Early Childhood-Connectedness

Early Years Learning Framework
Children are connected with and contribute to their world.

We understand that discovery and learning in an early childhood context can grow from many different avenues and focus on many different concepts, that is why our Connectedness presentation will be tailored to your specific needs. Whether it be snake shedding, or the life cycle of a butterfly, our presentation will extend on your current lines of inquiry.

No workshop available - presentation supports intentional teaching practices.

Foundation Year – Basic Needs

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU002: Living things have basic needs, including food and water.

Our Basic Needs presentation will explore those specific needs that living things require. Enlisting the help of some of our animal friends, our rangers will demonstrate the necessity of food, water, shelter, oxygen and rest for living things to survive.

This Wild Challenge will encourage the students to identify and document animals satiating these needs in situ. They will engage in careful observation and comparative thinking during this session while making real world connections.

Year One – Fur, Feathers, Scales and Habitats

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU017: Living things have a variety of external features.

ACSSU211: Living things live in different places where their needs are met.

The Fur, Feathers, Scales and Habitats presentation will delve into the physical features that can be found on a variety of Queensland’s unique wildlife. We will explore differing body parts and what purposes they serve in aiding survival. In addition to this, we will examine these features as clues to find out where these animals live in the wild.

This Wild Challenge encourages creative and critical thinking as students work together to discuss, design and create a habitat model catered to the needs of different animals. They will need to consider and cater to physical adaptations as they replicate a simulated environment.

Year Two – Animal Offspring

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU030: Living things grow, change and have offspring similar to themselves.

The Animal Offspring presentation will introduce students to various Australian animals with an emphasis on the initial stages of their life cycle. Together we will compare these beginnings as we more closely examine the similarities and differences found in contrasting animal groups, such as reptiles, mammals, insects and birds.

This Wild Challenge will promote scientific reasoning as the students reflect on common characteristics found in juvenile animals, then apply it to a range of native species. They will identify similarities and differences as they draw educated conclusions.

Year Three – Living and Non-Living

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU044: Living things can be grouped on the basis of observable features and can be distinguished from non-living things.

All living things are defined by seven key characteristics: movement, reproduction, growth, sensitivity, respiration, excretion and nutrition gain. The Living and Non-living presentation will demonstrate these characteristics with the help of our Australian wildlife, while also challenging students to sort through a variety of living, non-living and once-living things.

This Wild Challenge will send students out into the park to determine whether a variety of things are in fact living or non-living. They will need to use critical thinking as they consider the seven key characteristics outlined in the presentation.

Year Four – Life Cycles

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU072: Living things have life cycles.

The young of many native species can change drastically as they grow into adulthood, moving through significant and distinctive alterations through their lifetime. The Life Cycles presentation will explore several examples of this growth, exploring the differences between identifiable stages, and the differences between various animals.

This Wild Challenge will focus on identifying and ordering a series of distinct life stages. The students will need to use problem solving and comparative thinking in order to determine the sequence of various animal’s life cycles.

Year Five – Adaptations

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU043: Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment.

The animals of Southeast Queensland have evolved unique behavioural and structural adaptations to aid in their survival. The Adaptations presentation will present students with the opportunity to observe several animals up close, to determine the behaviours they exhibit, or body parts they have, that give them a better chance to survive in their natural environments.

Utilising the knowledge acquired from the Adaptations presentation, this Wild Challenge will encourage students to get critical and creative as they adapt a variety of existing animal’s adaptations to different scenarios.

Year Six – Extreme Survival

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU094: The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment.

Australia is home to some of the most extreme environments on Earth, and yet our native wildlife have evolved to thrive in even the harshest of conditions. The Extreme Survival presentation will showcase a specialised group of animals who have adapted to life in the Australian desert, highlighting the fascinating behavioural and physical changes they have evolved.

To solidify this new learning, students will be tasked with redesigning one of the desert-adapted animals featured in the presentation, to survive in another extreme environment. This challenge will prompt the participants to reflect on their target animal’s current adaptations and purpose, then consider how these would alter to suit a different climate.

Year Seven – Food Chains

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU112: Interactions between organisms, including the effects of human activities can be represented by food chains and food webs.

The natural environment contains a multitude of interrelated relationships including the transference of energy. The Food Chains presentation will explore the levels found in a specific food chain, identifying the producers, consumers and decomposers, while demonstrating the movement of energy. Students will also identify the effect of invasive species on long established food chains and webs.

After learning of the fragile balance that exists within ecosystem energy transfers, students will be charged with a challenge focused on preserving stability within native food chains by addressing the issue of invasive animals.

Year Eight – Carnivore vs Herbivore

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU150: Multi-cellular organisms contain systems of organs carrying out specialised functions that enable them to survive and reproduce.

The Carnivore vs Herbivore presentation explores the differences in digestive systems correlated with specific diets. Students will learn how to identify digestive and physical traits of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores, examining things like tooth shape and structure, scat and specialised organs.

Using physical structures and features as clues, the students will examine a range of different animal skeletons and remnants to determine information about an individual. They will form a bigger picture of the animal’s role, size, diet and habitat through careful examination.

Year Nine – Ecosystems

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU176: Ecosystems consist of communities of interdependent organisms and abiotic components of the environment; matter and energy flow through these systems.

Natural ecosystems depend on a series of stable conditions and relationships in order to continue. The Ecosystems presentation will encourage students to identify interconnected biotic relationships and develop a stronger appreciation for the importance of abiotic factors.

As students will now be aware of the fragile balance between biotic and abiotic factors within specific ecosystems, they will be challenged with predicting the short term and long-term outcomes caused by varying events to a specific environment. This includes weather, disease and human impact.

Year Ten – The Theory of Evolution

Australian Curriculum

ACSSU185: The theory of evolution by natural selection explains the diversity of living things and is supported by a range of scientific evidence.

The Theory of Evolution presentation will introduce students to the work of Charles Darwin while demonstrating the concept of natural selection. The students will compare the similarities and differences between two descendants of the Elephant bird, the Emu and Southern cassowary, determining the traits that led to the development of each species as we know them.

This Wild Challenge will task the students with predicting the outcome of natural selection on one particular species, millions of years in the future. They will need to identify the traits that will be favoured over time to suit varying environments and climates.

Year Eleven & Twelve – Keystone Species

Australian Curriculum

ACSBL024, ACSBL020,

As the world adapts to varying conservation issues, biologists have developed surrogate species to guide decision making and protective measures. These species are known by a host of different terms, including indicator, umbrella, flagship and keystone. The Keystone Species presentation will define the role and purpose of each of these titles, with a heavier emphasis on the importance of keystone species.

This wild Challenge will charge students with the task of locating a variety of different species within the park and then using their new- found understanding, careful observation and group discussion, to identify which surrogate title it connects to and why.

Various Year Levels

An Historic Figure

Foundation ACHASSK017

Year 1 ACHASSK033

Year 2 ACHASSK044

Year 3 ACHASSK069

Year 4 ACHASSK088

Year 5 ACHASSK113

This presentation will explore the achievements and milestones of Dr David Fleay as we meet several of those species with which he formed significant connections. We will delve into his contributions to the zoological and conservation fields, share the history of this reserve and highlight the importance of continuing his legacy on our heritage site.

*No workshop option