Science- Primary Lessons
Get your students involved in citizen science- collecting data for real science. Examples of citizen science include the long running Streamwatch and Waterwatch programs, where community groups and schools can monitor local creeks and river systems. Other citizen science projects include Wild Pollinator Count , Great Koala Count, Climatewatch, The Great Aussie Bird Count and Birds in Schools. Australia wide Climatewatch, Questagame and The Great Aussie Bird Count have apps that allow people to report in sightings on their mobile phones. Other animals in the Macleay that have citizen science apps are the platypus, frogs, water bugs, whales, echidnas and turtles.
Have a look at Zooniverse where your students can participate in citizen science projects around the world and the universe.
Investigate a local creek with Streamwatch, testing it at various locations. Use the Freshwater Macro Invertebrates or TheWaterBug apps to help you identify the macro invertebrates . Take photos and publish your results on a web2 tool e.g. Voicethread, like this example Hickey's Creek Streamwatch.
Have a look at Zooniverse where your students can participate in citizen science projects around the world and the universe.
Investigate a local creek with Streamwatch, testing it at various locations. Use the Freshwater Macro Invertebrates or TheWaterBug apps to help you identify the macro invertebrates . Take photos and publish your results on a web2 tool e.g. Voicethread, like this example Hickey's Creek Streamwatch.
streamwatchmanual.pdf | |
File Size: | 786 kb |
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The NSW Department of Environment and Heritage have produced some educational resources for primary students here and teachers resources.
Research an indigenous seasonal calendar for the Macleay area. Research local indigenous food plants, visit Wigay Aboriginal Culture Park find out when they fruit. Talk to local elders . Using the CSIRO and Bureau of Meterology sites indigenous calendars are available for the following indigenous groups Nagan'gi, Gulumoerrgin (Larrakia) , Gooniyandi, Malak Malak, Walmajarri, Brambuk, D'harawal, Nyoongar, Yawuru, Walabunnba, Yanyuwa, Miriwoong, Wardaman, Jawoyn, Bininj, Wagiman, Tiwi, Kunwinjku, Ngadju, Ngurrungurrudjba.
When studying Australian animals, adaptations, endangered animals, migration, feral animals, food chains and food webs try to use animals from the Macleay Valley. Australian Museum and Birds in Backyards have great information on most of these.
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Rainforest Food Chains from NSW National Parks and Wildlife school excursion resource
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Magpies are a common bird in the Macleay valley. Do a unit on birds using magpies as the focus. Operation Magpie is a unit of work written for middle to upper primary by the University of South Australia.
operation_magpie_teacher_resources.webarchive | |
File Size: | 275 kb |
File Type: | webarchive |
Do a unit on Frogs. Use the ACT Region Frogwatch Schools Education Kit as a guide and adapt it using Macleay Valley frogs and using the Sphagnum Frog (Philoria sphagnicola) instead of Cooroboree Frog. Use Macleay Valley Frog Playing Cards to play Memory, Snap, Go Fish and familiarise students with the local frogs.
frogwatch_education_kit_2009.pdf | |
File Size: | 3569 kb |
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frog_cards-_macleay.docx | |
File Size: | 1405 kb |
File Type: | docx |
saving-southern-bell-frog-180459.pdf | |
File Size: | 5092 kb |
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When looking at Products and Services look at what family connections you have to businesses. Do you have connections to a bakery, a beekeeper, or a fast food outlet? Students will get more meaning from having a connection to the business. Akubra have a DVD and an online video on how Akubra hats are made in Kempsey.
Astronomy can be done on a school camp because it is relatively easy in the Macleay to find somewhere without light pollution. Binoculars and telescopes can often be borrowed from family and friends. Depending on the time of year you may see planets, constellations, the moon in different phases, satellites and shooting stars and occasionally comets and eclipses. Two galaxies other than our own can also be seen with the naked eye. In the dark patches of the Milky Way you can see the Aboriginal constellation of the Emu. While not quite in the Macleay valley, the Port Macquarie Observatory run nighttime school excursions. Monthly Sky Guides are available from Sydney Observatory.
The Australian Museum has a Spider2Web toolkit to assist schools in identifying spiders by their webs as part of a unit on Insects and Spiders.
web2spider_toolkit_for_schools.pdf | |
File Size: | 3632 kb |
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NSW National Parks and Wildlife have developed the Wilderquest website and app to help students appreciate the subtropical rainforest, coastal, alpine, urban and desert ecosystems. Aboriginal connection to country is integrated into the website.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife has produced a 10 week unit of work for Stage 2 on Biodiversity. It would be interesting to do this unit comparing the biodiversity of the school yard to one of the local National Parks
biodiversityteachersguide.pdf | |
File Size: | 1954 kb |
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The Macleay valley is surrounded by Gondwana Rainforest National Parks. The NSW NPWS has put out a teachers guide to subtropical rainforests and work sheets for Stages 1, 2 and 3.
underthecanopy_teacher_resource.pdf | |
File Size: | 4705 kb |
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Field of Mars EEC has produced these resources for primary on climate change, kitchen gardens, geography, energy efficiency and the Earth.