This document outlines a comprehensive geography unit focused on waste management for Year 6 students. It includes engaging activities designed to help students identify, research, and propose solutions to waste-related issues within their school and community, emphasizing the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle, and replace. The curriculum integrates digital resources and collaborative methods to enhance the learning experience and promote sustainable practices.

1. Context For Learning
Unit Title Key Learning Area Year Level Duration of Unit
Working With Waste Geography Four 6 Lessons
Introduction and Purpose
This digitally rich unit of work has been designed to achieve student understanding around the topic of ‘waste management’. The learning
journey proposed by this unit, allows for students to participate in both collaborative and highly authentic activities. The purpose of this unit is to
provide students with the opportunity to solve a comprehensive problem that could realistically be facing schools and/or communities across the
globe, now and into the future.
Identified Curriculum
The Australian Curriculum: Geography Version 7.1 (Years F-10)
Geographical Knowledge and Understanding:
The sustainable management of waste from production and consumption (ACHGK025).
 Exploring different ways of managing wastes sustainably, and how these may include the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle and replace.
Geographical Inquiry and Skills:
Collect and record relevant geographical data and information, for example, by observing, by interviewing, conducting surveys and measuring, or
from sources such as maps, photographs, satellite images, the media and the internet (ACHGS027).
Present findings in a range of communication forms, for example, written, oral, digital, graphic, tabular and visual, and use geographical
terminology (ACHGS031).

2. Learning Sequence
Lesson # PBL Phase/s Learning Experience Strategies and Methods Digital Resources & SAMR
Integration
1 Explore the Issue
&
What Do We
Know?
 Students watch the Voki of their principal
introducing the overarching ‘waste’
problem that exists within their school.
 The teacher reads to the students the task
outline that is on the home page of the
classroom website.
 As a class, students watch this YouTube
video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJraC8
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 The teacher encourages a whole class
discussion about the problem and guides it
using questioning.
 The teacher separates students into small
groups of three or four.
 The teacher introduces the class website to
the students. The teacher explains that
each group will have their own blog page
on that website to communicate and
document their projects.
 Using Popplet, the groups brainstorm what
they already know about ‘waste’ and
‘waste management’.
 The teacher encourages groups to embed
this Popplet into their blog.
 Discussion.
 Questioning.
 Brainstorming.
 KWL chart.
 Collaborative Learning.
 Reflection.
Voki – Is used to introduce
the overarching problem
to students and the task
that they have been given
(Augmentation).
Popplet – Students use to
brainstorm what they
already know about the
topic (Modification).
Class Website & Group
Blogs (Weebly) – Students
use to communicate and
document the processes
they go through when
creating their problem
based projects
(Redefinition).
Digital Video – Teacher
uses to introduce and
provide context for the
overarching issue
(Augmentation).

3.  Groups create a digital KWL chart to reflect
on what they know and what they want to
know about ‘waste management’.
 The teacher encourages groups to embed
this KWL chart into their blog.
KWL Creator – Students
use an online KWL creator
to reflect on their learning
journey so far and their
learning into the future
(Modification).
2 Identify the
Problem
&
Identify Possible
Solutions
 The teacher shows students this YouTube
video to introduce the topic of ‘ Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle’:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKdZY
YmTT9A
 The teacher encourages a whole class
discussion about ‘The Three R’s’ and
questions students about what each R
represents.
 The teacher assigns each group one of the
R’s and informs them that they have 20
minutes to create a short presentation on
the Explain Everything App that details
what their R represents.
 Students work in their project groups to
research and create their presentations.
 The teacher pairs up the groups.
 The groups complete a jigsaw task, where
they present their ‘R’ to the group they are
paired with.
 Discussion.
 Questioning.
 Oral Presentations.
 Jigsaw Groups.
 Brainstorming.
 Reflection.
 Collaborative Learning.
Class Website & Group
Blogs (Weebly) – Students
use to communicate and
document the processes
they go through when
creating their problem
based projects
(Redefinition).
Popplet – Students use to
brainstorm possible
solutions for their
identified problem
(Modification).
Explain Everything App –
Used by students to create
short presentations about
one of the R’s
(Redefinition).

4.  Students separate into their project
groups.
 Groups identify a specific problem that
they are going to target as part of their
project. I.e. paper consumption, water
consumption, lack of vegetation, littering,
etc.
 Using Popplet, the groups identify and
brainstorm possible solutions for their
specified problem.
 The students publish this Popplet in their
blog.
 The teacher should encourage students to
draw upon the knowledge they gained
during the jigsaw activity when
brainstorming solutions.
 The students narrow down their top three
solutions, with each member selecting
their favourite.
 Students create a post in their blog and
reflect on their selection for the top three
solutions as well as the possible ways in
which they can conduct research in future
lessons.
3 Develop an Action
Plan and Time
Frames
 The teacher and students talk through the
task outline for a second time.
 The teacher questions students about the
 Brainstorming.
 Questioning.
 Discussion.
Digital Timeline – Students
use this to document their
action plan, detailing the

5. &
Research
key points of the task and creates a
checklist of elements each group must
include within their final project.
 The teacher publishes this list on the ‘class
resources’ page for students to refer to in
the future.
 As a class, the students and teacher discuss
and brainstorm possible methods the
groups could use when researching for
their projects.
 The teacher publishes this brainstorm on
the ‘class resources’ page for students to
refer to in the future
 Students separate into their project
groups.
 Students refer to the brainstorm created as
a class and decide on the three methods
they are going to use for their research.
 Groups create an action plan with
timeframes and assign specific tasks to
each student. Groups detail this
information using a digital timeline.
 The teacher encourages groups to embed
this timeframe into their blog.
 The groups begin to develop the
templates, surveys, etc. they are going to
use to research and record their results.
 Collaborative Learning.
assigned tasks for each
group member as well as
the agreed upon
timeframes (Modification).
Classroom Website &
Group Blogs (Weebly) –
Students use to
communicate and
document the processes
they go through when
creating their problem
based projects
(Redefinition).
Popplet – The teacher uses
this to record student
contributions about the
methods groups are going
to use when researching
for their projects
(Substitution).
Word Generated Checklist
– The teacher uses this to
simplify the task outline so
that students know exactly
what has to be considered

6. in their projects
(Substitution).
4 Research  Before allowing students to begin research,
the teacher reads through and discusses
with them the safety contract each student
signed at the beginning of the year.
 The teacher checks for student
understanding about online safety through
questioning, for example:
 What sort of information must we
not share with others online?
 Are we allowed to look at any site
on the Internet without teacher
approval?
 Should we be talking about other
students whilst online?
 Etc.
 The groups begin the research process:
 They conduct their survey, using
the online platform Survey Monkey.
 They conduct some simple online
research.
 They conduct interviews with office
staff and other important members
of the school community.
 Etc.
 The teacher guides the online research
 Collaborative Learning.
 PMI Charts.
 Discussion.
 Questioning.
 Reflection.
Survey Monkey – Students
use this to research and
gain knowledge about
student/staff body
opinions, in regards to the
waste management
method implemented
around the school
(Modify).
Digital PMI Charts –
Students use this record
and categorize the data
collected during the
research process
(Augment).
Classroom Website &
Group Blogs (Weebly) –
Students use to
communicate and
document the processes
they go through when
creating their problem
based projects

7. process by providing multiple ‘student
friendly’ websites for the group to access.
The teacher publishes these website links
on the ‘ resources’ page of the classroom
website.
 The groups collate the information they
receive whilst researching and organise it
within three digital PMI charts (one for
each possible solution).
 The groups publish their three finalised
PMI charts on their blog page.
 Group members take part in a reflective
discussion about the process they went
through whilst researching. This oral
reflection should be recorded using an
Ipad, phone, etc. and be published on each
groups blog.
(Redefinition).
Audio Recording –
Students use this to record
their reflective thoughts
about the research process
they conducted
themselves in (Modify).
5 Present the
Solution
 Groups draw upon the three PMI charts
they created in the previous lesson to
create a digital comparison chart.
 Using their completed comparison chart,
groups decide on the most appropriate
and/ or feasible solution for their problem.
 Groups create a Prezi to accompany their
final oral presentation, where they will be
required to present their problem and
solution to a selected audience.
 Collaborative Learning.
 Reflection.
Comparison Chart –
Students use this to collate
and compare the data
collected during the
research process
(Substitution).
Prezi –This is used by
students to discuss the
data collected during the

8.  Groups create a script for their final
presentations.
 Groups rehearse their final presentations.
research process, as well
as seamlessly present the
final solution
(Redefinition).
Classroom Website &
Group Blogs (Weebly) –
Students use this to
communicate and
document the processes
they go through when
creating their problem
based projects
(Redefinition).
6 Present the
Solution
&
Review
 The teacher invites other students as well
as the principal to be the audience for the
groups’ presentations.
 The groups take turns delivering their
‘waste management’ presentations to the
invited guests.
 The invited guests take part in an
anonymous vote, where they are required
to select which groups’ method they
favoured the most.
 The teacher collates the votes and
announces which group received the
highest amount of votes.
 Oral Presentations.
 Collaborative Learning.
 Peer Reflection.
 Think, Pair, Share.
Prezi - This is used by
students to discuss the
data collected during the
research process, as well
as to present the final
solution (Redefinition).
Classroom Website &
Group Blogs (Weebly) –
Students use this to
communicate and
document the processes
they go through when

9.  The group that received the most votes will
work closely with the principal in the
future, to implement their solution around
the school.
 The members of each group conduct
themselves in a Think, Pair, and Share,
where they reflect on one of the other
groups’ oral presentations. During this
reflection students are to complete a
digital reflection sheet that they will then
post on the reflected groups blog.
 The teacher guides this reflection process
by structuring the reflection sheets, to
ensure that all comments given are
constructive and not hurtful.
creating their problem
based projects
(Redefinition).
Digital Reflection Sheets -
Students use this to
constructively reflect on
one of the other groups’
presentations (Augment).