Should We Preserve the Past for the Future?

This is a unit of work within the framework of the Essential Learnings and with particular reference to Maria Island. It was done by Fran Read and the Grade 5/6 class at Orford Primary School. It took about 8 weeks to complete.

Focus Essential

Social Responsibility:

Understanding the past and creating preferred futures.

Supporting Essentials

Thinking:	Communicating	World Futures
Inquiry	Being Literate	Understanding systems
Reflective Thinking	Being ICT Literate	Creating sustainable Futures
		Investigating the natural and constructed world

	Values
	Connectedness
	Responsibility

Understanding Goals

To understand the impact that people have on our environment.

To understand the relationships between living things in a habitat.

To make judgements about what is good development and island usage.

Performances of Understanding
These are some of the activities undertaken by the class.
	Three day camp on Maria Island.

Drama and role play of people and events in the island's history. Performance at whole-school assembly of a play about the history of Maria Island.

Identify evidence of the different time periods in Maria Island's history.

Take the point of view of one of the animals on the island and discuss human impact.

Find evidence of current human impact ie graffiti, marine debris, litter

Investigate the culling of kangaroos and wallabies on the island.

Examine newspaper editorials and letters to assess various opinions on some proposed Maria Island developments.


Assessment Tasks
Upgrade our school website on Maria Island
School Website

Discussion and debate. What if... somebody built a five star hotel on Maria Island.
Student Opinions