Background

This is a scenario based program.

Climate change has suddenly kicked in. A cataclysmic climate event has occurred; massive floods are predicted and sea levels are rising.

A huge scale evacuation of the human population has taken place but in the rush to save the people, all animals have been left behind. The State Government has put together a rescue plan called ‘The Aark’. However not all animals can be rescued. There is only so much room on the Aark, so the Government has called in the experts (the students) to help them decide which animals are going to be saved.

Prior Knowledge

Students will be given an animal that they will need to research prior to their onsite visit. They will be the expert for that species and have to advocate for that species on the day ie. Why it should be saved.

Students will be given an Aark game card that they will be required to fill in with details about their animal and bring this with them on the day.

The students will, throughout the day, have to argue the case why their animal should go onto the Aark, so it is important that they know some information about their species, why it is important and why it should be saved.

Key Learning Question

How do we make decisions on which animals to save in the event of a cataclysmic climate event?

Learning Intentions

In this program students will:

• Research a particular species of animal
• Learn how to advocate for this species by making a presentation, preparing arguments and engaging in discussions
• Learn about a range of other animals including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and birds and their importance to society, in the food web and for our future
• Build negotiation and decision-making skills

Activities

Students will:

• Be introduced to the scenario program, information about climate change and the criteria governments use to rescue species from extinction
• Engage in a series of selection sessions to determine which animals will be selected to go on the Aark
• Participate in a workshop to increase their knowledge about animals

Note:

• This program runs from 9am – 3pm
• Maximum number for students is 80 either from the same school or across schools
• In 2025, this program will run on: Monday 18^th August

Victorian Curriculum

Science – Science as a human endeavour

• Science and technology contribute to finding solutions to a range of contemporary issues; these solutions may impact on other areas of society and involve ethical considerations (VCSSU090)

Science – Communicating

• Communicate ideas, findings and solutions to problems including identifying impacts and limitations of conclusions and using appropriate scientific language and representations (VCSIS113)

English – Interacting with others

• Identify and discuss main ideas, concepts and points of view in spoken texts to evaluate qualities, using interaction skills when sharing interpretations or presenting ideas and information (VCELY395)
• Plan, reherse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing appropriate content and multimodal elements to promote a point of view or enable a new way of seeing, using body language, voice qualities and other elements to add interest and meaning (VCELY396)