Learning Area: Science

The Kangaroo Beach Series 2 learning resource is a classroom-based water safety education tool for Foundation – Year 2 students and teachers. The resource contains eight lesson plans to use alongside school swimming lessons, as part of class inquiries into health and safety, or to address Health and Physical Education curriculum content in an engaging way. Lesson plans correspond to key learning areas in the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework, and each lesson:

• Identifies a relevant Kangaroo Beach episode and water safety message.
• Links to the relevant Framework skills.
• Lists conceptual vocabulary for teachers to clarify with children as needed, depending on the English language skills of their student cohort.
• Provides comprehension questions with corresponding time stamps.
• Includes a choice of three different follow-up activities, related to the themes and target skills.

This learning resource supports students and teachers in Years 3 to 6 to explore the documentary television series Built to Survive in the classroom and beyond.

In Space Nova, the Nova family embark on an action-packed quest for extra-terrestrial intelligence that will bring them face-to-face with epic life-forms, physics-defying phenomena and out-of-this-world planets beyond their wildest dreams.

The Space Nova Resource provides different classroom activities for years 3-6, with clips from the animated children’s series used as provocations for year level appropriate and rich science learning sequences, such as Living Things, Forces, Science and Human Lives and Energy. The sequences address Science Understanding content descriptors in the Australian Curriculum.

Through curated Space Nova clips, tangible experiences and thought-provoking discussion starters, these learning sequences will give students opportunities to critically analyse their observations and challenge their pe-conceptions. This approach lends itself to differentiation, as all students bring varying prior knowledge and experiences to the classroom.

Created by the ACTF in collaboration with the Australian National Maritime Museum, this learning resource supports students and teachers in Years 3 to 6 to explore the award-winning animated television series The Deep in the classroom and beyond. 

Novel and Film Comparison
Through this unit of work, students will examine the visual and printed texts of Paper Planes. The book is based on the motion picture screenplay Paper Planes. The major themes include relationships, loss, connectedness, friendship, independence and competition. Suitable for grades 5-8, teachers are advised to select from the following activities those that are best suited to cater for the age group they are teaching and to provide appropriate activities for group work that will support and extend students.

Fold’n’Fly: The Circling Clive
"The Circling Clive" is a paper plane design that makes its on-screen debut as one of character Dylan's original creations in the Australian feature film Paper Planes.
Originally created by THE PAPER PILOTS, this Fold 'n' Fly PDF provides students with the information they requite to recreate the original Clive design.

Activity Suggestions:
Photocopy the template (to scale) and instruct students to recreate Clive.
Explore with the class how simple changes to the original design may impact on the plane's aerodynamics.
After recreating Clive, ask students to design their own paper plane.
Host a class or school paper plane competition using Clive and/or students' original designs.
Watch the Paper Planes film and explore Dylan's creative and scientific journey.

Join ACTF, ACMI Education, Australian Maritime Museum and Producer, Avrill Stark and Creator and Art Director, James Brouwer to learn all about character and creature design in the award-winning animated television series The Deep. Combining ocean science knowledge with imagination and creativity, this session unpacks the pre-production process of designing and developing the entertaining characters and fantastical creatures from The Deep.

The accompany Character and Creature Design resource with student activities can be found here: https://actf.com.au/character-and-creature-design

Primary students from around Australia ask Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors? creator Vanna Morosini, host Ghenoa Gela, and cast members Jeffrin and Harry (from the ‘Milk Run’ episode) about the ideas behind this engaging series, and the work that goes into bringing a TV series to life.

Hosted by ACMI Education and the ACTF, our student webinar explores creation of Hardball Series 2 with the creators, Matt Zeremes and Guy Edmonds, and cast members Semisi Cheekam (Mikey) and Erin Choy (Tiffany). Students will learn how the series communicates meaning and viewpoints to gain insight into the media production process.

Director Robert Connolly and actors Ed Oxenbould and Peter Rowsthorn share their experience of making Paper Planes during this virtual excursion. The Q&A format provided students with an opportunity to ask their own questions about filmmaking - from the initial idea, to hiring of the cast and crew.

In each episode of Bushwhacked! Series 2, an important message about ecosystems is explored. The Bushwhacked! Series 2 Resource harnesses those messages to inspire a greater awareness in students of Australia’s unique Indigenous people, their culture and their relationship with the land.

This resource highlights discussion topics and provides activities for teachers to use in their middle-primary to middle-secondary classroom.

The discussion topics and activities included in this resource are aligned with content, knowledge and skills in the Australian Curriculum areas of English, Science, The Arts (Media), Humanities (Geography) and the Cross-Curriculum Priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and Sustainability.

Bushwhacked! can be enjoyed by a wide range of age groups, from middle-primary to middle-secondary, and is a valuable resource for a large range of curriculum areas, including English, Science, The Arts (Media), Humanities (Geography) and the cross-curriculum priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and Sustainability.

Included in the Bushwhacked! Series 1 Resource are brief synopses of each episode, so that teachers can view them either in order or in groups that support their classroom program.

This resource provides some ideas for discussions and activities relating to the series as a whole, including examples from episodes, which can be used before and after each episode is viewed.

Bushwhacked! is a unique nature television program now in its third series. This highly acclaimed documentary series appeals to children and teenagers from 5 to 14 years old. Highly dramatic and exciting, it is an example of how well-researched locations, excellent scripts, very high production values, and fascinating Australian animals and issues can create not just entertainment, but a valuable and enjoyable learning experience.

The Bushwhacked! Series 3 Resource is written and organised for educators who wish to use episodes from the series as part of their teaching and learning sequence. The study guide provides discussion topics and activities with a focus on specific learning areas or general themes.

The content included in this study guide is aligned with, knowledge and skills in the Australian Curriculum areas of English, Science, The Arts (Media), Humanities (Geography) and the Cross-Curriculum Priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and Sustainability.