All lessons › Rain, seasons and Country › Lesson 2
Australian primary science · Year 4 · Lesson 2 of 3
Six seasons in Kakadu
Inquiry question: How can watching weather, plants and animals tell you the season?
Marked no materials needed
Research
What students learn
First Nations peoples have built detailed knowledge of seasons by observing Country over many generations. Seasonal calendars link weather and the water cycle to changes in plants and animals.
Success criteria
- I can describe two of Kakadu’s six seasons using weather, plant and animal signs.
- I can match a season to the water cycle process happening most.
- I can explain how seasonal knowledge and rainfall data agree.
Preparation and materials
Before this lesson: Students can describe Darwin’s wet and dry pattern from data (lesson 1).
- iPads with Bottlebrush Education open (nothing else needed) — 13 (one per pair)
- Projector or big screen — 1
Teacher setup
- Open this lesson’s student view (the Kakadu source) on your screen to demonstrate.
- Check the iPads are charged.
Safety and adaptations
Follow school science and equipment risk assessment procedures for the materials used.
Review your school policies and curriculum requirements before teaching.
How to investigate
The lesson sequence should leave pupils with evidence to interpret, not only an activity to finish.
- Pairs read the source about Kakadu’s six seasons.
- For each season, record about when it happens and the signs in the weather, plants and animals.
- Decide which water cycle process is happening most in each season (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, or water flowing and soaking in).
- Compare with Darwin’s rainfall table from lesson 1: do the wettest months match Gudjewg?
- Write one sentence about how the two kinds of knowledge agree.
Teacher modelling prompt
Read the Gunumeleng paragraph aloud. Think aloud: “Hot, humid, storm clouds building each afternoon. Humid means lots of water vapour, from water evaporating in the heat. Clouds building means vapour condensing. So the main process is evaporation and condensation, getting ready for rain.” Fill in the first row together.
Record and explain evidence
Recording question: How can watching weather, plants and animals tell you the season?
| Season name | About when | Weather signs | Plant or animal signs | Water cycle process happening most |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
Example recording headings; record actual observations, including inconclusive results.
Discussion prompt
Use the source and the lesson 1 data. Whose claim is better supported?
Check understanding
What should pupils know? Name one Kakadu season and describe one weather sign and one plant or animal sign.
Explain with evidence: In Gunumeleng the air is hot and humid and storm clouds build. Which two water cycle processes are happening? Explain.
Apply the idea: Why might knowing the season from plant and animal signs be useful for people living on Country?
Teacher answer guidance and saved classroom work are available through the main lesson experience where supported.