How can we predict and respond to floods, storms and cyclones?Science – Earth and space sciences, Levels 5 and 6

Exploring socio-scientific issues using scientific thinking

Authorised and published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment AuthorityLevel 7, 2 Lonsdale StreetMelbourne VIC 3000

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ContentsIntroduction.....................................................................................................................................................

Sample key science concepts......................................................................................................................

Links to the Victorian Curriculum F–10.........................................................................................................

Teacher background information..................................................................................................................

Learning activities and resources.................................................................................................................Learning activity 1: How is climate different from weather?..........................................................................

Learning activity 2: Rapid erosion...............................................................................................................

Learning activity 3: Would you walk on broken glass?...............................................................................

Assessment ideas.........................................................................................................................................Pre-assessment..........................................................................................................................................

Ongoing formative assessment..................................................................................................................

Summative assessment..............................................................................................................................

Other resources............................................................................................................................................

Appendices...................................................................................................................................................Appendix 1: Observing weather..................................................................................................................

Appendix 2: Weather graphs......................................................................................................................

Appendix 3: Sample maximum daily temperature data..............................................................................

Appendix 4: Example graph and trends......................................................................................................

Appendix 5: Example teamwork rubric.......................................................................................................

Appendix 6: Case studies on weather events.............................................................................................

Appendix 7: What causes El Niño and La Niña events?.............................................................................

Appendix 8: El Niño and La Niña experiment.............................................................................................

Appendix 9: Scaffolding students’ identification of ethical issues...............................................................

Appendix 10: Example assessment task....................................................................................................

Appendix 11: Beach erosion examples......................................................................................................

How can we predict and respond to floods, storms or cyclones? Science, Levels 5 and 6

IntroductionClimate and weather are interrelated but separate observable phenomena. Weather can be observed as both routine daily patterns (such as sunshine and rainfall), along with extreme events that occur for a variety of reasons (such as a heatwaves or flood). Climate refers to longer-term patterns. These patterns can be seen as drivers of certain weather patterns that can lead to extreme weather events. For example, during longer periods of dry or drought conditions, heatwaves and bushfires are more likely.

The socio-scientific issue as to how humans predict and respond to extreme weather events is complex, because it involves not only scientific and technological understanding and expertise but also the building of an understanding of relevant social, political, economic, health and safety, geological and environmental factors and how these interrelate with each other. Through understanding the interrelated nature of climate and weather, we are better able to predict and respond to a range of extreme weather events.

This resource contains three learning activities, each of which includes up to four tasks. Teachers may choose to undertake the tasks and/or activities in any order they choose but should note that undertaking a single task within an activity may not enable full coverage of the mapped content descriptions and achievement standard extracts.

This resource provides students with opportunities to:

determine the differences between weather and climate (Learning activities 1 and 2)

explore weather patterns and how they affect Earth’s surface (Learning activities 1 and 2)

consider what causes extreme weather events (Learning activities 1, 2 and 3)

use critical and creative thinking capabilities to respond to the socio-scientific issue of how society can restore eroded earth after extreme weather events (Learning activity 3).

Teacher notes: → Be aware that there is potential for discomfort or distress among some students when reading,

learning and talking about extreme weather events such as floods and bushfires. Consider the particular needs and backgrounds of your students when planning for and implementing these activities.

→ Discuss with students class protocols for activities that involve students expressing their own opinions or responding to others’ opinions.

Sample key science concepts Weather is a short-term atmospheric event, whereas climate is a long-term trend driven by global

ocean temperature systems.

Weather data is used to inform understanding about local climate.

Interchanging medium-term climate cycles of El Niño (associated with dry and drought conditions) and La Niña (associated with wet and flood events) are forecast and monitored by the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology.

Weather patterns influence erosion.

Critical erosion has threatened land development and recreational, cultural and environmental interests.

Rapid changes to Earth’s surface can be due to a number of events, including tsunamis, cyclones, heatwaves and firestorms. These can all be classified as extreme weather conditions.

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Links to the Victorian Curriculum F–10 The Victorian Curriculum F–10 content descriptions and achievement standard extracts applicable to each of the three learning activities in this resource have been mapped in the tables below.

Science, Levels 5 and 6

Strand Sub-strand Content description Relevant element of the achievement standard

Learning activity

1 2 3

Science Understanding

Earth and space sciences

Sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions can affect Earth’s surface (VCSSU079)

… explain how natural events cause rapid change to Earth’s surface

Science Understanding

Science as a Human Endeavour

Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to inform personal and community decisions and to solve problems that directly affect people’s lives (VCSSU073)

… explain how scientific knowledge is used in decision making and develops from many people’s contributions.

… discuss how scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions affect peoples’ lives

Science Inquiry Skills

Planning and conducting

Decide which variables should be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests and accurately observe, measure and record data (VCSIS084)

… identify and justify the variables they choose to change and measure in fair tests

Science Inquiry Skills

Recording and processing

Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to record, represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data (VCSIS085)

… make and record accurate observations as tables, diagrams or descriptions.

… organise data into tables and graphs to identify and analyse patterns and relationships

Science Inquiry Skills

Analysing and evaluating

Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in developing explanations (VCSIS086)

… compare patterns in data with their predictions when explaining their findings

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Other curriculum areas

Curriculum area and level(s)

Strand Content description Relevant element of the achievement standard

Learning activity

1 2 3

Critical and Creative Thinking, Levels 5 and 6

Reasoning Consider the importance of giving reasons and evidence and how the strength of these can be evaluated (VCCCTR025)

… explain how reasons and evidence can be evaluated

Critical and Creative Thinking, Levels 5 and 6

Meta-Cognition Investigate thinking processes using visual models and language strategies (VCCCTM029)

… represent thinking processes using visual models and language

Ethical Capability, Levels 5 and 6

Understanding Concepts

Examine how problems may contain more than one ethical issue (VCECU011)

… identify different ethical issues associated with a particular problem

Personal and Social Capability, Levels 5 and 6

Collaboration Identify the characteristics of an effective team and develop descriptions for particular roles including leadership, and describe both their own and their team’s performance when undertaking various roles (VCPSCSO032)

… contribute to groups and teams suggesting improvements for methods used in group projects and investigations

Personal and Social Capability, Levels 5 and 6

Collaboration Describe the various causes of conflict and evaluate possible strategies to address conflict (VCPSCSO033)

… identify causes and effects of conflict and explain different strategies to defuse or resolve conflict situations

Teacher background informationExtreme weather is a common phenomenon in many parts of Australia. Typically, northern climates experience extreme weather in the form of cyclones and floods, and in the southern and western states extreme weather can be drought or fire. Eastern states experience large ocean swells from extreme low-pressure weather systems, as well as storm cells that bring flash flooding and hailstones.

In all cases extreme weather has the potential to make changes to Earth’s surface as well as cause property damage for the communities that make the Australian coastline their home. Cyclones are accompanied by high winds that can blow down large areas of tree forests and rain can cause flooding, changing the course of local river systems either temporarily or permanently. Drought and fire change the landscape for long periods of time after an event, as ecological communities re-establish. Large swells from extreme low-pressure systems cause significant coastal erosion, either removing large amounts of sand or depositing large amounts of sand, maintaining the ever-changing nature of coastlines.

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The prevalence of climate change, which is observed as destabilising traditional weather patterns, has meant that the nature of extreme weather has become less predictable – both in the types of phenomena observed and the frequency.

These natural weather events occur due to specific climate relationships between weather and Earth. Weather is a short-term atmospheric interruption, whereas climate is a long-term trend driven by global ocean temperature systems. Of particular interest are the medium-term climate cycles El Niño (associated with dry and drought conditions) and La Niña (associated with wet and flood events). The interchanging cycles are forecast and monitored by the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) as these cycles can assist in predicting weather events as they are directly tied to the climate. These cycles and weather events are both becoming less predictable due to destabilisation as a result of human-induced climate change.

Both long-term climate patterns and extreme weather events cause changes to Earth’s surface but it is important to determine the difference between them, especially when climate change is a prominent issue in students’ lives. The difference between climate and weather can be used to understand how both individually affect personal decisions, such as where people feel safe to live. This is explored through the context of coastal erosion, as the coast is where the majority of Australians live.

Building on our understanding of the difference between weather and climate, we can use science to inform communities about the safety of dwellings built close to shorelines and provide solutions to those dwellings that already face destruction due to a changing climate and more frequent extreme weather events.

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Learning activities and resources

Learning activity 1: How is climate different from weather?

Learning intentionsStudents will be able to:

observe and record local changes in temperature, rainfall, and wind speed and direction

organise data and select appropriate representations from the information collected

explain features of weather patterns and compare to features of climate

explore what classifies a weather event as extreme

explore what causes El Niño and La Niña events.

Learning ideas

Task A: Observing the weather Brainstorm with students the different ways that we can monitor weather and its changes, for example,

temperature (maximum and minimum), humidity, rainfall, daylight hours, UV index, and wind speed and direction.

Divide students into small groups of three or four and allocate temperature, rainfall, or wind speed and direction to each group. Each small group should explore how their type of weather is measured and recorded, for example, using thermometers, rainfall recorders or wind gauges. Each small group will need to choose how they will measure their weather category.

Teacher note: This may involve making the different measuring devices or sourcing pre-made devices. Alternatively, you could have students find their data set on the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) website.

Each day for a week (or longer) record the allocated type of weather in your area. Students should predict what they think will happen over the time period before they begin. Observations will need to be recorded in their book for further analyses later in the task (see Appendix 1: Observing weather for an example format).

After data is collected have students refer back to their prediction and analyse what actually occurred versus what they thought would happen.

Use the data collected to discuss with students how they can best display the data for their type of weather (see Appendix 2: Weather graphs for examples of different graphs). Temperature is best suited to a column graph (for example, Figure 1 in the appendix), whereas rainfall is best suited to a line graph (for example, Figure 2 in the appendix). Discuss the features of each option to assist students.

Students in each small group use this information to create a graph of their type of weather for the time period they have chosen. For the small groups representing the wind speed and direction data, have students draw a compass with rough estimates for each of the cardinal points. Students in this group then write each wind speed measurement (kph) on the appropriate section of the compass (for example, see Figure 3 in Appendix 2). Alternatively, students can generate a wind rose as a representation of wind speed and direction by selecting

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a location in Australia and a time of the year using the tool on the Bureau of Meteorology’s Wind Roses for Selected Locations in Australia webpage.

Teacher note: All wind speed and direction data will be represented on the one drawing. Wind speed and direction will not be broken down into days unless separate compass drawings for each day are created.

Disband the small groups and re-group students so that there is one member with each different type of graph in a group.

Ask students to use their graphs to identify the lowest and highest temperatures, the highest rainfall amount and the greatest wind speed and direction. As a whole class compare students’ predictions and observations of what happened with the actual weather data and graphs.

Discuss the different graphical representations of weather. What are the advantages and disadvantages of representing tabulated data in graphical form? Could temperature be represented by a line graph? Could rainfall be represented using a circular representation such as a pie chart? Can wind speed and direction be represented by a column graph or line graph?

Ask students to record the temperature at their location for a week. A class air thermometer could be used, or students could access data online or in the daily newspapers.

Students should represent their data in a graph, using a time scale that spans two weeks. They should plot the data for the week and then make predictions about what they think the

temperature will be like in the second week. Students should extend (extrapolate) their graphs of the actual data to include their predictions.

Students then record daily temperatures for the next week and plot the temperatures on the previous graph. Discuss how their predictions compared with actual temperatures. What factors affect being able to make accurate predictions?

Organise students in small teams of three or four. Obtain a set of weather data for their own city or location and at least three cities in different places around the world (see Appendix 3: Sample maximum temperature data for temperature data for seven different locations over a 10-day period).

Ask students to compare latitudes and longitudes (or northern versus southern hemisphere if further data for northern hemisphere locations is added) for each location.

Also ask students to determine the best way to represent the data so that patterns and relationships can be seen; for example, determine which season of the year is represented in the data and consider how the data relates to the expected seasonal data, or consider how latitude and longitude may affect weather during a particular season (see Appendix 4: Example graph and trends for example student work).

Encourage students to obtain further data to support their ideas or to test patterns or relationships, for example, testing the prediction that cities in the north of Australia have steadier temperatures over summer than cities in the south of Australia. Discuss features of good teamwork and work with students to develop an evaluation rubric for teamwork (see the example in Appendix 5: Example teamwork rubric). Start by identifying criteria according to which teamwork should be evaluated and develop agreed descriptors for different levels of performance.

Once students have completed their research they should produce their graphs and identify at least one data trend. Students may present their findings to the rest of the class and explain why they selected a particular graphical representation type. Encourage students to look carefully at each team’s graphs and identified trends and to question anything that they do not understand or which they think is not correctly represented, identifying an alternative representation or explanation.

Ask students to reflect on how they worked in their team. They could provide each other with feedback, and then comment on their own feedback in terms of what pleased them about their work and where they could improve (again, see Appendix 5: Example teamwork rubric). They

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could then reflect on the team’s overall performance and identify three ways in which the team could have worked better to complete the set tasks.

Ask students to discuss any issues that needed resolution by the team and how these issues were managed, for example, team members having different opinions about whether a line graph or a bar chart should be used to represent data, deciding what trends were evident in data, or working out who did what task in the team. Was there a ‘leader’ in the team? Was work shared evenly? Did some people have a stronger influence in the team than others? What strategies were successful/not successful in resolving issues?

Extension: Organise students in teams to build an anemometer (wind speed measuring device). The internet is a good source of instructions, for example ‘How to make an easy Anemometer’ video (Wayne Mcdonald, YouTube) and ‘How to make a homemade anemometer’ experiment (Clearway Community Solar).

Model a change in wind speed by using various settings on a fan or hair dryer. Measure how fast the anemometer spins for each of the settings (for example, turn on the fan, set a stopwatch for one minute, then time the number of revolutions in one minute). How do the anemometers built by different teams compare? Do they all revolve at the same speeds? Why or why not?

The anemometer can be calibrated so that wind speeds can be measured in kilometres per hour:

1. On a windless day, students could ask an adult to drive them down a quiet street at 10 kilometres per hour, close to the kerb.

2. The student holds the anemometer out the window (keeping all parts of their body, including hands and arms, inside the car) and counts the number of rotations of the anemometer in 30 seconds.

3. However many times the anemometer spins in 30 seconds will be about the same as the wind blowing at 10 kilometres per hour. Students can then use this information to compare wind data in different locations and/or at the same location on different days. For example, if the anemometer spins 8 times in 30 seconds on the 10 kilometre per hour test run, then you know in the future that 8 spins in 30 seconds means the wind is going 10 kilometres an hour. Hence if the anemometer spins 4 times in 30 seconds, then the wind speed is 5 kilometres per hour.

Students could use their anemometers to determine wind speeds at different locations around the school. Work with students to develop questions that they can investigate, for example: Which location around the school is the windiest? Which is least windy? Is it windier in the morning or in the afternoon? Students should make predictions about the expected outcomes of the investigation. Discuss how they will make sure that their tests are fair, including deciding which variables will be changed, measured and controlled.

Set up a table for students to record their results and to compare findings with others in the class. Ask each team to compare their own data with the data of other teams and to explain why having a larger data set helps to answer scientific questions. Discuss how data can be used to answer questions or to support or refute an idea or prediction.

Explore different ideas as to how students’ models could be improved so that they can better measure wind speed.

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Image caption: Students place a cup anemometer at a school location to test wind speed. Note that the cups are all facing the same way. Ask students: What would happen if one cup was facing in the opposite direction?

Image source: ‘Students Check Wind Anemometer Model’ by Mulsanne is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Task B: Extreme weather Brainstorm what weather you would class as extreme, for example, cyclone, blizzard, dust storm,

flood, hailstorm.

Think about and identify which extreme weather events we have in Australia.

Discuss how weather events can be related to temperature, rainfall and wind.

Split students into groups of three and present them with an extreme weather event case study (see Appendix 6: Case studies of weather events for examples of case studies and links to resources for each).

Teacher notes: → Before students begin their investigation, discuss the concept of a reliable source and how to

verify a reliable source; for example, Wikipedia is unreliable but if a web address ends in .edu, .gov and .org it is considered to be more reliable.

→ When searching, students should use keywords and keep it simple.

→ Key strategies to support students include asking them to consider: Is the website user-friendly? Who created the website?

Once students are in their groups, have them build a house from materials found in the classroom, for example, playdough, MAB (multibase arithmetic blocks), Unifix, plasticine, icy-pole sticks, paper. Once the house is built put it aside until after they finish researching.

In groups students research one of the events, finding out any key information about what the weather was doing, if there were any indicators beforehand, what the damage was, what has happened since, what scientists have discovered about the event, any interesting facts and links to other similar events.

Refer students back to their model house. Ask: Would your house have survived your weather event? Students consider yes or no and discuss what would need to change in order for their model house to have survived.

Students present their findings about their event and the changes they would need to make to ensure their model house survived the weather event. Students can think of creative ways to present their work, for example, as a poster, video clip, information report, newspaper report or using Popplet, Keynote or PowerPoint.

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Task C: Does weather cause extreme conditions? Ask students to consider what is the difference between weather and climate. (The main difference is

that weather is a short-term change in atmospheric conditions, whereas climate is the general word used to describe weather patterns over long periods of time in specific locations.)

In pairs students use the internet to see if they can come up with their own understanding of what the difference is. Ask students to record the source of any information that they find.

Share student understandings and write them on the board. Have students list words they associate with weather and climate (see the example word wall below). Note whether there were differences in student distinctions between weather and climate; if so, consider the reliability of the sources of information. Are some sources more reliable than others? What makes a source of information ‘reliable’?

Teacher note: You can use some pictures to help students with their understandings.

Example word wall

Weather versus Climate

Sunny Dry

Cloudy Tropical

Rainy Monsoon

Chance of rain Annual rainfall

Wind speed Prevailing wind

Discuss with students if weather causes extreme conditions in their local area. For example, does one hot day cause a drought? What other conditions are needed for extreme weather conditions? Students might notice that in a coastal region the climate is wet and cool in the winter and the weather can be rainy or cloudy and sometimes sunny at any time of the year – does this cause extreme weather conditions like floods, drought, cyclones, etc.?

Task D: What causes extreme weather? Ask students to name five extreme weather events. These could be droughts, floods, cyclones,

thunderstorms and bushfires.

Discuss with students why these extreme weather conditions are not due to single weather factors. For example, drought is an extreme weather condition that is caused by long-term rainfall change and not just a single change in weather. One day without rain is not a drought but during weather cycles such as El Niño, less rain is likely to lead to extreme weather conditions such as drought.

Compare El Niño and La Niña events. You may use Appendix 7: What causes El Niño and La Niña events? and ask students to read the information and then use the information to draw a diagram of the direction of the prevailing winds, showing where warm water and cool water are located depending on which way the wind is blowing. An example student response is included in the appendices.

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For an optional activity in which students can see El Niño and La Niña events, see Appendix 8: El Niño and La Niña experiment. Note, teacher supervision is required for this optional activity.

Learning activity 2: Rapid erosion

Learning intentionStudents will be able to model the process of extreme weather causing rapid erosion.

Learning ideas

Task A: Modelling coastal erosionMaterials and equipment: two large plastic containers, sand or gravel, water, small model house to fit on top of the containers

Brainstorm with students where they see houses along the coast. Direct the discussion so that most answers are along a cliff or near the water.

Set up the ‘Save the House’ demonstration (see pictures below).

Collect two plastic containers. Position them so that one is placed on its end, vertically, and the other is placed horizontally, with one of its ends fitted into the vertical container. The top edge will be your ‘cliff’.

Place a plastic (or similar) model house onto the clifftop. Use material to simulate a beach (sand or gravel) and pack the material into the horizontal plastic container and up the inside of the vertical container to form the cliff face.

Gently pour water onto the beach material. Gradually increase the force of the water so that sand or gravel washes away and the clifftop house becomes unstable.

Discuss with students what happened and why it happened.

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Image source (all): Jorja McKinnon

Task B: Beach houses – at risk? Show students photographs gathered from the internet of beach houses in Australia that have been

affected by coastal erosion (or use Appendix 11: Beach erosion examples). Discuss what students see in each picture.

Discuss their observations in terms of them being ‘evidence’. Discuss why careful observations are important in the work of scientists and why observations may be as important as taking measurements when collecting scientific information or evidence.

Divide students into small teams and allocate a different photograph to each team. Ask teams to draw a sequence of three to six sketches to show how erosion progresses in the situation in the given photograph.

Hang or stick the photographs and the associated sketch sequences as ‘stations’ around the room. Each team should visit each of the stations and provide feedback about how the sequence of sketches can be improved to show how erosion occurred. After all teams have provided feedback, each team should collect their original photograph and sketches, and other teams’ feedback about their sequence, and then modify their sequence to incorporate feedback.

Re-hang the photographs and sketches on the classroom walls so that students can see how their feedback has been incorporated by other teams.

Discuss with students who should have responsibility for the protection of the house. Is it the community, the government or the individuals who built the house? In each case ensure students have a reasonable justification for their answer.

Teacher note: Discuss with students how to provide a reason for their opinion, highlighting the use of evidence and how it can be used to strengthen their argument. Students can be supported to develop their justification for an argument by using a thinking tool such as SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) for the different parts of their argument. They could do this with their own argument and/or each other’s.

Pose a hypothetical scenario involving beach erosion to which students should respond. For example: Some councils are planning to prevent sales of houses that are located within 50 metres of high tide.

Ask students to identity the advantages and disadvantages of this proposal.

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Ask students open questions such as: What would you do if you were the owner of one of these houses and you didn’t want to live there anymore? Would/should the council be obliged to buy your house and land? How would a fair price for the house/land be determined? What could the council do with the house/land if it purchased it from the owners? What could the council do to minimise beach erosion? Would you buy a beach house?

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Learning activity 3: Would you walk on broken glass?

Learning intentionsStudents will be able to:

explore advantages and disadvantages of different options related to managing an extreme weather event and its effects

consider the ethical aspects of an environmental dilemma by exploring competing alternatives of the best way to act in a particular situation, with no single alternative being without risks

justify a response to the socio-scientific issue of how to replenish sand on an eroded beach.

Learning ideas

Task A: Debating solutions to coastal erosion Explain to students that coastal erosion occurs when a large swell during winter removes sand and

gentle waves in summer replace the sand. When there are very large winter swells, coastal cliffs and beaches can be very badly damaged. This is a problem for the communities who have built their houses on clifftops or close to a sandy beach. One way of protecting these houses after heavy erosion due to extreme weather is for the government to replenish the sand that was washed away, using sand from another beach. This has its own problems as the beach that the sand is taken from then has less sand itself. An alternative solution is to use finely crushed glass (which is mostly made of sand) to replenish the beach where severe erosion from extreme weather has taken place.

Organise students into two teams so that they can debate the pros and cons of using crushed glass to replace sand that has been wasted away and protect communities living in coastal areas.

Explain to students that a good debater has the ability to see one statement or idea from various perspectives, through critical thinking, critical listening and critical speaking. Students will need to be able to do the following:

look at facts and figures and turn them into arguments use their body language and tone to get their point across listen to what the opposition says and use it to make a reasoned reply know when and what to say at the right time and in the right order.

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Task B: Considering options for dealing with beach erosion Present the following scenario to students.

A recent extreme weather event (large swell caused by a cyclone out at sea) has had a devastating effect on a community beach.

This particular beach has experienced critical erosion – a level of erosion that has threatened development and recreational, cultural and environmental interests.

While some of this erosion is due to natural forces and inappropriate coastal development, a significant amount of the coastal erosion can be attributed to the construction and maintenance of boat harbours. These inlets are artificially deepened to accommodate commercial and recreational boats, and they are protected by jetties to prevent sand from filling them in. This means that when there is a large swell during winter from extreme storms the sand that is washed away does not get replaced in the summer like it would in a natural cycle (as explained in Task A).

Earlier this year, the council spent millions of dollars replacing beach sand only to have it erode just as it had in the past.

Faced with constant erosion at the beach, council officials are exploring four options to deal with the issue of beach erosion:

Option 1: Construct structures such as retaining walls and piers (hard engineering).

Option 2: Fill the beach with sand imported from nearby beaches or from sea dredging (soft engineering).

Option 3: Fill the beach with ‘glass sand’, which is made from landfill glass that is crushed into tiny grains and mixed with regular sand to help fill gaps in the local beach.

Option 4: Allow the erosion to move inland.

Image caption: An eroded beach being filled with replacement sand

Image source: "Plumb Beach Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Work in Brooklyn - 10-22-12 (protecting the Belt Parkway)" by USACE NY is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Pose the question ‘Which option should be the council’s preferred option to best deal with the erosion problem at the beach?’

Allow students some time to use the internet to examine the advantages and disadvantages of each of the four options in dealing with beach erosion. The following links can be used to support students’ research:

'Beach in a bottle', Waste360 'Short of sand, beaches might get crushed glass', NBC News 'Concrete evidence that glass can replace sand', Sustainability Matters Beach nourishment, Explore Beaches Beach restoration, Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) 'Beach fill', Beachapedia

Ask students to summarise the advantages and disadvantages of council adopting each option as a solution to replacing the sand lost on the beach.

Ask students to identify stakeholder groups associated with the question of how to address the issue of beach erosion. Stakeholders in this scenario could include home owners, recreational users, local government, commercial fishers, harbourmasters, environmental advocates and traditional owners. Explore how different solutions may have different impacts on the different stakeholders.

Divide students into four groups, with each group taking on the role of a member of a council subcommittee that has been tasked with evaluating the four options. Allocate an option to each group. Support students to consider the ethical implications of each of the options by identifying, for their allocated option, the following:

unknown outcomes related to the option opportunities provided by the option who or what will ‘gain’ or ‘lose’ from the option (this could be considered in terms of ‘harms’ and

‘benefits’, for example considering who or what may stand to benefit or bear a cost) how the option provides an advantage for one group in society (or other living thing or the

environment) while at the same time providing a disadvantage for another group in society (or another living thing or the environment)

risks associated with an outcome being unknown in relation to the option.

Appendix 9: Scaffolding students’ identification of ethical issues includes a sample template and example student responses related to the evaluation of the four options for addressing beach erosion.

Set up a table of results that summarises arguments for and against each of the four options. Ask students to vote for the proposal that they would support. Were some options more popular than others? Why? How were different ethical considerations related to the relative merits of each proposal addressed? How can the relative merits of different ethical arguments be assessed – is one group’s stance more important than another group’s stance? Should people’s needs be valued more than those of other living things or the environment?

Form student groups based on students’ preferred options in addressing beach erosion. Organise a forum for students to present their group’s findings. Support students to model the process of deliberative democracy (see 'What is deliberative engagement (deliberative democracy)?', MosaicLab) so that they consider different viewpoints and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different options to address the socio-scientific issue of beach erosion. Students will need to ensure they are listening carefully to each speaker so that they understand other arguments and reconsider the strength of their own arguments with reference to new ideas that may arise. Provide students with protocols for the forum. For example, groups may:

ask questions of each other accept a point made by another group and then build on it for their own arguments critique a part of others’ arguments rather than critiquing the overall position or suggested

solution.

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Reflect on the activity. Ask students whether their position on the best solution changed after listening to other groups’ arguments. Discuss the definition of ‘compromise’ and consider whether there is another solution that is based on ‘compromise’.

Ask students to individually write a short (no longer than 300 words) recommendation to the council as to how beach erosion should be managed in the future.

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Assessment ideas

Pre-assessment It is important that teachers determine the prior knowledge of students in relation to the achievement standards against which teachers will assess them. For example, in planning for assessment of the Levels 5 and 6 achievement standard element ‘… explain how natural events cause rapid change to Earth’s surface’, teachers need to determine if students have already developed an understanding associated with the Levels 3 and 4 achievement standard element ‘… discuss how natural and human processes cause changes to Earth’s surface’. To determine this, teachers could ask open questions such as ‘What causes Earth’s surface to change?’ or ‘How does Earth’s surface change?’. Annotated student drawings of changes to Earth’s surface is another effective technique to elicit students’ prior knowledge and understanding.

Ongoing formative assessment Providing feedback to students throughout their learning enables them to identify opportunities for improvement. Examples of ways in which feedback may be provided include the following.

Entry and exit slipsAn entry slip provides students with the opportunity to activate prior knowledge at the start of a learning task. For example, they may write on a piece of paper or explain orally what they know about extreme erosion before starting the investigation in Learning activity 3.

An exit slip enables students to reflect on what they have learnt during the session and express what they are thinking about the new information. At the end of the activity, teachers may ask students to respond to the following prompts:

If you had to explain today’s lesson to a friend, what would you tell them?

What question do you have about what we have learnt today?

Students’ responses should be discussed at the beginning of the next class.

One-minute essayTeachers can check to see students’ developing understanding about key concepts related to weather and climate that influence extreme erosion; for example, students can write for one minute about the differences between weather and climate. Teachers can check if students are grasping the key differences and using examples from activities or classroom resources like the word wall. Problematic key differences and examples can be reinforced in the introduction to the next lesson.

Summative assessmentTeachers should consider the relevant elements of the achievement standard(s) that will be used as the basis of the summative assessment task. For example, in assessing the Levels 5 and 6 content description ‘Sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions can affect Earth’s surface (VCSSU079)’, the relevant element of the achievement standard is ‘… explain how natural events cause rapid change to Earth’s surface’.

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Some points to note in relation to this specific element of the achievement standard are:

‘explain’ implies a more detailed response than ‘describe’ or ‘identify’ would require

the assessment task(s) should include the rapid change caused by natural events.

An example assessment task is provided in Appendix 10: Example assessment task.

Some of the suggested learning activities may also be used as is or modified to be an appropriate assessment task or as a contribution to a folio of learning evidence.

Other resourcesMany resources are available online to support teaching and learning related to natural processes and human activities that affect Earth’s surface.

It is the responsibility of teachers to check that the activities are aligned to the Victorian Curriculum F–10.

The Academy of Science has produced Primary Connections, a freely available online resource for primary schools aligned to the Australian Curriculum and with a literacy and science focus.

The Bureau of Meteorology has produced resources related to weather and climate, including El Ni ñ o and La Ni ñ a events, including background information that is relevant for teachers.

Socio-scientific issues often use deliberative democracy (also called deliberative engagement) as a technique to strengthen arguments, through a focus on information processing in addition to information sharing. Further information can be found at 'What is deliberative engagement (deliberative democracy)?', MosaicLab.

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Observing weather

Observations of the temperature in the morning and the afternoon

Date Time (AM) Temperature (°C) Time (PM) Temperature (°C)

Observations of the amount of rainfall

Date Time Rainfall (mm)

Observations of the wind speed and direction

Date Time Wind direction Wind speed (kph)

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Appendix 2: Weather graphs

Figure 1: Graph of temperature over time

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 310

5

10

15

20

25

Melbourne temperatures, August 2020

Minimum temperature Maximum temperature

Day in August

Tem

pera

ture

(oC

)

Data source: Melbourne, Victoria, August 2020 Daily Weather Observations, Bureau of Meteorology, Commonwealth of Australia

Figure 2: Graph of rainfall over time

Data source: Melbourne, Victoria, August 2020 Daily Weather Observations, Bureau of Meteorology, Commonwealth of Australia

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Figure 3: Representing wind speed (in km per hour) and direction

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35

30

28

35

46

48

41

37

39

35

26

20

41

44

North West

South West South East

North East

West East

South

North

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Appendix 3: Sample maximum daily temperature dataData can be used to investigate patterns and make predictions.

Date Fairhaven, VIC

Bermagui, NSW

Perth, WA Darwin, NT Bali, Indonesia

Bridport, TAS

Townsville, QLD

Sunday 6 December 2020

16 °C 24 °C 28 °C 31 °C 33 °C 14 °C 31 °C

Monday 7 December 2020

15 °C 24 °C 34 °C 32 °C 32 °C 16 °C 32 °C

Tuesday 8 December 2020

17 °C 19 °C 39 °C 33 °C 32 o C 17 °C 32 °C

Wednesday 9 December 2020

20 °C 21 °C 34 °C 34 °C 32 °C 17 °C 32 °C

Thursday 10 December 2020

15 °C 19 °C 31 °C 33 °C 32 °C 17 °C 30 °C

Friday 11 December 2020

17 °C 18 °C 29 °C 32 °C 32 °C 17 °C 31 °C

Saturday 12 December 2020

21 °C 18 °C 28 °C 32 °C 31 °C 19 °C 30 °C

Sunday 13 December 2020

24 °C 21 °C 24 °C 31 °C 31 °C 19 °C 30 °C

Monday 14 December 2020

27 °C 22 °C 27 °C 31 °C 31 °C 21 °C 29 °C

Tuesday 15 December 2020

28 °C 25 °C 28 °C 30 °C 31 °C 21 °C 30 °C

Data source: various

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Appendix 4: Example graph and trendsThe following graph, as well as the identified patterns and predicted trends below, are examples of work that could be produced by students using the data relating to four cities (Fairhaven, Bermagui, Townsville and Darwin) in Appendix 3.

Data source: various

Trends in the data:

We can see that the temperatures are quite steady in Townsville and Darwin, both cities at the top end of Australia. We think that this pattern will continue throughout summer.

Both Fairhaven and Bermagui are towns on the eastern coast of Australia. Both have temperatures that are increasing because it is the start of summer, and we think that the temperatures will continue to get hotter as we get more into summer.

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Appendix 5: Example teamwork rubricName of team member: ………………………………………………………………………………

Observations made by: ……………………………………………………………………………….

Criterion 3 marks 2 marks 1 mark 0 marks

Task focus Always stays on task Stays on task most of the time

Sometimes needs to be reminded to do the work

Hardly ever stays on task

Task completion

Completes assigned tasks

Completes most assigned tasks

Does not follow through on most tasks

Does not complete tasks

Helping others Helps others in the group without being bossy

Often helps others Helps others when asked Does not help out when asked and lets others do all the work

Listening and discussing

Respectfully listens and leads discussions

Respectfully listens and contributes to discussions

Often listens with respect but sometimes takes over discussions without letting other people have a turn

Does not listen with respect and interrupts others

Research Gathers information and shares useful ideas for discussion

Often provides useful information and ideas for discussion

Sometimes provides useful information and ideas for discussion

Almost never provides useful information or ideas for discussion

Problem solving

Actively seeks and suggests solutions to problems

Improves on solutions suggested by other team members

Does not offer solutions, but is willing to try solutions suggested by other team members

Does not try to solve problems or help others solve problems

Conflict resolution

Explains both sides of an argument and makes sure that everyone has time to discuss and compare their views

Identifies both sides of an argument and expresses own view but does not take sides

Stays quiet when there is a conflict on the team

Argues with teammates and blocks team from reaching agreement

Attitude Always has a positive attitude about the tasks and others’ ideas

Usually has a positive attitude about the tasks and others’ ideas

Sometimes laughs at the tasks or others’ ideas

Has a negative attitude to tasks and often laughs at others’ ideas

Other comments by observer:

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Team member reflections:

What I am pleased about:

How I can improve next time I am in a team:

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Appendix 6: Case studies on weather events

Wind-related case studiesKoonoomoo tornado, 2013

'Tornadoes tear through Victorian towns', ABC News

Tropical Cyclone Tracy, 1974

'Tropical Cyclone Tracy: December 25, 1974', ABC News

'Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy', Bureau of Meteorology

Highest wind speed recorded in Australia – Barrow Island, 10 April 1996

'The most extreme wind speed ever recorded on Earth', The Weather Channel

Temperature-related case studiesMallacoota fires, 2020, and Eastern Victorian fires, 2019–20

'Mallacoota fire: images of "mayhem" and "armageddon" as bushfires rage', The Guardian

Bendigo heatwaves, 2018 and 2019

'Bendigo heatwave part of trend for more frequent hot days', Bendigo Advertiser

'January delivers record heat in Bendigo', Bendigo Advertiser

Rainfall-related case studiesVictoria floods, February 2012

'Flood – Victoria: Victoria, February 2012', Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience

Brisbane floods, 2011

'2010–2011 Queensland floods facts for kids', Kiddle

'Queensland floods of 2011: The crisis that killed 33 people and devastated communities', 7NEWS

'Timeline: Five years on from deadly Brisbane and south-east Queensland floods', ABC News

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Appendix 7: What causes El Niño and La Niña events?Between 1998 and 2001 Australia had quite a lot of rainfall. This was very different to the years 2002 and 2003, which were so dry that this time is now considered the worst drought period in Australia’s history. This kind of extreme variation is because Australia’s climate can change from year to year.

Australia’s climate is connected to the temperature of the two oceans that surround it: the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. In a normal year the winds that blow over the equator push warm water from South America towards the eastern coast of Australia. In La Niña years, these winds become stronger, causing the warm water to pile up on the eastern coast of Australia, which increases the chance of rain and produces wetter conditions for large areas of Australia. These effects are known as La Niña events.

In El Niño years the wind blows the other way, moving the warm water off the eastern coast of Australia towards South America. This leads to a greater chance of wetter conditions in South America and drier conditions in Australia, known as El Niño events. These conditions stay the same until the winds start blowing in the other direction again.

Example of student diagramsThe following figures show student diagrams to explain El Niño and La Niña.

Figure 4: Wind direction in El Niño Figure 5: Wind direction in La Niña

Image source (both): Jorja McKinnon

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Appendix 8: El Niño and La Niña experiment

Modelling El Niño and La Niña

Materials and equipment:

deep, clear dish (for example, a fish tank or glass ovenware)

cold water with ice cubes

jug of hot water

blue and red food dye

funnel

hair dryer

plastic or metal lid

Prediction: (write your prediction before the experiment)

Steps: (see pictures of similar steps on the following page)

1. Gather a deep, clear dish (for example, a fish tank or glass ovenware).

2. Half fill the dish with very cold, iced water that has had blue food dye added.

3. Collect a jug of very hot water and add red food dye.

4. Using a funnel, add the hot red water to the cold blue water in the dish. Notice how the red water sinks. This represents the warm and cold water pools of the Pacific Ocean.

5. Using the lowest settings on a hair dryer (taking care to keep the electrical components out of the water), ‘blow’ wind over the surface of the ocean. Note how the warm water will move to the opposite side of the dish from where it had been blown and the colder water will rise to the surface to take the place of where the warm water had been.

6. Now hold a plastic or metal lid at the edge of the dish, above where the warm water is blown. Notice the condensation forming on the lid as the warm water evaporates – this represents the wetter La Niña climates that develop in the eastern states of Australia (while at the same time drier conditions develop along the western coast of South America) or the wetter El Niño climates along the western coast of South America (while at the same time drier conditions – including possible droughts – develop in the eastern states of Australia).

What I discovered: (explain what you noticed throughout the experiment and your understanding of the El Niño and La Niña events)

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Step 1: Add cold blue water to a dish.Step 2: Add hot red water slowly down the side of the

dish.

Step 3: The hot red water moves from one side of the ‘Pacific’ to the other, depending on which direction the hairdryer (representing winds) blows.

Step 4: The hot red water that has pooled on the South American side of the ‘Pacific’ represents an El Niño event, with the wind blowing hot water from the eastern coast of Australia to the western coast of South America.

Image source (all): Jorja McKinnon

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Appendix 9: Scaffolding students’ identification of ethical issues The following template can be provided to students to support them in developing and subsequently considering ethical questions and dilemmas that may arise when dealing with socio-scientific issues. These issues often involve competing alternatives for what is the best action to take in a particular situation, with no one alternative being fully acceptable.

The general ethical question relates to whether a beach with severe erosion should be allowed to naturally work its way inland or whether an engineered solution should be applied. Each solution has both advantages and disadvantages for living things and the environment.

This appendix includes a template for student responses, as well as sample student responses considering four proposed options as to how beach erosion may be managed:

Construct structures such as retaining walls and piers.

Fill the beach with sand imported from nearby beaches or from sea dredging.

Fill the beach with ‘glass sand’, which is made from landfill glass.

Allow the erosion to move inland.

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Template: Should beach erosion be solved by <proposed solution>?Student name:

Proposed solution: (you will select or be allocated one of four proposed solutions to the issue of beach erosion)

Outline of solution: (explain in your own words what the proposed solution involves)

Unpacking the option Elaboration

Advantages of the proposed solution

Disadvantages of the proposed solution

Unknown outcomes related to the proposed solution

Who or what will/may benefit from the proposed solution?

Who or what will/may lose from the proposed solution?

Opportunities provided by the proposed solution

Ethical question(s) relating to an advantage for one group versus a disadvantage for another group in implementing the proposed solution

Is it okay that <a disadvantage> is affected by <the proposed solution> even though there is a benefit that <an advantage>?

Ethical question(s) relating to unknown risks associated with implementing the proposed solution

Does it matter that we are uncertain about how <the proposed solution> may affect <an unknown outcome>?

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Example student response 1: Should beach erosion be solved by building solid structures to hold back sand?Student name: Isabella

Proposed solution: Build infrastructure like seawalls and piers to stop the sand from shifting inland

Outline of solution: Construct solid structures like walls and piers to physically stop sand moving inland and to minimise people and animals disturbing the sand and dunes.

Unpacking the option Elaboration

Advantages of the proposed solution Polymer concrete is stronger than concrete made just from sand and can support infrastructure for beach erosion. This doesn’t rely on use of sand which is becoming a rarer commodity over time.

Disadvantages of the proposed solution

Looks ugly

As climate change leads to rising sea levels, retaining seawalls and piers may not be able to stop incoming waves and erosion

Shoreline armouring (building structures such as seawalls to ‘protect’ the beach) causes further erosion

If solid jetties or seawalls are constructed, it is likely that repetitive and increasingly expensive beach restoration and renourishment will be needed

Unknown outcomes related to the proposed solution

Flows/nearby constructions such as piers may affect tidal patterns and therefore affect fish movement and fishermen’s income as well as swimmers and surfers

Who or what will/may benefit from the proposed solution?

People with coastal homes Local residents who use the beach for recreation Habitat retained for marine life and nesting birds

Who or what will/may lose from the proposed solution?

Tourists People with coastal homes will look at ugly walls that are built Local economy

Opportunities provided by the proposed solution

Infrastructure could include building an artificial saltwater wave pool and beach area with safe swimming and opportunities to learn to surf

Ethical question/s relating to an advantage for one group versus a disadvantage for another group in implementing the proposed solution

Is it OK that businesses relying on tourism may be affected by building piers and seawalls which look ugly, even though there is a benefit that the habitat for birds nesting in the existing sand and dunes is protected?

Ethical question/s relating to unknown risks associated with implementing the proposed solution

Does it matter that we are uncertain about how building a pier and seawall may affect tidal patterns on which fish depend for feeding and on which marine life depend for circulation of nutrients?

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Example student response 2: Should beach erosion be solved by topping up with imported sand?Student name: Marco

Proposed solution: Top up the lost sand at a beach with sand imported from other beaches or dredged from the sea.

Outline of solution: Sand that is lost through beach erosion is topped up with sand that is bought from other beaches or that is dredged from deep at sea at that beach.

Unpacking the option Elaboration

Advantages of the proposed solution Beach tourism – brings in revenue into the town and supports local businesses Uses ‘real’ sand

Disadvantages of the proposed solution

Temporary – needs replacing every year since waves and storms will erode away the new sand

Sand is becoming scarce and expensive to buy Sea dredging has negative environmental impacts Physical dumping of the sand can kill or scare away animals that live on the beach, change

the type of sand that many animals depend on, and make the nearby seawater muddy, which can smother marine life

New added beach sand tends to become compacted, reducing the quality of the nesting habitat

Replacement sands may be unsuitable in grain size, durability and water behaviour for a beach setting

May affect swimmer safety (spinal injuries) with the creation of sudden deep water – waves crash differently

Unknown outcomes related to the proposed solution

Sand from other beaches may not meet the specific requirements of animals that burrow/nest at the beach

The future effects of continued removal of sand are unknown

Who or what will/may benefit from the proposed solution?

Tourists and local residents enjoy a sandy beach Children can still build sandcastles People with coastal homes can keep them Economic benefit for beach where sand was taken

Who or what will/may lose from the proposed solution?

Habitat may be disturbed for marine life Nesting/ migratory birds and fish may need to relocate

Opportunities provided by the proposed solution

Could research, design and build specific shelters and nests for local wildlife, and may attract new wildlife

Ethical question/s relating to an advantage for one group versus a disadvantage for another group in implementing the proposed solution

Is it OK to take sand (a limited resource) from one beach to provide sand for another eroded beach, even though there is a benefit that the eroded beach will be restored?

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Unpacking the option Elaboration

Ethical question/s relating to unknown risks associated with implementing the proposed solution

Does it matter that we are uncertain about how removing sand from one beach may impact on the future erosion potential of that beach?

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Example student response 3: Should beach erosion be solved by making artificial sand from glass?Student name: Charlotte

Proposed solution: Top up the beach with artificial sand made from recycled glass.

Outline of solution: Artificial sand can be made from recycling and processing glass that has been thrown away, with the ‘glass sand’ having similar properties to natural sand.

Unpacking the option Elaboration

Advantages of the proposed solution Beach tourism – brings in revenue into the town Sand is the main ingredient in glass Glass has similar physical and chemical properties to natural sand, including being within

regulatory limits for contaminants Costs much less than real sand Community recycling is increasing amount of glass in landfill is increasing would be a

good use for the thrown-out glass

Disadvantages of the proposed solution

Manufactured ‘glass sand’ needs to have the same characteristics as the original sand (e.g. grain size)

Temporary – needs replacing every year Glass is challenging to recycle because it costs a lot of money and you need to get the right

properties (e.g. size, texture) Expensive to test effectiveness of the ‘beach glass’ material People may not like the idea of going to a ‘glass’ beach Beach fill does not address underlying cause of beach degradation – including hard

engineering (e.g. sea walls/piers) and human activities such as oil extraction Compaction alters sand temperature and moisture levels, preventing female adult birds from

successfully constructing their nests and/or affecting the development process of the incubating eggs

May affect swimmer safety with the creation of sudden deep water where waves crash differently leading to spinal injuries

Unknown outcomes related to the proposed solution

Would the sand be physically harmful? Would it feel and look the same? Can children still build sandcastles?

Needs to be tested at each beach site for its effectiveness Has only been tested in bay beaches, not surf beaches Cannot predict environmental consequences

Who or what will/may benefit from the proposed solution?

Tourists and local residents can still use the beach Local economy may benefit by maintaining tourism dollars Local residents with coastal homes

Who or what will/may lose from the proposed solution?

Tourists may not like the idea of going to a ‘glass’ beach Marine life e.g. turtles and nesting/migratory birds Local economy may lose by having to contribute to processing payments

Opportunities provided by the proposed solution

Other glass recycling products could be made to attract tourists e.g. beach shelters for humans and wildlife; decorative sculptures

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Unpacking the option Elaboration

Ethical question/s relating to an advantage for one group versus a disadvantage for another group in implementing the proposed solution

Is it OK that people may not like the idea of going to a ‘glass’ beach if natural sand at an eroded beach is replaced with ‘glass’ sand, even though there is a benefit that making ‘glass’ sand would be a good use for thrown-out glass?

Ethical question/s relating to unknown risks associated with implementing the proposed solution

Does it matter that we are uncertain about how replacing beach sand with ‘glass’ sand may affect the environment on a long-term basis including whether there are any toxic effects, whether children can build sandcastles or whether birds can still nest?

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Example student response 4: Should beach erosion be solved by allowing natural progression inland?Student name: Flynn

Proposed solution: Allow the erosion to naturally progress towards the land

Outline of solution: Don’t do anything to the beach – just let erosion happen naturally and allow the beach to creep onto the land

Unpacking the option Elaboration

Advantages of the proposed solution Permanent solution Erosion is seasonal/weather driven – beaches are restored to natural shorelines after

extreme events end Cheaper for the local council to maintain than other three options More ‘towel space’ on the beach for tourists and local residents

Disadvantages of the proposed solution

People with coastal homes will need to move to other houses and will not be able to sell their homes to other people as housing

If dunes are levelled and vegetation is removed, it is likely that repetitive and increasingly expensive beach restoration and renourishment will be needed

Only limited retreat from the coast may be possible due to built environment (homes, roads, other infrastructure)

Unknown outcomes related to the proposed solution

May not be practical (e.g. council cannot afford to purchase houses under threat; re-directing of roads/infrastructure may be expensive or not possible without major reconstruction and disruption in town)

Who or what will/may benefit from the proposed solution?

Children can still build sandcastles Tourists and local residents have a bigger beach Local council will continue to attract tourists, bringing money to town

Who or what will/may lose from the proposed solution?

Local residents with coastal homes may need to be relocated Local council may need to purchase coastal homes Beach may look different and may not attract as many tourists

Opportunities provided by the proposed solution

Protect coastal vegetation and dunes to slow erosion Consider working out how to stop the erosion itself – what is causing it? Look at

flows/nearby constructions such as piers that may affect tidal patterns Increase setbacks

Ethical question/s relating to an advantage for one group versus a disadvantage for another group in implementing the proposed solution

Is it OK that people living on seafront properties may be forced to sell their homes as a result of allowing inland retreat even though there is a benefit that tourists, who contribute to the community’s economy, can have more ‘towel space’ on the beach and that tourists contribute to the community’s economy?

Ethical question/s relating to unknown risks associated with implementing the proposed solution

Does it matter that we are uncertain about how allowing inland retreat may affect the local Council’s ability to afford to pay for houses and infrastructure changes which might then also affect the community’s Council rate charges for local residents?

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Appendix 10: Example assessment taskThe following is an example of a summative assessment task to target assessment of the element of the Levels 5 and 6 Science achievement standard ‘… explain how natural events cause rapid change to Earth’s surface’. A rubric or a marking scheme may be used.

Living with Erosion brochure

Design a brochure for residents who are moving to an erosion-threatened coastal town.

You must include:

evidence of rapid change that happens locally (this can be data or pictures from an actual coastal town or a photograph from Appendix 11: Beach erosion examples)

an explanation of the features of the local climate and weather events that cause erosion

information about the current strategies that protect against this change.

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Appendix 11: Beach erosion examples

Image source: ‘Beach Erosion, North Beach’ by nearmap.com is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0.

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Image source: ‘Gold Coast Beach Erosion-02=‘ by Sheba Also 18 Million Views is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0.

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Image source: iStock.com/GomezDavid

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Image source: ‘Beach Erosion’ by iansand is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

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