Resources 

Resources for schools

Note: there are separate resources for non-school events, as well as National Science Week logos.

The 2010 National Science Week Schools Kit

Each year ASTA produces the National Science Week Schools Kit, which is sent FREE to every school (including pre-school, primary, secondary and TAFEs that provide senior secondary science courses) in Australia. The 2010 Kit will be addressed to the ‘Preschool Director’, the ‘Science Coordinator’ in primary schools; the ‘Head of Science Department’ in secondary schools; and the ‘Head Teacher - Science’ in TAFEs. The kit is produced by ASTA on behalf of the Australian Government

The kit was distributed in early June 2010. Keep an eye out for it around the staffroom!

Inside the 2010 National Science Week Kit there is a FREE copy of the ASTA teacher resource book Australian Biodiversity.

This book is packed with information, activities, experiments, projects and challenges for students from preschool through to Year 12. Take a look and plan a fantastic biodiversity science event for your class or school! Additional copies are available for purchase from ASTA or can be downloaded for free.

In the kit you will also find:

• an Australian Biodiversity poster and some bookmarks (along with other designs and templates these are available to download and print for yourself);
• a What’s On flyer with information on National Science Week events taking place in your state or territory, as well as Australia-wide events you can be a part of;
• teacher resource booklet on the Bush Blitz Species Discovery program and a Maclean’s Bright Sparks activity booklet. Both of these programs have fantastic competitions for schools to enter; and
• some information about The Big Sleep Survey 2010. Encourage your students to go online during Science Week and answer some questions about their sleep habits and complete a ‘sleep diary’ for the week. The data collected will be used by sleep researchers in a real research project.

2010 ASTA National Science Week Teacher Resource Book – Australian Biodiversity

For National Science Week each year, ASTA produces a teacher resource book to encourage teachers to conduct science activities within their school during National Science Week. The title of the 2010 teachers resource book is Australian Biodiversity.

Australian Biodiversity has been designed to provide teachers with ideas to increase knowledge and understanding about the broad scope of Australian biodiversity and its unique place on the world stage, within the context of a celebration of National Science Week.

Studies of Australian biota in terms of its fauna and flora have been a traditional inclusion in the primary and secondary school curricula and the authors were very much aware that the Australian Science Teachers Association published a useful resource book with many excellent activities on biodiversity in 2001.

Many resources are available to support the teaching of biodiversity per se, so the 2010 booklet’s emphasis is on background knowledge and specific examples of biodiversity issues that illustrate and highlight the decisions necessary to conserve our unique Australian ecosystems.

National Science Week 2010 also provides an opportunity to celebrate Australian Science and the many scientists involved in investigating, monitoring and conserving Australian biodiversity. Teachers are encouraged to include stories about these scientists in their classroom activities and share the excitement generated by the ongoing discoveries of previously unknown species across this land of ours.

The conservation of Australian species, ecosystems and habitats is of interest to most members of every Australian community. Teachers are thus encouraged to make contact and have dialogue with local community organisations and Indigenous people wherever possible. Students should also be made aware of the opportunities for ‘hands-on’ engagement in community projects relating to protection of local species. Perhaps there is a community project that students could be part of during National Science Week?

Biodiversity basics and ecosysem conservation

The booklet has been structured to provide opportunities for teachers and students to develop an understanding of the background science of biodiversity as well as examples of the special nature of Australian biodiversity.

The book has been divided into chapters broadly based on:

1. Biodiversity Basics – the ways in which biodiversity can be described, measured and recorded. This includes some notes on classification protocols
2. Australian Biodiversity – including the origins of our unique biodiversity
3. Threats to Australian Biodiversity
4. Conservation of Australian Biodiversity – at ecosystem, species and gene level.

Biodiversity is a ‘hot topic’ in the media and the community in 2010 and organisations, local governments, state governments and the Australian Government have responded by providing a wealth of information on the Internet. Where possible, complementary sites have been identified for each section and a list of further useful web links has also been developed that review some of the many outstanding sites on the World Wide Web.

From early childhood to senior secondary

In response to numerous requests, the first activities are designed for Early Childhood classes. However, Early Childhood teachers are encouraged to read through some of the later chapters to find other activities that can be adapted for their students.

Each of the remaining chapters is written for K-10 teachers and includes the following features:

• an introductory page which provides background information on the subject of the chapter
• a series of double-page spreads, each of which can be used independently of other pages.

Each double-page spread consists of:

1. a single page of information about the header topic. This single page contains the background science knowledge and understandings relevant to the double page
2. a page of teaching activities. This page generally provides activities across four groups:
   • lower primary
   • primary
   • middle school
   • upper secondary

Not all ages are catered for in every set of teaching activities, so teachers are encouraged to read across all the activities for ideas that are appropriate to, or could be adapted for, their own students’ specific talents, interests and levels of conceptual development.