Real World Learning in the Geography Classroom

The core of learning Geography in Year 8 is to encourage students to develop an understanding of the impact of human activity on the natural world and to encourage them to become responsible future citizens who value sustainability. Real world learning is a powerful instructional tool to foster student engagement, skill development and heighten the understanding of the interconnection of humans with their environments. To better illustrate how and why water quality can change students in Year 8 Geography actively participated in the story of ‘The Journey Of A River’. Throughout this journey, students contributed pollutants to understand the impact that human activity has on the environment. Thank you to our Geography Teacher, Natalie Fairfax, for developing this creative and highly engaging lesson.

Brigida Zagora
Head of HSIE (Humanities and Social Sciences)

Teacher overview

Year 8 Geography students interacted with a story about a river’s journey from the source to the mouth of the ocean. The aim was  to assist them in unpacking the impact people can have on waterways. Each student had a cup with ‘pollutants’ in it that, as the story progressed, they put into the river. This helped to visualise the way that land use can impact water. At the end of the activity, students were encouraged to reflect on their personal actions. They were empowered to consider ways to avoid these pollutants entering the water, and to think proactively about how they can reduce their impact more widely as a community.
Natalie Fairfax
HSIE Teacher

Student reflections

In our Geography class, we developed our knowledge by participating in a demonstration showing how our waterways get dirtied. Watching this is helpful for my learning as I am a visual learner. Listening to our teacher and assisting in this demonstration is a fun way to deepen my knowledge and understanding of this topic.
Anya Brodowski

Today in our Geography class we got to extend our knowledge through physical participation. Ms Farifax challenged our thinking as we built a physical model of how our rivers and streams are being polluted over time by humans. These types of lessons help my learning the most.
Xylah Bamji

In Geography, we learn content in fun and interesting ways, including using physical resources, such as the water containers. The whole class contributed to this activity. We learnt about how we can lessen pollution in rivers.
Charlotte Reavell