“Mother Nature has a language. If we listen, and read the signs in the land, we can understand it. For thousands of years, First Nations people have listened and responded to the land and made friends with fire, using this knowledge to encourage plants and seeds to flourish, and creating beautiful places for both animals and people to live. This is a powerful and timely story of understanding Australia’s ecosystems through Indigenous fire management, and a respectful way forward for future generations to help manage our landscapes.” (Hardi Grant Publishing)
I have been using Looking After Country with Fire by Victor Steffensen and illustrated by Sandra Steffensen, with Year 5 as they compare and contrast influences on the management of places and environments (Geography Outcome GE3-3).
The students enjoyed creating a visual representation of themselves ‘shouting out’ the key messages from the story.
The core tool was PowerPoint. Students worked on one slide to create a graphic that included:
- A background image created using Paint 3D, or a high quality image sourced online (respecting copyright!)
- A side profile shot of their face showing them shouting
- Text boxes with key messages from the story. Statements must be factual.
If we wanted to use these graphics to influence change who would we share them with? Who are the changemakers:
- Locally?
- Globally?
- Virtually?
Demonstrate to the students how their slide may be saved as a jpg.
Guide below is from https://support.microsoft.com
