Australia: The Land Down Under

How It Works: The purpose of this unit is to provide teachers, students and parents with activities related to Australia.  Students can use the Internet to gather facts and information about Australia.  This unit involves many hands-on activities and cooperative learning activities.  Students will create class-made books and will be involved in many writing activities.

Standards:   

Identify geographic location of Australia and locate various states and surrounding bodies of water.
Identify animals native to Australia and their various habitats.
Recognize that the earth is divided into two hemispheres and identify how the seasons vary in Australia and America.
Use Internet information to answer detail questions about Australia.

Estimated Class Periods To Complete: 8 or more

Software Materials Used:  The lessons included in this unit each will require 45-50 minute class periods.
Students will need to have access to the Internet and desktop publishing software.

Keywords: Australia, Olympics 2000, Down Under, Aborigines, Sydney

Students:  The students involved in this unit were second graders.  They were all identified as gifted and it is important to point out that there were only fourteen of them.  The students were reading on a second grade level or above.  They also had prior training using the computer.

Overall:   The students will be able to recognize the geography of Australia as well as learn how the land “down under” compares to America.  Students will be able to get a closer look at this beautiful country that has so many breathtaking views and rich culture.

Tips:    The teacher should book mark various Australia web sites in advance after he/she has previewed the sites. Check out videos about Australia and the Olympics from local libraries or school systems.

About the Teacher: 

Ibis Mendoza is an innovative teacher who is always searching for new ways to motivate and inspire her students.  She graduated from Florida International University in 1997 and began working in the Miami-Dade County School system soon after.  She recently received her master degree in Urban Education and ESOL (English As a Second Language).  She aspires to return to school to work towards getting her specialist degree in Math and Science.  Ibis believes that school should be a place where students are involved in their own learning and become owners of the material.  She tries endlessly to create lessons that the children are able to be creative and use their imaginative forces and desires.

Subjects:  Social Studies and Language Arts

Grade Levels:  1-3

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