By the end of year five, students can describe the events
that bring about change and how those events affect people and communities
(ACARA, 2015a). One of the biggest changes that a community can go through is a
natural disaster. In Tasmania we are quite lucky as the number of potential
natural disasters is quite low. However, over the past decade there have been
severe bushfires that have destroyed communities. As a year five class, we will
be looking at how bushfires have affected people and communities and how people
have responded in the aftermath. Through this unit we are combining CCE with
Geography.
A study by
Prior and Paton (2008) following bushfires on the East Coast of Tasmania in
2006 found that people believe there should be more open discussion within
communities about bushfire risk and prevention. This is important for us as a
school as we want all students and their families to be safe at school and
within the wider community. We are looking at this topic to open up discussions
on bushfire risk and prevention within our community.
There have been many bushfires in Tasmania over the last decade.
The two that we are going to focus in this unit on are the 2013 Dunalley
bushfires and the 2019 Huon Valley bushfires. We are looking at how these fires
affected the local communities, how people responded and what has happened
since.
Effects of
the Bushfires
First, we will investigate how the bushfires effected the
communities.
We will view the Dunalley fires timeline from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-13/tasmanian-bushfire-report-finds-recommendations-adopted/6849576
 |
| (Baines, 2018) |
Students will focus on the question, ‘Who or what was
affected?’ This will be aimed at thinking beyond just the local community.
Students will also consider the economic effects of bushfires,
specifically the Tahune Airwalk, on the local communities.
 |
| (Richards, 2019) |
How People
Responded
Next, we will look at the human response to the fires. We
will watch the video below.
 |
| (Bennet, 2013) |
6 Months Later: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-19/dunalley-family-faces-harsh-reality-of-life-after-fire/4766452
Students will consider the personal accounts and what
individuals did. We will also consider the roles of volunteer fire fighters
through these events.
Through this task, students will consider how people work
together through difficult circumstances and the different responses people can
have to an event like this: both positive and negative.
What has
Happened Since
With the above video still in mind, we will consider what has
happened since. Students will look at news reports and photos of bushfire
affected areas rebuilt months or even years after the fact and consider what
had to happen in order to rebuild.
Students
will research the topics discussed and write a report detailing what happened, who it affected, and what was the response. Students' participation in our whole class discussions will be also observed and noted towards assessment.
To finish this unit, students will write a short narrative
set within the context of a bushfire. Students will outline the varying responses
people have and focus on how the community work together to rebuild.
Civics and Citizenship:
 |
| (ACARA, 2015a) |
Geography:
 |
| (ACARA, 2015a) |
English:
 |
| (ACARA, 2015b) |
Australian Curriculum
Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2015a). Australian Curriculum: HASS. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass
Australian Curriculum
Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2015b). Australian Curriculum: English. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/english
Baines, R.
(2018). Dunalley bushfires: report finds
most inquiry recommendations adopted. ABC News. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-13/tasmanian-bushfire-report-finds-recommendations-adopted/6849576
Bennet, J.
(2013). 7.30 revisits Walker family six
months after their dramatic escape form the Dunalley bushfires. ABC News. Retrieved
from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-19/dunalley-family-faces-harsh-reality-of-life-after-fire/4766452
Prior, T. D.,
& Paton, D. (2008). Understanding the context: the value of community
engagement in bushfire risk communication and education. Observations following
the East Coast Tasmania bushfires of December 2006. Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, 2, 1-14.
Richards, B.
(2019). The Tahune Airwalk site in the
Huon Valley is intact despite being blackened in the Riveraux Rd fire. The Mercury.
Retrieved from https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/the-tahune-airwalk-site-in-the-huon-valley-is-intact-despite-being-blackened-in-the-riveaux-rd-fire/news-story/eebb78ce76bd51e4022fee9d2dfd1950
Hello David,
ReplyDeleteOnce again, a really interesting and engaging post!
I think that it is really refined for a draft, so there isn’t much you need to change. Just read through and fix up some small grammatical errors to perfect the post.
A small thing to consider. You also said that most of the work will be done through class discussions, but what if some of the students don’t feel comfortable talking as part of a whole class? Maybe consider small group work or written responses to the videos, to collect information on these students understanding.
Madi 😊
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteThis post is really well done and you chose a topic that relates geographically to the students which should promote engagement. My only issue is if the seriousness of the topic may be too much for some students, or if maybe a students was affected by the recent fires, that could cause a problem. I'm sure you would do your research first but it was just something i thought of while reading the post.
Cheers,
Jacob