Bring Australia to Your Classroom this Winter
So far this month, we’ve looked at unique ways to enjoy December with your students by discussing ways to celebrate many December holidays from around the world. If you’d like to continue to delight your students with interesting and unique winter activities, we suggest focusing on Australia!
Take a look below to learn about Australian-themed winter activities. You’ll likely think of numerous ways to customize these activities for your specific students and classroom(s). Just thinking about Australia during these cold winter months will make you and your students feel toasty inside!
Let’s Go to Australia! (Elementary and Middle School)
Australian Travel Guide (Middle School and High School)
If you have the ability to work with teachers of other subjects in your school, Australia is an excellent topic for an across subjects unit. The below activities can apply to all subjects and can be modified to fit the needs of your students.
Begin the unit with a brief introduction to Australia. Then, assign students/student groups to a specific region in Australia and have them dive into the below real-world activities in which they will engage in the challenging work of an international travel guide!
- Encourage students to include photos; links to internet resources; landmark, hotel, and restaurant reviews; historical timelines; and digital graphs and maps. The website should include the important Australian laws that a tourist should keep in mind and local dangers (wildlife, crime rates, etc.).
- Students should create a 10-day itinerary that maps out the travel arrangements for someone from your local area with a budget (e.g., $7,000 USD). They should include the flight information, hotels, travel arrangements once in Australia, restaurants, and places to visit.
- The itinerary should make recommendations for the traveler’s wardrobe, what to pack, etc. For example, will the traveler be hiking through the mountains? They might want to bring hiking boots, a backpack rather than a suitcase, and find a local shop from which to rent a tent. The itinerary should also include pricing that has been converted to USDs.
Extending the Learning
The options for these units and final projects are endless. Use your imagination! You also don’t have to limit this unit to Australia; you can explore all of the continents with your students. You can even take your students on a trip “back in time” by researching topics like the Roman Empire or the rule of Mao Zedong.
To start building your winter activity resources list, check out our Pinterest board. For more winter-themed activities for your classroom, take a look at our blog from last year. Finally, if you are looking to learn more about bringing other cultures into your classroom, please visit our course Building Cultural Competency to Improve Instruction and Student Achievement.
Kristen Pisanelli
Kristen Pisanelli, Senior Manager of Curriculum & Instruction at Advancement Courses, is an educational publishing specialist with an MS in Publishing from Pace University. Prior to her work at Advancement Courses, Kristen’s focus was on children’s book publishing where she held positions as a publicist, writer, and editor of non-fiction, educational children’s books.
