Year 7–8 Earth and space sciences

Teacher Note: These activities have been inspired by the University of Melbourne Indigenous Knowledge Institute resources, available here.

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Overview

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have long observed the phases of the Moon and used it to understand the tides and environment around them. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live in coastal communities use the changes in tides to inform their hunting, fishing and agricultural practices. For example, according to anthropologist W. Lloyd Warner, “the Murngin [another name for the Yolngu of Arnhem Land] have a most accurate knowledge of the locational, seasonal, and daily variation of the tides. Anyone who has taken a canoe trip with them along the seacoast quickly learns that this knowledge is immense in detail, well organised, and held by all the men” (Warner, 1937, p. 368).

These resources are designed to be used in a two-lesson sequence, where students first explore how to identify high and low tides, then reflect on how tides affect their own behaviours, before exploring the connection between the tides and customs of coastal Indigenous communities. Following this, students develop scientific understanding of how the gravitational and centrifugal forces of the moon form these tides.

4Cs Curriculum Connections for CLIL

CONTENT

This resource addresses the following Content Descriptions from the Victorian Curriculum: Science

Science understanding—Level 7 and 8

  • Predictable phenomena on Earth, including seasons and eclipses, are caused by the relative positions of the sun, Earth and the moon (VCSSU099)
  • Scientific knowledge and understanding of the world changes as new evidence becomes available; science knowledge can develop through collaboration and connecting ideas across the disciplines and practice of science (VCSSU089)

COGNITION

  • Apply their knowledge of high/low tides to evaluate when Indigenous communities may fish, hunt or participate in cultural activities.
  • Reflect on how students and their communities might make decisions based on tides.

CULTURE

  • Comparing the role tides and the phases of the moon play in Indigenous Australian culture compared to students’ own culture/s. 

COMMUNICATION

Language Of Learning

  • ひきしお (low tide)、みちしお (high tide)
  • 先住民 (Indigenous Australian peoples)
  • ひっぱります (to pull)、じゅうりょく (gravity)、えんしんりょく (centrifugal force)
  • うみ (ocean)、月 (moon)、ちきゅう (Earth)、じてん (rotation)
  • たかい (high/tall)、ひくい (low/short)

Language For Learning

  • 何ですか (What is it?)
  • みてください。(Please look)、 聞いてください。(Please listen)
  • これは＿＿＿です。(This is…)
  • おなじ (same)、ちがう (different)
  • わかりません (I don’t understand) わかります (I understand)
  • なぜ・どうして (Why?)
  • Vocabulary describing activities to do during low and high tide (eg かに、かき、かい、サーフィン、つり、すなあそび)

Language Through Learning

  • (This is the unplanned language students discover through their learning)

Teaching and Learning Activities

Lesson 1

Display Powerpoint slides

  • Slides 4–5: New vocabulary (みちしお、ひきしお）
  • Slides 6–13: Low vs high tides slides
  • Student activity 1: Complete question 1 of Worksheet 1.
  • Think pair share + class discussion: うみ　で　何　を　しますか。
  • Student activity 2: Complete question 2 of Worksheet 1.
  • Reading activity: オーストラリアのせんじゅうみん　は　ひきしお　と　みちしお　の　とき、　何を　しますか。
  • Student activity 3: Complete question 3 of Worksheet 1.
  • Speaking activity: students to ask one another 「ひきしお・みちしお　の　とき、何を　しますか」and record responses. Students create a Venn diagram linking activities done by the class and by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Review: Share with another pair what their partner does using low and high tides.

Lesson 2

Display Powerpoint slides

  • Slide 19: Identify ひきしお、みちしお from pictures. Discuss なぜ　みず　が　たかい・ひくい　ですか。
  • Student activity 1: In pairs, students try to answer the question on Slide 19 by filling out Worksheet 2.
  • Slides 32–34: Explicit teaching of how the moon’s gravitational pull affects low and high tides. Use analogy of teacup rides at theme parks to demonstrate centrifugal force.
  • Student activity 2: in pairs, hold hands and spin around each other. Can they feel the centrifugal force outwards as they spin?
  • Student activity 3: Make split pin (Earth-moon model)

Review: In pairs, explain to one another how high and low tides form, and why there are two high tides and two low tides.

Resources

Powerpoint slides

Worksheet 1 (ひきしお　と　みちしお)

Reading text (ガラジャリ　の　人々　と　うみ)

Worksheet 2 (月　と　ちきゅう)

Earth-moon model (Powerpoint)

This work is licensed under a 
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This resource embodies traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions shared by Australian Indigenous communities. The information is shared for the purposes of knowledge preservation and general education, and ask that you engage with opportunities to learn from this knowledge and culture respectfully. In drawing on the material, users should consider the relevance and suitability to their particular circumstances and purposes. For more information, and to learn more about Australian Indigenous Knowledge, please visit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander School Curricula