SAVE the GREAT BARRIER REEF - Sustainability (syllabus content) and Steampunk Art

   2018 is the International Year of Reefs but I wasn't aware of this until I had already created this artwork. I made the discovery while I was surfing around through Pinterest looking for other ideas.

   It made perfect sense to base the artwork on this initiative as it included the Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's many tourist destinations and one of our greatest assets. 

 

   The following pieces of information come from the Stage 2 Geography Content:

* Place: the significance of places and what they are like eg natural and human features and characteristics of different places and their similarities and differences; how people’s perceptions about places influence their responses and actions to protect them.

* Environment: the significance of the environment in human life, and the important interrelationships between humans and the environment eg how climate and environment influence settlement patterns; interconnections between people and environments; differing ways people can use environments sustainably.

*Sustainability: the capacity of the environment to continue to support our lives and the lives of other living creatures into the future eg ways in which people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, use and protect natural resources; differing views about environmental sustainability; sustainable management of waste.

 

    The following pieces of information come from the Stage 3 Geography Content:

* Place: the significance of places and what they are like eg characteristics of places on a global level.

* Environment: the significance of the environment in human life, and the important interrelationships between humans and the environment eg how the environment influences people and places; how people influence the environment; the effect of natural disasters on the environment.

* Sustainability: the capacity of the environment to continue to support our lives and the lives of other living creatures into the future eg extent of environmental change; environmental management practices; sustainability initiatives.

 

 

   I presented this artwork to a Year 5/6 group today. They really enjoyed, especially creating a Steampunk reef animal.

   Before we started, I talked to the students about coral reefs, what is a coral reef? what is coral? is coral a living thing? what other animals live on the reef? etc. The students had quite a strong understanding of a reef eco-system.

   We then chatted about the consequences of loosing our coral reefs, in particular The Great Barrier Reef. They showed great respect for the fragility of the reef and understood how great the loss would be if the Great Barrier Reef disappeared. This was a great lead in into the artwork they would create.

    Later on in the Term, the student's regular teacher will be looking at The Great Barrier Reef in depth. We were both really pleased with the idea of starting with an artwork as an introduction.....

   Here are some of the student artworks. We didn't get them finished as we had other things that took priority but that's OK. Their teacher plans to complete the artworks when she returns to the classroom.