how are people and the environment
TRANSCRIPT
Unit 1 Factors that Change Environments Lesson 1 One World
Year 5 / 6 Geography Factors that Shape Places 11
How are people and the environment interconnected?
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Unit 1 Factors that Change Environments Lesson 1 One World
Year 5 / 6 Geography Factors that Shape Places © Inquisitive Pty Ltd.
Are people and the environment interconnected? Watch the video about the supercontinent.
a What do you think the video tells us about the planet Earth?
Write your thoughts in the box.
b From your observation of the video and your thoughts about it, write a question beginning with-
I wonder
This supercontinent was called Pangaea.
a Look at the map and label the continents that we know today.(You might need to watch the video again or use an atlas or Google Earth. Rotating the map will also help).Africa, South America, North America, Australia, Antarctica.
b There is one landmass which is actually two continents, Europe and Asia. The names are sometimes combined to refer to one continent. Can you name it and mark it on the map?
c Today India is part of Asia but in Pangaea it is a long way from Asia. Locate it and mark it on the map.
d Many of the continents in Pangaea were south of the Equator. How different would Australia’s climate have been compared to how it is now?
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Equator
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Unit 1 Factors that Change Environments Lesson 1 One World
Year 5 / 6 Geography Factors that Shape Places © Inquisitive Pty Ltd.
Based on the information from the video clip, which of these statements do you think are true?
Circle the letter of each correct answer.
a About 250 million years ago the Earth had one supercontinent. b This continent was made up of all the continents on Earth joined together. c The continents slowly broke apart and drifted away from each other. d The continents are still drifting today. e In the future, the continents will join together again. f Mountains were formed when the edge of a drifting continent collided with another one
and pushed the land up. g We know this is true because someone made a video of it. h This can’t be true because all continents have different plants and animals. i Rainforests once existed in Antarctica. j If there was one supercontinent then there must have been one superocean.
With a partner, research the answers you were unsure of and discuss what you find.
Pangaea existed a long time ago, millions of years before modern humans appeared, so we can only guess what the environment was like.
What if Pangaea still existed? What would the world be like if everyone lived on one supercontinent?
With your partner or group use the Thinking Hats strategy to write about life on a supercontinent.
White Hat Facts and details
Yellow HatList the positives
Black HatList the negatives
Green HatUse your imagination
Write a summary of your thoughts about all humans living on one supercontinent.
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Unit 1 Factors that Change Environments Lesson 1 One World
Year 5 / 6 Geography Factors that Shape Places © Inquisitive Pty Ltd.
How have humans changed the environment in these pictures?7
What do you think about humans’ connection to the environment? Have we improved it? What may happen in the future? Discuss this with your partner, group or class.
Think about your wonder question from the first page. Was it answered? If not you might need to do your own research and talk to your class about it.
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The Earth has been changing and evolving for millions of years, although the changes happen very slowly. Modern humans have also been evolving over a long time.Changes to the Earth’s environment have helped modern humans to evolve because of the need to adapt. For example; In Africa when it began to rain less, the environment changed from forests to open grasslands and early humans evolved from climbing to walking upright.Human’s ability to adapt to changing conditions means that they can survive in places all over the world.Our ability to adapt however, has resulted in us changing the environment as well, mostly to suit our own needs.
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Unit 1 Factors that Change Environments Lesson 1 One World
Year 5 / 6 Geography Factors that Shape Places © Inquisitive Pty Ltd.
4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
What type of house do you live in?
large medium small Eco friendly
What type of heating do you have?
air-conditioning
gas Solar we wear onesies
How do you mostly travel?
car bus train walk
What do you mostly eat?
take away meat vegies we grow our own
What do you do with your rubbish?
throw it on the ground
everything goes in the bin
recycle compost
Results 17 – 20
You will need three Earths to support your lifestyle.
13 – 16
You will need two Earths to support your lifestyle.
10 – 13
You will need one Earth to support your lifestyle.
Less than 10
You are a friend of the Earth.
10 We can measure our own impact on the Earth’s environment by calculating our ecological footprint.
Design your own ecological footprint calculator. Here is an example
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Unit 1 Factors that Change Environments Lesson 1 One World
Year 5 / 6 Geography Factors that Shape Places © Inquisitive Pty Ltd.
11 Research some ways that humans could “payback” the Earth to lessen their impact.Present your findings as an image or flowchart.