Wetlands to Wheelie Bins

Overview

Students investigate a local history question about how people in their community adapted to environmental change over time. They practise locating, collecting and recording information from suitable sources and organise it using a simple timeline and map.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify what kinds of sources are useful for local history and explain why.
• Students will locate information about an environmental change and community responses using guided source selection.
• Students will collect and record key facts accurately using a graphic organiser (timeline and map).
• Students will share findings using relevant subject-specific terms.

Success criteria

• I can choose an appropriate source type for my inquiry question and say why it helps.
• I can record information from sources with key details (who/what, when, where).
• I can place events on an annotated timeline and locate places on a map using simple directions or distances.
• I can present a short explanation linking community actions to environmental change.

Curriculum links

• Humanities and Social Sciences: AC9HS4S02 (locate, collect and record information and data from a range of sources, including annotated timelines and maps).
• Humanities and Social Sciences: AC9HS4S07 (present descriptions and explanations, using ideas from sources and relevant subject-specific terms).
• Humanities and Social Sciences: AC9HS4K05 (connections between environments and people/animals, especially vegetation and water).
• Humanities and Social Sciences: AC9HS4S06 (propose actions or responses to an issue by considering possible effects of actions).

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and question. Teacher shows 2–3 short source images (e.g., old photo of a local wetland/creek, current photo, a simple local map snippet) and asks: “What change might have happened to the environment, and what might people have done about it?” Students turn-and-talk, then share one idea.

2. 5–12 min · Mini-teach: good sources for local history. Teacher models how to sort sources into “useful for…” (e.g., photos show appearance/time clues; written accounts show reasons and actions; maps show location; graphs/tables show change over time). Students in pairs complete a quick “source match” task: choose the best source for two prompt questions (e.g., “Where was it?” “Why did people act?”).

3. 12–25 min · Guided research collection (station work). Teacher explains the inquiry focus: “How has our community adapted to environmental change around water/vegetation?” Students rotate through teacher-prepared stations containing printed short articles, captions, maps, and one digital resource (teacher-controlled, no searching). Students use a recording sheet to collect:

• 2 facts about environmental change (e.g., water quality, vegetation loss/growth)
• 2 facts about community adaptation (e.g., planting, drainage/waste management changes, protecting habitat)
• 1 detail about where it happened Teacher circulates, checking that students are copying accurately and not inventing details.

4. 25–35 min · Create an annotated timeline and map. Teacher demonstrates placing 3–4 events in order on an annotated timeline (approximate dates or “then/now” if exact years are unclear) and adding arrows or labels on a simple community map. Students complete their own organiser in pairs:

• Timeline: add event cards from their notes and write a short caption using timeline language (“before/after/then/now”).
• Map: mark the location connected to their facts and add one compass direction or distance estimate (e.g., “near the creek, about 1 km from school”).

5. 35–43 min · Share and explain with subject terms. Teacher provides sentence starters on the board:

• “Our environment changed when…”
• “People adapted by…”
• “This helped because…” Students deliver a 30–45 second explanation to another pair, using at least three subject terms from a class list (e.g., environment, vegetation, water, habitat, adaptation, management, community).

6. 43–45 min · Exit ticket. Students complete one prompt individually: “Name one source you used and one key fact you recorded. Then write one sentence linking the environmental change to a community action.”

Resources

• Teacher-prepared station packs: short printed readings with captions and dates where possible
• Historical and current local images (printed) and simple map snippets
• Recording sheet with fields: “Environmental change”, “Community adaptation”, “Where”, “Source used”
• Annotated timeline template (3–5 boxes) and timeline language word bank
• Simple classroom map of the local area (or suburb/catchment) with a few landmarks
• Marker pens, highlighters, scissors (optional for event card cut-outs)
• Sentence starters and a subject-term word bank on chart paper
• Teacher-controlled digital slideshow or bookmarked page (if used)

Assessment

• Teacher observation during station work: check accuracy of copied facts and appropriate source choice.
• Review of timelines and map labels: whether events are ordered and locations are correctly marked.
• Exit ticket: one source named, one key fact recorded, and a linked explanation sentence.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide a partially completed recording sheet for students needing scaffolding (e.g., pre-filled “Where” and a bank of fact sentences to choose from).
• Support: Offer sentence starters with word bank for explaining cause and adaptation (“because”, “to help”, “so that”).
• Extension: Challenge students to add an extra event or include a “possible effect” statement (e.g., “This action could improve water quality because…”).
• Language support/EAL: Use visuals on recording sheets (icons for water, vegetation, habitat, actions) and allow oral rehearsal before writing.
• SEN: Seat students near supportive peer partners; use chunked station instructions and a timer for rotations.