Subject-specific learning materials

• Resource 1: The River Story
• Resource 2: Map of the Fitzroy Catchment
• Resource 3: Habitat Survey Field Guide Ratings
• Resource 4: Exploring Different Perspectives
• Resource 5: PowerPoint Presentation using the Six Thinking Hats

: TOP :

Resource 1: The River Story

This activity demonstrates how all activities and people in a catchment contribute to the condition of the catchment.

The teacher provides each student or pairs of students with a film canister of materials representing pollution in the catchment. Each canister is numbered, as the teacher reads the story he/she names a character in the story and the number. The student with that number places the contents of the canister in a large, clear container of clean water. A list of the characters, activity and mock pollution in the canister is detailed at the end of the story.

• Click here to view the Story

Look at our river now. Would you want to be a plant or animal living in that? Do you have any suggestions on how these problems might be solved? Let's look at each person's contribution to the pollution of the river and see if how it could have been prevented.

The People in the Catchment

: TOP :

Resource 2: Map of the Fitzroy Catchment

: TOP :

Resource 3: Habitat Survey Field Guide Ratings

Student task sheet

Student Task Sheet

Our habitat survey involves looking at the vegetation along the Dee River and the condition of the banks and stream bed.

The condition of the vegetation in and around the steam provides a good indication of the conditions of the aquatic environment. If the stream side vegetation (the verge) makes a good buffer against erosion and the movement of sediment into the water. When the stream side vegetation is degrade it provide less protection against land use impacts and the deterioration of water quality and of conditions for aquatic plants and animals.

Habitat Survey Record Sheet

Names of group: ___________________________________
Date of survey: ____________________
Length of stream examined: __ metres
Stream Habitat rating:

Circle your stream rating for each factor in the table below. Check the table above to see what the numbers describe.

Add up the numbers you have circled: Total score ________

Compare your stream's total score with the range of scores below to assess the stream habitat rating at your site.

Rating Score

• Excellent 50 to 41
• Good 40 to 31
• Fair 30 to 21
• Poor 20 to 11
• Very Poor 10 to 0

Dee River Habitat rating ___________

: TOP :

Resource 4: Exploring Different Perspectives

This sheet can be used by individual students, groups or with the whole class to clarify issues or to solve problems. Once the sheet has been completed it can then be used for activities such as role-plays. For example:

The Value Mining Company is planning to re-open the Mt Morgan mine. It has advertised its intentions to the community and this has caused a lot of concern and discussions in Mt Morgan. Now a community meeting is going to be held to discuss the situation. A chair person will run the meeting and all interested groups will be asked to express their opinions.

Groups of students take a stance on the issues and use the sheet to clarify their thinking and develop their argument. They deliver their ideas at the meeting.

: TOP :

Resource 5: PowerPoint Presentation using the Six Thinking Hats

Student Task Sheet

Your task is to produce a PowerPoint presentation explaining mining in Mt Morgan. Record your information in your pad then transfer it to Power Point. You may like to use the colour of the hats as the background of each slide e.g. yellow hat - yellow background and blue or black text.

• White Hat - What information do you have about the mine? When did it open? Where is it?

• Yellow Hat - What were the good points of the mine? How many people did it employ? How much money did it earn and for whom? Who benefited from the mine?

• Black Hat - What problems did the mine cause? Who did it disadvantage? What are the costs and difficulties of solving these problems?

• Red Hat - How do people feel about the mine? How did they feel in the past? Which groups felt positive? Which groups felt negative?

• Green Hat - What are some ways of solving the present day problems? Who will help? What will they do?

• Blue Hat - This is the final hat. It represents thinking about ideas and organising thinking. You have used this hat because you have organised your ideas under the thinking hats.

A simpler way of doing this is to use a Positive Negative Interesting Chart and list knowledge and ideas under these headings. An example is detailed below.