Sustainable City Blueprint

Overview

Students launch the summative assessment by examining the Sustainable City design task and then planning project steps. They practise using geographical terminology and collecting/recording information to support an evidence-based model, linking environmental management to place liveability.

Learning intentions

• Students will understand what the Sustainable City summative task requires and how their model will be assessed.
• Students will plan project steps, timelines, and responsibilities using clear, achievable actions.
• Students will identify key liveability needs and connect them to environmental change and environmental management strategies.
• Students will collect and record relevant geographical information using appropriate formats.

Success criteria

• I can explain the purpose of the Sustainable City task and list the success criteria items in my own words.
• I can plan my next steps using a timeline and a checklist (materials, research, drafts, final model).
• I can link at least two environmental management strategies to liveability outcomes in my city.
• I can record geographical information accurately using geographical terminology (for example: land use, water catchment, habitat, hazards).

Curriculum links

• GELS-MAN-01: Students demonstrate ways to manage and protect a place or environment.
• GELS-TAP-01: Students collect and record geographical information.
• GELS-PRI-01: Students describe how places and environments change (used when justifying design choices).
• GELS-COM-01: Students communicate information using geographical terminology.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome & lesson purpose. Teacher briefly revisits the unit focus (Exploring Place Liveability) and explains today’s goal: understanding the assessment and planning the project steps. Students write the lesson aim in their notes.

2. 5–15 min · Assessment task launch (teacher input). Teacher displays the task overview (criteria, required components, expected model features, and submission dates). Students annotate: what must be included, what “quality” looks like, and what is most challenging for them.

3. 15–25 min · Deconstructing the criteria. Teacher models using one example liveability need (for example: safer streets, cleaner water, reduced heat) and shows how it could be supported by environmental management and/or change. Students complete a “criteria unpack” sheet: match each design requirement to (a) a liveability need and (b) an evidence type they will need.

4. 25–38 min · Research mini-scan & recording practice. Teacher provides students with a short set of printed scenario prompts and/or data cards (no internet required), covering issues such as flooding risk, water use, habitat loss, waste, heat, or sustainable transport. Students practise collecting and recording information using a structured template:

• Issue/need
• Evidence/data (what it shows)
• Geographic terminology (minimum 3 terms)
• Proposed strategy for the city model
• Expected liveability effect

5. 38–50 min · Project planning: step-by-step blueprint. Teacher leads a planning routine: “Research → Draft → Build → Test/Refine → Present.” Students create a personal or group timeline with milestones, materials list, and roles. They also write a one-sentence design statement for their city (their “big idea”).

6. 50–57 min · Peer check: plan quality. Teacher organises pairs or small groups to use a quick checklist: Are the steps specific? Is there at least one environmental management strategy? Is there clear evidence recording? Students give one “glow” and one “grow” comment, then revise their plan.

7. 57–60 min · Exit ticket: readiness check. Students submit an exit ticket with three items: (1) my next step by tomorrow, (2) two geographical terms I will use, and (3) the environmental management strategy I will include.

Resources

• Assessment task handout: requirements, success criteria, due dates, marking guidance
• Criteria unpack sheet (liveability need ↔ evidence ↔ strategy)
• Scenario/data cards (printed) relevant to liveability and environmental management
• Recording template (evidence table with required terminology prompts)
• Planning template: timeline, roles, materials checklist, design statement line
• Coloured paper/card, markers, rulers, sticky notes
• Teacher sample model/photo (if available) and/or exemplars from previous cohorts (no student names)

Assessment

• Formative check 1: Teacher observes annotated task launch and criteria unpacking for misunderstandings.
• Formative check 2: Review of mini-scan recording template for accuracy of geographical terminology and evidence statements.
• Exit ticket: Confirms readiness to start research and whether each student/group has identified an environmental management strategy and next step.

Differentiation

• Support for students needing scaffolds: sentence starters for recording (“The evidence suggests…”, “This strategy will improve…”) and a reduced terminology list to choose from.
• Support for diverse learners: provide a planning checklist with pre-set time blocks (for example: “Day 1 research”, “Day 2 draft”) and offer role cards for group work (timekeeper, recorder, builder, presenter).
• Extension for advanced learners: require an additional justification paragraph in planning—students must explain how their design responds to environmental change and not just the current problem (for example: designing for future hotter summers or changing rainfall patterns).
• EAL considerations: allow students to record evidence first using pictures/short phrases, then translate into full sentences; provide a glossary of key terms with meanings in simple English.
• SEN considerations: reduce writing load by offering an option to complete the recording template using bullet points and a “chosen evidence” box.

Extension (optional)

• Ask advanced groups to add a “trade-offs” section to their plan: identify one possible downside of a chosen strategy and propose a mitigation step to maintain liveability.