Civics & Citizenship Education through Geography & Sustainability

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You've got the charisma, but I've got
The Class


Hi there! We're going to look ahead to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as the stimulus for our learning about Civics and Citizenship, Geography and Sustainability.

 This time, I've got something for you do look at with your child BEFORE we start the unit. Check out the video below with your child, and talk about how Tokyo is both similar and different from Australian cities. This will help them gear up for this unit of work.


(Geography GO!, 2017)


So, what will the class learn about CCE, Geography and Sustainability?

The class will launch an inquiry into Tokyo and its similarities and differences to Launceston and Australia (see Figure 1), before researching the liveability issues they are facing. Students will consider the responsibilities they have as global citizens. This also links with Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia, another area students are required to learn about. The sustainability focus of this unit also links with the Australian Curriculum.




 Why does my child need to be a global citizen? I never worried about it at school!

 Global citizenship encompasses human rights, sustainability and democracy, which we would all agree are valuable ideals (Auh & Sim, 2018). If we value these things at all, we must value them for the whole world. This is what global citizenship is all about: campaigning and acting for the welfare of countries and citizens around the globe. Global citizenship education plays a significant role in the development of sustainable futures (Buchanan, Burridge & Chodkiewicz, 2018). Australia also has a vested interest in Tokyo's welfare.


Okay, but how will they learn about this? What actions can we take at home?

Global citizenship education should be more than learning about the flag, food and culture (Skelton, Wigford, Harper & Reeves, 2002). We'll start by investigating the question, "Where is this place, what is it like, and why?". This will build students' foundational knowledge of Tokyo. This will inevitably lead to the discovery of some liveability issues that are currently facing Tokyo.

 As a class, we'll hone in on urbanisation and the challenges it entails. We'll then look at the factors affecting the issue to investigate why it is a complex topic. We will research similar issues and proposed solutions in Australia. 

Based on their research of similar issues in Australia, students will be encouraged to take action by changing their daily habits to include habits that are urbanisation-friendly. Although Launceston is not likely to grow into a megacity any time soon, we can still act in sustainable and smart ways to reduce the strain on the environment due to our lifestyle.

Check out this article from the National Geographic about urbanisation and discuss what your family could do to live sustainably.

The assessment task for students will be a personal reflection requiring students to make links between the liveability of Tokyo, similar issues in Australia, and the actions they are taking to live sustainably.

Word count: 499 words


References

Adachi, S.A., Kimura, F., Kusaka, H., Inoue, T., & Ueda, H. (2012). Comparison of the impact of global climate changes and urbanisation on summertime future climate in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 51(8), 1441-1454.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Authority. (2018a). Australian Curriculum: Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia (version 8.4). Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/asia-and-australia-s-engagement-with-asia/

 Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Authority. (2018b). Australian Curriculum: HASS Year 6 (version 8.4). Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Authority. (2018s). Australian Curriculum: Sustainability (version 8.4). Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/sustainability/

Australian Embassy Tokyo. (n.d.). Doing business with Australia. Retrieved from https://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyo/trade.html

Auh, Y., & Sim, H.R. (2018). Global justice and education for global citizenship: Considerations for education policy-planning process. Asian Journal of Political Science, 26(2), 221-237.

Buchanan, J., Burridge, N., & Chodkiewicz, A. (2018). Maintaining global citizenship education in schools: A challenge for Australian educators and schools. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 51-67.

Geography GO! (2017). Geography GO! Tokyo Japan! (Geography Now) [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GWjNO2X3qw

National Geographic. (2014, October 21). Sustainable cities: Challenges and opportunities in Japan. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com

National Geographic. (2019). Urban threats. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com

Skelton, M., Wigford, A., Harper, P., & Reeves, G. (2002). Beyond food, festivals and flags. Educational Leadership, 60(2), 52-55.

Comments

  1. Miss TargettApril 9, 2019 at 3:58 PM

    Hi Marcus, a great and interesting unit!
    I liked how you gave a starting stimulus for parents (and what a great video) as often involving them can be an after thought.
    You have used friendly but professional language to communicate and the layout of your blog is tidy and easy to follow. It is very hard to fault your work again!
    You have effectively linked together CCE, Geography and Sustainability. As a teacher, I can pretty easily see how these are reflected in your work, but maybe not so easily for parents? It could be worth including more information about the sustainability cross-curriculum priority, even something small like highlighting the relevant key ideas from the Australian Curriculum. This could be as a table/image or included in your descriptions somewhere.
    Great work Marcus, I think you have really thrived with this!
    Kelsey

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marcus WatsonApril 11, 2019 at 9:42 AM

      Hi Kelsey,

      Thanks for your feedback! I included a hyperlink to the Sustainability page of the Australian Curriculum. Is there a way I could make it clearer?

      Marcus

      Delete
  2. Sarah NobleApril 9, 2019 at 4:45 PM

    Hi Marcus,
    What a great idea using the 2020 Olympics, as this is current and interesting for students! Can you expand more on the specific links you will make between the Olympics and liveability? For example, did construction for the Olympics congest traffic significantly or use up residential area forcing residents to move elsewhere?
    I like your link to issues in Launceston too, particularly the way students are encouraged to take small steps to improve their sustainability. This is increasingly becoming more and more of an issue, so this is great to get students thinking about this and making a change in their own lives.
    What will be your assessment task for the unit?
    Great unit and well done!
    Sarah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marcus WatsonApril 11, 2019 at 9:40 AM

      Hi Sarah,

      Thank you for your feedback! I've just added a sentence at the end with details about the assessment task for the unit.

      Marcus

      Delete
  3. Pearl Gartside 439987April 12, 2019 at 9:12 PM

    Hi Marcus,

    Liveability! What an interesting and relevant topic to delve into. I like how you have included the parents and the students to get a little insight into the upcoming unit using the video. Your blog is very well set out and easy to understand and the links to sustainability and geography are very well done. I find it very hard to fault your work! Great job!

    Pearl

    ReplyDelete

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