Geography Level 4 (Years 5 and 6)
Learning focus
As students work towards the achievement of Level 4 standards in Geography, they investigate some of the significant natural processes that operate across Australia (for example, rainfall, drought, flood, earthquake, cyclones and bushfire), and how people react to them, including their preparation for, and management of, natural disasters.
Students explore how humans have affected the Australian environment. Examples could include: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities’ care of the land; clearance by farmers and subsequent problems of land degradation and salinity; and protection of the natural environment through the creation of nature parks, national parks and marine parks. Using an inquiry-based approach, students explore environmental issues and consider possible solutions to current and future challenges. Students learn about environmentally sensitive areas such as local remnant vegetation, rivers, alpine Victoria, GippslandLakes and national parks and explore ways of protecting these unique environments in a sustainable way for future generations.
Students develop mapping skills and use conventional geographic language, including scale, compass points for direction, alphanumeric grid references and legends, to locate places. They learn about and interpret their location relative to other places. They begin to identify features on maps, satellite images, and oblique photographs and use maps at different scales to locate places, find their way around, and plan trips to visit specific places. To enhance the electronic presentations they develop, students search for and annotate relevant images from the Internet.
Students participate in fieldwork using simple techniques; for example, collecting and recording data on how the human and physical characteristics of a selected site are changing or have changed. They explore effective ways to care for local places, and are provided with opportunities to initiate and participate in an action on an environmental issue of personal or group concern; for example, pollution of a local waterway.
National Statements of Learning
This Learning focus statement incorporates aspects of the National Statements of Learning for Civics and Citizenship, Year 5.
Standards
Geographical knowledge and understanding
At Level 4, students identify and describe Australia’s significant natural processes. They describe the reaction of people to these processes including the management of natural disasters. They compare the various ways humans have used and affected the Australian environment. Students recommend ways of protecting environmentally sensitive areas in a sustainable way. They provide examples and evidence based on their inquiries. They use geographic language to identify and describe the human and physical characteristics of local and global environments depicted by different kinds of maps, diagrams, photographs and satellite images.
Geospatial skills
At Level 4, students use atlases, street directories and town plan maps to accurately describe the distance, direction and location of places. They identify features from maps, satellite images, and oblique photographs. They draw sketch maps of their neighbourhood using simple mapping conventions such as title, scale, north point and legend. They research, collect, record and describe data obtained through field study surveys and measurements to form conclusions about the use of resources.
Downloads
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The Humanities − Geography booklet (
PDF - 126KB) - The Humanities − Geography standards table (Doc - 36KB)
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Victorian Essential Learning Standards Level 4 ( PDF - 751KB)
