Units of Learning
These modules are copyright to the
Tasmanian Department of Education and the University of Tasmania
Units of Learning
Webbing the Islands has partnered with the Tasmanian Department of Education to create a wonderful program of learning opportunities in island studies. This curriculum emphasises nine fascinating aspects of island studies, and focuses on core learning skills in literacy and numeracy. Best of all, it's free! Check out these PDFs, and see below them if you need a link to Adobe Acrobat.
Featured lesson plan This is a one-page word document ready to print from one of the modules below. We change these lessons weekly.
Foreword Learn about the background to the curriculum.
What is an island? Discover that an island is not just an island, and learn the fundamentals that will guide your appreciation of the rest of the curriculum.
Sense of place Islands are, of course, places, and here you can read about how a sense of (island) place might matter for the units of learning below.
Framework for learning Here you can learn how ideas of islandness, of sense of place, fit the units of learning listed below, and access a curriculum map of the links between and among them.
Living on the Edge (750kb) - What are the edges of your island? All kinds of strange, wonderful and often unwanted things get washed up on island beaches! The shore to sea or ocean environment of islands is an interesting one.
Island Environments (670kb) - Unique flora and fauna develop on islands over time. An island's formation affects the kinds of plant and animal species living on it. Find out more about unique island environments here.
Kitchen Cultures (240kb) - What do islanders eat? Do islanders have to think about provisioning more than other peoples? Explore some of these and other questions by exploring the wonderful world of island kitchen cultures.
Island Communications (430kb) - What is the importance of an island's language to its people'sidentity and how do island communities maintain their languages in the face of the need to communicate with the outside world?
Visitors - Welcome and Unwelcome (350kb) - An invasive species is non-native to an ecosystem under consideration and may cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Islands are particularly vulnerable to invasive species.
Stormy Weather (320kb) - Global warming is evident in many island places. Sea water is bubbling out of the soil some coral atolls. There are already evacuation plans for some islands. How are islands going to be affected by global warming?
Spirited Island (630kb) - The isolation of islands makes them ripe for farfetched tales. In storytelling and folklore there are tales of floating islands, disappearing islands, islands where strange things happen and strange folk live.
People and Cultures (530kb) - Historically a relative lack of contact with the outside world has led to the development of unique island cultures. This singularity can be seen in all walks of island life. Find out more about this field of study here.
Transport through Time (495kb) - The isolation of many islands provides challenges for transportation and travel. Island communities have included some great adventurers, inventive in their means of transportation. How do you get about?
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