RESEARCH DESIGN MAKE AND SHARE.

HOLY FAMILY - ARE WE PREPARED?
“DROUGHT, BUSH FIRES, SEVERE STORMS, CYCLONES, FLOODS, AND EARTHQUAKES ”
THESE ARE SOME OF THE DANGERS THAT WE AS AUSTRALIANS ALL FACE LIVING IN THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY OF OURS.

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IF A NATURAL DISASTER WERE TO STRIKE OUR LOCAL AREA DO YOU THINK THAT WE WOULD BE REALLY PREPARED FOR IT, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT OUR PREPARATION IS GOOD ENOUGH. DOES THE HOLY FAMILY COMMUNITY KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT NATURAL DISASTERS?

MAYBE WE CAN HELP - OUR LEARNING PROJECTS WILL BE VIEWED BY PEOPLE ALL OVER AUSTRALIA AND ALL OVER THE WORLD. PERHAPS THE INFORMATION THAT WE INCLUDE IN OUR LEARNING PROJECTS WILL HELP SOMEONE WHO FINDS THEMSELVES A VICTIM OF A NATURAL DISASTER.

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OUR MISSION IS TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE NATURAL DISASTERS THAT WE FACE IN AUSTRALIA.

HOW AND WHY DO THESE DISASTERS OCCUR?
HOW DO NATURAL DISASTERS IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF THE AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE?
HOW DO NATURAL DISASTERS IMPACT ON THE AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENT?
HOW DO THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA DEAL WITH NATURAL DISASTERS?
ARE THERE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO PREPARE OURSELVES AND OUR HOMES IN CASE A DISASTER WAS TO STRIKE
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RESEARCH, DESIGN AND MAKE TASK.

WE HAVE BEEN SEEING A LOT IN THE NEWS LATELY ABOUT THE DAMAGE THAT NATURAL DISASTERS SUCH AS STORMS, BUSH FIRES AND FLOODING CAN CAUSE. IT WOULD SEEM THAT MANY OF US ARE NOT AS PREPARED AS WE COULD BE SHOULD A NATURAL DISASTER STRIKE.
YEAR 5 HAVE A JOB TO DO - THE JOB WILL INVOLVE RESEARCH, PLANNING AND A LOT OF THINKING.
WE NEED TO DESIGN AND MAKE SOME PACKAGES THAT COULD BE USED TO INFORM AND HELP THE PEOPLE WITHIN THE HOLY FAMILY COMMUNITY HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF NATURAL DISASTERS AND TO BE ABLE TO BE BETTER PREPARED IF A NATURAL DISASTER WERE TO STRIKE.

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TASK ONE - (HOMEWORK)

YOUR GROUP WILL NEED TO CAREFULLY RESEARCH A NATURAL DISASTER.
WHEN DECIDING WHICH NATURAL DISASTER THAT THE GROUP WILL RESEARCH YOU MUST CONSIDER THE THREAT THAT THE DISASTER POSES FOR THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA.
THE QUESTIONS BELOW WILL HELP TO GUIDE YOU DURING YOUR RESEARCH. YOUR INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE DETAILED AND ACCURATE.
1. IDENTIFY ONE SIGNIFICANT NATURAL DISASTER THAT COULD AFFECT THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA.

2. RESEARCH AND EXPLAIN HOW AND WHY THIS NATURAL DISASTER OCCURS?

3. HOW DOES THE NATURAL DISASTER AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT?

4. HOW DO PEOPLE RESPOND TO THE DISASTER?

5. IDENTIFY TIMES WHEN THIS TYPE OF DISASTER HAS AFFECTED THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA - DON'T FORGET TO THINK ABOUT HOW THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA RESPONDED.

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TASK TWO

1. GROUP MEMBERS WILL HAVE TO JUSTIFY WHY YOUR GROUP BELIEVES THAT THE DISASTER YOU HAVE CHOSEN POSES THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA.
2. IT IS NOW UP TO THE GROUP TO DESIGN AND MAKE AN EMERGENCY PACK THAT COULD BE USED SHOULD THE DISASTER YOU HAVE RESEARCHED STRIKE.
3. YOUR GROUP WILL NEED TO BEGIN BY CHOOSING 20 ITEMS THAT ARE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE EMERGENCY PACK.
4. THEN AS A GROUP DECIDE AND JUSTIFY “10 VITAL” ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED IN YOUR PACK.
5. USING LABELLED DIAGRAMS SHOW HOW YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE THE “10 VITAL” ITEMS YOUR GROUP HAS CHOSEN. YOU WILL NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THE ITEMS – BE REALISTIC IN YOUR CREATIONS.
6. DESIGN AN APPROPRIATE STORAGE CONTAINER FOR THE ITEMS.

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TASK THREE

1. MAKE YOUR ITEMS AND STORAGE CONTAINER – LABEL APPROPRIATELY
2. TAKE PICTURES OF GROUP DURING THE DESIGNING AND MAKING PROCESS AS WELL AS PICTURES OF THE FINAL PRODUCT.
3. PRESENT YOUR ‘SURVIVAL KIT’ TO OUR VISITING FIRE FIGHTER AND OTHER CLASS MEMBERS.
4. YOUR GROUP WILL NEED TO JUSTIFY THE INCLUSION OF EACH ITEM.

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TASK FOUR

1. COMPLETE SELF EVALUATION OF YOUR GROUP WORK
2. CONSIDER WHAT YOU WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME TO IMPROVE ON YOUR WORK
3. IDENTIFY AND CONSIDER WHAT WORKED WELL.

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TASK FIVE

1. UPLOAD ALL RESEARCHED INFORMATION TO BLOG.
2. UPLOAD PICTURES OF SURVIVAL KITS AND INFORMATION RELATING TO DESIGN AND MAKE PROCESS.
3. SHARE YOUR WORK WITH YOUR PARENTS ASKING THEM TO REFLECT/COMMENT ON YOUR WORK.
4. VISIT THE BLOG OF ANOTHER GROUP – COMMENTING ON THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS AND LEARNING FROM THEM.

North Queensland Floods - January/February 2009

On 31 January 2009, Tropical Cyclone Ellie caused a rain depression in Far North/Northern Queensland resulting in substantial flooding to townships between Townsville and Cairns. Over 3,000 homes in the Ingham area have been affected by these floods with flooding also reported through Ingham businesses and the town centre.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009

Floods... Australia 2007

Floods impact on the lives of many people.
After watching this video you will need to think of some of the ways in which the people and the environment may have been affected.
Are the effects all negative - perhaps you should also consider any positive effects of flood.

Think of at least 3 ways in which your everyday life would be changed after extensive flooding.
Explain 3 ways in which the environment would be changed.
What are the positive effects that flooding could lead to?

AUSTRALIA THE SUNBURNT COUNTRY

We live in a beautiful country that is very different to other places on Earth. People often use poetry to describe things. Take some time to read this poem, which describes the Australian landscape.
Remember to use the “comprehension strategies” that we are learning about to help you understand what the author is trying to say.


MY COUNTRY
The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die-
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold-
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land-
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand-
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

Dorothea Mackellar

1. Choose a stanza from the poem and describe in your own words what the author is trying to say.
2. You may need to use a dictionary to check on the definition of some words.
3. You will also need to use your imagination.
4. Read the poem to Mum, Dad or another family member and ask them what images they see when they hear the words of the poem.
5. The words may remind them of a particular place in Australia if it does include this in your response.