geography alive: bushfire hazards in australia (lesson 6) · 2020-02-13 · geography alive:...
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GeographyAlive:BushfirehazardsinAustralia(Lesson6)
Lesson6:FireContentfocus:Inthislessonstudentsdeveloptheirskillsinidentifyingrhymingwords(andrhymedcouplets)andtheuseofmetaphoricallanguage.Theymaydothisontheirownorthroughdiscussionwithadultstoryreader.Themesaddressed:• ThepowerofnaturalforcesinAustralia• Theextremesoffireandflood• Thecausesofbushfire• The‘stayorgo’policy• FireandthelifecycleofAustralianflora• Thecourageoffirefighters• TheroleofvolunteersinAustralianlife• Climatechange• Rhyming
Resources:
• Picturebook–Fire,byJackieFrench&BruceWhatley,Scholastic(2014)
Fireisamovingandsensitivestoryofanaturaldisasterasseenthroughtheeyesofacockatoo.Thefireengulfshomesandland,leavingapathofdevastation.Butfromtheruins,courage,kindnessandnewlifegrows.
Synopsis:Justonesparkwakesthefireandasitleapsacrossthepaddocks,thepeopleinitspathspringintoaction.Thedrillisfamiliar:estimatehowfaroffthefireisburning,checkthatfirehazardstopropertyhavebeenremovedwhereverpossible,packthecarandbereadytodrivetosafety.Thefireracesonwardlikeamonster,devouringallobstacles,anditistimetoleave.
Escapeisuncertain,though,withthesmokesothickthattheheadlightsofthefamilyuteproveuseless.Therearejusttwosignsofhope:thespeckofahelicopterapproaching,andtheteamoffirefighterswhosecourageandstrengthholdthefireback.Theunnamedfamily’shomeandpossessionshavebeendestroyed,anditseemsthatalltheyareleftwithisgrief.Butthetextsuggeststhatwhattheyhaveinsteadisawealthofsupportandfriendship,frombothprofessionalrescuecrewsandvolunteers.Andthefutureregrowthofgreenshootsinthebushisenvisagedasametaphorforthecontinuingspiritoflifeinthecommunity.
• Worksheet6:Fire
Keyinquiryquestions:
• WhatdoesthestoryofFiretellusaboutthecausesandimpactsofbushfires?
• WhatdoesthestoryofFiretellusabout:howpeopleshouldrespondinthatfaceofabushfirethreat;theroleofvolunteersinAustralianlife;humanresilienceinthefaceofdisasterssuchasabushfire?
Outcomes:Astudent:• demonstratesan
understandingofrhymingwords,simileandmetaphors,andsymbolism.
• identifiesthedangersassociatedwithbushfiresfromanillustratedstory.
• appreciatesthevalueof
lifeandtheworkofvolunteers.
Lessonsequence:Step1:Showthestudentsthebookscover.Askthemwhattheycanseeandwhatthissuggestsaboutthetypeofstoryfeaturedinthebook.Whatdoesittellusaboutthisbushfire?Whatistheroleofthecockatoointheillustration?Whydoesthecockatoolookfrightened?Step2:Readthepicturebook,Fire,totheclassandbrieflydiscussesthekeythemesfeaturedinthetext–thepowerofnaturalforcesinAustralia;theextremesoffireandflood;thecausesofbushfire;the‘stayorgo’policy;fireandthelifecycleofAustralianflora;thecourageoffirefighters;andtheroleofvolunteersinAustralianlife.Discusstheorderofeventsportrayedinthestory. Step3:Revisetheconceptofrhymingwithstudents.Re-readthebookandaskstudentstoidentifywhererhymingisused.CompleteActivity1onWorksheet6:Fire.HaveyourstudentsidentifyofrhymingwordsforthoselistedinActivity2.Step4:Revisetheconceptsofsimile,metaphorandsymbolismwiththestudents.Showthestudentsthefirstdouble-pagespread.DiscussJackieFrench’suseofsimile–acomparisonthatuses‘like’–Likeasnake,firechangesdirectionquickly,isdangerous,thehissingsoundofthefireetc.DiscussJackieFrench’suseofmetaphor(thefirebeinglikenedtoaliving,threateningcreature).Identifythewordsandphrasesthathelpbuildthismetaphoricalimage–‘fireawake’;flamessnickered’;‘bushfireleapt’;‘lickedbytonguesoffire’;‘flamesarelaughing’;‘thebeaststhatateit’;‘gulpingsmoke’;‘oven’sbreathswallowstheday’;‘redmonster’.Askstudentstolookforexamplesofsymbolism–forexample,thehelicopterrepresentativeofhope;thegrievingfamily,theyoungboyholdingthehandofhisfather,andthevolunteergivingthekoalaadrinkreinforcingtheimportanceoflife–propertycanbereplaced;greenshootsandthecockatoorepresentingrenewalandrecovery.
GeographyAlive:BushfirehazardsinAustralia(Lesson6)
Step5:Askthestudentstore-readthestoryandaskthemtoidentifythewaysinwhichitendsonapositivenote.
Step5:Askstudentstoreflectontheillustrationsinthebook.Inwhatwaysdotheillustrationscapturethemoodofthefire,aswellasthecontrastinglandscapebeforeandafterthefire.Howdotheillustrationsemphasisetheimportanceoflifeandworkofvolunteerfirefighters.Studytheimageoftheburninghome.Whatwouldyourreactionbeifthiswasyourhome?
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