SPICESS Mapping

Overview

Lesson 2 of 20 in “Exploring Biomes for Sustainability” builds students’ ability to read physical maps using the SPICESS lens (Space, Place, Interconnection, Environment, Scale, Sustainability). Students will interpret map features, explain what they show, and begin creating a personal/local-area map for later lessons.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• analyse how map features communicate information about places and environments
• identify key physical features on a physical map (e.g. landforms and water) using geographic terminology
• apply SPICESS concepts to interpret how humans and the environment are interconnected
• communicate map interpretations clearly using sentence starters and geographic terms

Success criteria

Students can:

• identify at least 3 physical map features and describe what each shows
• explain how SPICESS helps interpret a place (at least one “interconnection” link)
• use geographic terminology correctly in short written responses
• produce a labelled start to a personal/local-area map using symbols/legends and scale ideas

Curriculum links

• Geography — environmental change and management: Students assess approaches to managing and protecting places by interpreting environmental patterns and human–environment relationships
• Geography — thinking and working geographically: Students use maps and geographic tools to acquire and process information
• Geography — communicating: Students select and apply concepts and terminology to communicate geographical information for specific purposes

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Hook & activate prior knowledge. Teacher shows the mapping skills and SPICESS slide deck and displays a “wrong vs right” map interpretation (e.g. misreading a river/contour-like line as a road), asking: “What mistake happened and how would we fix it?” Students share quick think-pair-share answers and justify using one map feature.

2. 8–18 min · Direct teach: SPICESS for maps. Teacher works through the mapping skills and SPICESS slide deck to model how to read physical maps using SPICESS prompts:

• Space (where?) and Place (what is it like?)
• Environment (what land/water features exist?)
• Scale (how big is it?)
• Interconnection (how do features relate?)
• Sustainability (what might need protecting/using wisely?) Students complete a guided example on the board or in notes: circle the map features the teacher names and write one sentence starting with “This shows…”

3. 18–30 min · Map feature check (guided practice). Teacher distributes the physical map analysis worksheet and projects the same map from the mapping skills and SPICESS slide deck. Students in pairs label the map features using the worksheet prompts (legend/symbol meaning, landform/water identification) and answer short “what does it tell us?” questions with sentence starters. Teacher circulates with guided questions (e.g. “What in the legend tells you that?” “What clue shows this is water/land?”).

4. 30–42 min · SPICESS paragraph (collaborative writing). Teacher returns attention to the mapping skills and SPICESS slide deck and displays a model paragraph using geographic terminology and SPICESS headings. Students write a short paragraph on their worksheet:

• Environment: one feature description
• Interconnection: one link (e.g. water affects vegetation/settlement/biome conditions)
• Sustainability: one consideration (e.g. managing erosion, conserving water, protecting habitat) Students use a checklist to self-check clarity (they must include a map feature term and one SPICESS word).

5. 42–55 min · Personal map start (extension-ready). Teacher directs students to begin a personal/local-area map draft using the physical map analysis worksheet as the planning sheet, referencing the SPICESS prompts shown in the mapping skills and SPICESS slide deck. Students choose 5–8 elements from their area (school, local park/creek/major road, nearby hills/flat land cues, bushland patches) and add a simple legend and arrows showing one interconnection (e.g. stormwater flow to creek). Teacher confirms scale thinking with a quick “size vs distance” reminder.

6. 55–60 min · Plenary & exit check. Teacher uses the mapping skills and SPICESS slide deck to run a fast “SPICESS swap”: each student shares one SPICESS word used correctly and one map feature they identified. Students complete a 1-minute exit ticket on the worksheet: “One key map thing I can now do is…” Teacher collects the physical map analysis worksheet.

Resources

• the mapping skills and SPICESS slide deck (hook image, mapping model, SPICESS prompts, worked example, paragraph model, plenary prompt)
• the physical map analysis worksheet (map feature identification, short-answer prompts, SPICESS paragraph scaffold, personal map starter)
• Whiteboard/markers or interactive display for modelling
• Pair work seating supports and shared pens/pencils
• Teacher checklist for success criteria
• Optional: highlighters for tracing key features on the map

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observation during pair mapping (checks for correct legend use and feature identification)
• Formative: paragraph/SPICESS responses checked against the success criteria (feature term + interconnection + sustainability consideration)
• Exit ticket: one “I can now…” statement to confirm map-skill readiness for next lessons

Differentiation

• Support for students needing scaffolding: provide sentence starters on the physical map analysis worksheet (e.g. “The legend shows…”, “This suggests… because…”), plus guided questions during circulation
• Support for visual learners: colour-coding map features (water vs land) using a consistent key
• EAL considerations: allow responses to include key terms plus a reduced sentence length; encourage drawing symbols with short labels
• Extension for students ready to move faster: ask them to add a second interconnection (Environment ↔ Place) and justify it using one map clue; challenge them to include a scale estimate statement (e.g. “At this scale, the distance between…”)
• Literacy support: read the paragraph model aloud once; provide a checklist with no more than three required elements

Extension (optional)

• Students develop a more detailed legend on their personal map and add one “management/protection” idea (e.g. fencing creek edges, managing tracks in bushland) linked to sustainability.