least four Australian natural features.
• I can use a map title, symbols, colours and directions to locate features.
• I can record information from photographs and maps.
• I can explain one way a natural feature shapes a place.

Curriculum links

• Places and the similarities and differences between Australia and neighbouring countries in terms of natural, managed and constructed features.
• Developing questions to guide investigations about places.
• Locating and representing Australia and its regions using geographical tools.
• Locating, collecting, recording and interpreting information from maps, photographs and other sources.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and prior knowledge. Open with the opening image sequence showing striking photographs of an Australian desert, river, beach, forest and mountain without labels. Ask, “What do these places have in common, and how might each feature affect people’s lives?” Students think-pair-share, then contribute one observation or question.

2. 5–13 min · Explicit teaching. Use the natural features teaching slides to define a natural feature as something formed by nature, rather than built by people. Introduce desert, river, beach, forest and mountain, modelling precise descriptions such as “a river is a flowing body of water” and “a desert receives very little rainfall”. Students listen, sketch one feature and suggest a question beginning with “How might…?”

3. 13–18 min · Map skills mini-lesson. Display the Australia map skills slides and model how to read a title, legend, symbols, colours, north point and compass directions. Locate examples such as the Great Dividing Range, the Murray–Darling river system, the central Australian deserts, tropical forests in the north and beaches around the coastline. Students practise locating one feature with a partner and describe its position using a direction or region.

4. 18–35 min · Photograph and map investigation. Place students in five groups of five and distribute the group role cards to clarify responsibilities. Give each group the natural features investigation worksheet and one feature focus: desert, river, beach, forest or mountain. Using the photographs and map in the worksheet, students record the feature’s appearance, likely location, evidence from the sources, and one way it shapes a place—for example, water for communities, tourism, farming, transport, habitat or recreation. Circulate and ask, “What evidence can you see?” and “What else do we need to know?”

5. 35–44 min · Compare and share. Return to the comparison and discussion slides. Each group gives a one-minute report using the frame, “Our feature is ____. We found it in ____. It shapes this place by ____.” Classmates listen for similarities and differences, such as water availability, vegetation, land height, climate, settlement and activities. Record key ideas in a class comparison table.

6. 44–50 min · Plenary and exit check. Display the final reflection slide and ask students to complete the sentence, “A natural feature shapes a place because…”. Finish with the Success Criteria exit ticket slips. Students tick the criteria they can demonstrate and write one feature, its location and one way it shapes a place. Collect responses as they leave.

Resources

• the Natural Features of Australia slide deck
• the natural features investigation worksheet
• the group role cards
• the Success Criteria exit ticket slips
• Projector or interactive whiteboard
• Wall map or classroom atlas of Australia
• Five group sets of pencils, coloured pencils and clipboards
• Optional photograph enlargements of Australian natural features

Assessment

• Listen to students’ initial observations and questions to check prior knowledge and their ability to distinguish natural features from constructed features.
• During group work, check that students use map conventions, select evidence from photographs or maps, and explain how a feature shapes a place.
• Use the exit ticket to assess accurate identification, location and explanation. Note students requiring further support with map reading, geographical vocabulary or cause-and-effect explanations.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank and sentence starters: “I can see…”, “This feature is found…”, “It shapes the place by…”. Read worksheet instructions aloud and pair students strategically.
• Support map access with a large-print map, a clearly marked legend and teacher modelling of one example before groups begin.
• Allow students to respond through labelled drawings, oral explanation or scribed ideas where writing is a barrier. Use photographs and gestures to support EAL learners.
• Extend confident students by asking them to compare two features, explain how climate may affect each one, or develop a further “Why there?” question for investigation.