26 Jan 2012
As part of a unit on Being Australian, 4G have been investigating the resources that Australia mines. Students gained an understanding of the resources that our country has and the uses for them. 4G discussed the positives and negatives to mining and the uses for the various resources, such as uranium, gold, coal and oil. Students shared their own understandings and any personal connections to the mining industry. 4G were able to gain a greater awareness of the resources sector by utilising the internet to research what, and where some mining occurs. The class also was able to access current events in the media regarding the expansion of the Olympic Dam mine site and past stories on nuclear power. To gain a deeper understanding to the environmental factors and concerns to mining, students had to mine their own piece of fruit cake. Each cake contained various pieces of dried fruit to represent various resources and their value. In each cake they had sultanas- $10, raisins- $20, currants- $25, orange peel- $40 and cherries- $100. Students had to tally the results and determine their financial gain. At the conclusion to their mining the groups had to restore the environment as best they could. Groups were fined for their inability to repair the mining site and it was taken from their total. Well done 4G. This was a great learning experience.