Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes – Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
40 minutes – Part B: Colour-Symbol-Technique-Image
10 minutes – Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin by writing the phrase ‘our environment’ on the board and create a mind-map (or use bubbl.us or mindmeister) around this phrase by inviting the class to suggest answers to the following question:

What might we be talking about when we talk about ‘our environment’?

Ensure your mind-map includes the following points:

Plants
Animals
Air and wind
Sunshine
Water
Soil and rocks

Step 2.

Now invite students to work as a class or in groups (depending on age and ability) to think about why the environment is important. For each point on the mind-map, invite groups to apply and respond to the following question:

Why is it important to look after this part of our environment?

Allow groups several minutes to discuss and record answers, before engaging the class in a discussion around their answers. Through your discussion ensure that students understand that our environment is important because:

It provides us with fresh air – Plants absorb the CO₂ we breath out and release oxygen that we breath in.
It provides us with clean water – Rain falls from the sky and is filtered by the soil and rocks, making it clean enough for us to drink and to wash with. We also use this water to grow our food.
It provides us with food and other materials – We eat plants and animals, and use plants and animals for medicine, clothing, timber and other products.
It provides us with healthy soils – We need healthy soils to grow food and for building.
It provides us with sunshine – We need sunshine to keep our earth warm enough to live on, and to grow the food we eat and feed to our animals.

Part B: Colour-Symbol-Technique-Image

Step 1.

Explain to students that they will now investigate how they personally perceive the parts of the environment they identified in the previous activity. Each student will need to work independently to complete the table on this Colour-Symbol-Technique Worksheet, which asks them to think of a colour, a symbol and a drawing technique that they think best describes each part of our environment. Students will be using colour pencils to complete the table.

COLOUR – Students should choose a colour that reminds them of this part of the environment. They can choose multiple shades of the same colour, but not different colours. Students should write the name of this colour in the correct box of the table.
SYMBOL – Students should think of a simple drawing or shape that they think best describes the part of the environment they are looking at. For example, they could draw a raindrop for water, a kangaroo for animals, a tree for plants, a rock for soil, a sun for sunshine, and a blowing leaf for wind or air. Students should draw this symbol in the correct box of the table.
TECHNIQUE – Distribute copies of the Pencil Colouring Techniques Handout and invite students to select the technique that they feel most suits the part of the environment they are looking at. Explain that these techniques are pencil colouring techniques – the examples on this factsheet will assist students in developing the techniques they need to portray the textures that may be associated with the part of the environment they are representing. Students should create a demonstration of this technique in the correct box of the table on the factsheet.

Step 2.

Working independently or in pairs, invite students to work through the table (a space has been provided for students to add their own part of the environment, if required). Once complete, invite students to team up with another classmate or pair to share their ideas and to discuss why they chose the colours, symbols and images they did.

Step 3.

Now invite students to work independently to choose the part of the environment they are most interested in and to combine the colour, symbol and technique to create one new, large image. In addition to creating this image, students should also answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What part of the environment have I chosen to focus on?
Why is this part of the environment important to me?
Why did I choose this colour for this part of our environment?
Why did I choose this symbol for this part of our environment?
Why did I choose this technique for this part of our environment?
It is important to look after this part of the environment because…

Depending on time, age and ability, you could invite students to create images for more than one part of the environment using the information they added to the table on the student worksheet.

Step 4.

Allow students time to create their images and complete the sentences.

Step 5.

Once complete, invite students to form groups of three or four. Each student in each group must take turns in presenting the images they created to the rest of the group, and should share their completed sentences. Encourage other students to provide feedback, ensuring that all students understand that feedback should be KIND, SPECIFIC and HELPFUL:

Reflection

Engage students in a class discussion around the following questions, or invite them to work independently to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What was the most interesting or inspiring thing about this lesson and why?
What was most challenging for me in this lesson and why?
How did you overcome this challenge?
What is one thing I’d like everyone to know about our environment?

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Creative Sustainability - Colouring Our Environment

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