All Year 9 students undertake Core Geography and they can also elect to take Elective Geography. Both are based upon the Victorian Curriculum 2 framework and consider changes in the characteristics of places and the implications of these. A major focus in Year 9 Elective Geography is the study of biomes; such as deserts, forests and grasslands and how climate, soil, vegetation and human activity shape their productivity. Students investigate:
how food is produced in Australia and around the world
the environmental, economic and technological factors that influence food production
the impacts of agriculture on different environments
the sustainability of modern food systems
They also learn about Indigenous land and resource management, with a focus on Wadawurrung Country, and investigate how these practices support environmental health and food security. Students examine the global challenge of feeding a growing population and consider strategies to achieve sustainable food futures. They consider significant spatial distributions and patterns and evaluate implications. Students consider interconnections between and within places and changes resulting from these, over time and at different scales. This further develops their understanding of geographic concepts, including space, place, interconnection, change, environment, scale and sustainability.
In the Biomes unit students investigate elements of the global distribution of biomes and considered the importance of these regions in terms of food production. They investigate the social and environmental impacts of these biomes by people and environments. Students also conduct fieldwork related to this content at the Otway Fly, exploring the characteristics, uses and management of forest biomes and developed reports based on the data they collected.
In this Biomes unit, students:
use geospatial technologies.
collect, sort, process and represent data and other information
interpret and analyse maps, data and other geographic information using appropriate methods
identify the features and distribution of Biomes
explain the challenges facing Biomes
analyse how Biomes influence human development
evaluate the different ways in which people manage and interact with Biomes
conduct fieldwork including data collection and fieldwork reports
In the food study, students analyse a range of data and explored types of agriculture in Melbourne's food bowl and Indigenous food knowledge. The issue of food security was discussed and then explored further through specific case studies. Students examine challenges of food production and the implications of population growth and development on a local and global scale.
In this Food unit, students:
use geospatial technologies.
collect, sort, process and represent data and other information
interpret and analyse maps, data and other geographic information using appropriate methods
identify the issues relating to expanded cities across existing food growing area
consider how to assess food security
identify challenges of population growth upon food supplies.
A range of assessment tasks will be used including:
Mapping/analysis tasks
Fieldwork
Fieldwork report
Individual Research
Exam
For more detailed information, please click on the link/s below:
Please see booklist for items required. A physical and online Humanities textbook is primarily purchased for History use, but may also be used for this subject.