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Part 2A: Learning Sequence

Unit Title: Art from Waste: Creating a Message through Recycled Plastic

Target Year Level:Year 5–6

Focus Areas: The Arts (Visual Arts and Media Arts), HASS (Geography and Civics), Sustainability (CCP), General Capabilities (Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding, Intercultural Understanding)


Lesson 1 – Introduction to Plastic Pollution and Art Activism

Learning Intention: Students will understand the global issue of plastic pollution and be introduced to artists who use waste to create awareness.

Content Descriptions:

ACAVAM115 – Explore ideas and practices used by artists to represent views, beliefs and opinions.

 ACHASSK140 – The influence of people on the environmental characteristics of places.

Strategies: Class brainstorm of existing knowledge of plastic pollution. Watch short clips from Ocean Sole and Washed Up. Think-Pair-Share about the role of artists as activists. Class discussion of artworks.

Assessment:  Visual thinking routine – “See, Think, Wonder” completed in journals.


Lesson Plans


Lesson 2 – Exploring Ocean Sole as an Artefact

Learning Intention: Students will analyse artefacts from Ocean Sole and interpret the environmental messages.

Content Descriptions:

ACAVAM114 – Explore visual arts practices and viewpoints.

ACHASSI099 – Locate and collect information from various sources.

Strategies: Source analysis through examining photographs of Ocean Sole sculptures. Scaffolded research using the Ocean Sole website and YouTube interviews with artists. Small group analysis of different sculptures and their symbolic meanings.

Assessment: Research worksheet and short written reflection on the meaning and impact of the artefact.


Lesson 3 – Design: Sketching Concepts for Recycled Sculptures

Learning Intention: Students will plan their own sculpture using waste materials.

Content Descriptions:

ACAVAM116 – Develop and apply techniques and processes.

Strategies: Brainstorm key messages students want to communicate about plastic waste. Guided sketching sessions, using graphic organisers to annotate visual intentions, materials list, and recycled materials plan.

Assessment: Annotated sculpture design drafts showing intention and sustainability focus.


Lesson 4 – Making Sculptures from Waste Materials

Learning Intention: Students will construct sculptures using recycled materials.

Content Descriptions:

ACAVAM116 / ACAVAM117 – Create and display artworks.

Strategies: Students work individually or in small groups to construct their sculpture. Teacher modelling techniques (cutting, joining, structuring). Reflection checkpoints to consider whether their environmental message is being effectively communicated.

Assessment: Completed sculpture, teacher observation, informal peer feedback.



Lesson 5 – Artist Statements and Reflection

Learning Intention: Students will communicate their environmental message through written and oral forms.

Content Descriptions:

 ACELY1704 – Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative texts.

Strategies: Students draft artist statements using scaffold prompts (e.g., “My artwork is about…,” “The recycled materials I used…,” “I want the viewer to think about…”). Peer editing, rehearsal of oral presentation.

Assessment: Written artist statement and short oral presentation.


Lesson 6 – Virtual Gallery Walk and Class Discussion

Learning Intention: Students will evaluate their learning and reflect on the role of art in environmental activism.

Strategies: Students display artworks. Peers rotate and use “Two Stars and a Wish” feedback cards. Group discussion on the most powerful messages and surprising creations.

Assessment: Reflection journals. Self-assessment rubric on personal growth and environmental understanding.


Part 2B: Detailed Lesson Plan – Lesson 2: Exploring Ocean Sole as an Artefact


Year Level: 5–6

Learning Area: Visual Arts and HASS

Focus: Interpreting environmental messages through art and developing research skills

Learning Intentions:

  • Students will examine Ocean Sole sculptures and interpret their environmental messages.

  • Students will collect and synthesise information from a range of sources about the Ocean Sole initiative.

Success Criteria:

  • I can identify key features of Ocean Sole sculptures.

  • I can explain the environmental message behind selected artworks.

  • I can gather information from websites and videos and present my understanding in written form.

    Curriculum Links:

    Visual Arts: ACAVAM114 – Explore visual arts practices as inspiration to develop personal artworks that express an idea, concept, or theme.

  • HASS: ACHASSI099 – Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary and secondary sources.

    Resources

  • Printed images of Ocean Sole sculptures

  • Projector and access to YouTube (interviews with Ocean Sole artists)

  • Laptops/tablets for group research

  • Ocean Sole website

  • Worksheet template for analysis and reflection



Lesson Sequence:

1. Introduction:

Recap key ideas from Lesson 1 about plastic pollution and art activism. Pose the inquiry question: “How can art send a message about the environment?”

2. Whole Class Activity:

Show a short video about Ocean Sole sculptures (e.g., YouTube interview). Facilitate a class discussion with guiding questions:

  •  What do you notice about the sculptures?

  • What materials are used?

  • What message do you think the artist is trying to convey?

3. Small Group Analysis:

Divide the class into small groups. Provide each group with a different sculpture image and a visual analysis worksheet. Tasks include describing the sculpture, identifying materials, inferring messages, and noting emotional impact.

4. Research Task:

 Groups use devices to explore the Ocean Sole website. Students answer scaffolded research questions:

  • Where does the flip-flop waste come from?

  • Who are the artists involved?

  • What is the purpose of Ocean Sole?

  • How do sculptures help the environment?

5. Individual Reflection:

Students write a 100–150 word paragraph answering: “How does Ocean Sole turn waste into a message?”

6. Sharing and Closure:

Invite several students to share reflections. Teacher summarises how art can be a tool for environmental communication and change.


Assessment:

  • Group visual analysis worksheets (formative)

  • Research task answers (formative)

  • Individual reflection paragraphs (summative)

Differentiation:

  • Sentence starters and key vocabulary provided for EAL/D and support learners.

  • Extension: Advanced students explore additional articles or artist interviews.

General Capabilities and Cross-Curriculum Priorities:

  • Critical and Creative Thinking

  • Ethical Understanding

  • Sustainability (CCP)


Part 3: Critical Rationale 

This resource package, centred on the artefact Ocean Sole, exemplifies a holistic and contemporary approach to sustainability education by effectively integrating the Arts and Humanities disciplines within the framework of the Australian Curriculum Version 9. Ocean Sole’s unique mission of transforming discarded flip-flops into vibrant sculptures offers a rich, tangible artefact that encapsulates environmental, cultural, and social dimensions of sustainability. This choice aligns closely with the Australian Curriculum’s cross-curriculum priority of Sustainability, as well as the development of key general capabilities such as critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, and intercultural understanding. These capabilities are essential in equipping students to navigate and respond thoughtfully to complex global challenges such as plastic pollution.

Dinham and Chalk (2022) emphasise the transformative power of arts education when grounded in real-world issues. They argue that such authentic engagement enables young learners to develop a sense of agency and identity as they participate actively in learning processes that involve belonging, being, and becoming through the arts. This unit draws on that pedagogical philosophy by positioning students not as passive recipients of information but as active participants in global conversations about environmental sustainability. Through their interactions with Ocean Sole artefacts, students harness their creativity and imagination to respond meaningfully to the pervasive issue of plastic waste. The artefacts themselves, as hands-on, sensory objects, serve as powerful multi-modal learning tools. They stimulate not only visual and tactile engagement but also emotional and intellectual responses, thus reinforcing Boyd and Cutcher’s (2022) emphasis on process-oriented, collaborative arts pedagogies. These pedagogies advocate for arts education that privileges experimentation, dialogue, and the co-construction of knowledge, thereby promoting deep engagement and diverse pathways for student expression.

Sinclair (2017) further highlights the necessity for arts education to transcend mere technical skill development and instead cultivate students’ capacity for critical thinking about social and environmental issues. This resource supports that objective by encouraging students to research, analyse, create, and critically reflect on the environmental messages embedded within recycled artworks. The structured scaffolding of these processes helps develop students’ abilities to question and ethically respond to the sustainability challenges faced by their communities and the broader world. This approach aligns with the principles outlined by Everett et al. (2009), who advocate for education for sustainability (EfS) frameworks that integrate knowledge, skills, and values while fostering a sense of responsibility and empowerment. The integration of research and reflective practices within this unit enables students to become not only knowledgeable about plastic pollution but also ethically engaged and motivated to contribute positively to environmental solutions.

Moreover, Jenkins (n.d.) emphasises the importance of fostering hope, agency, and interdisciplinary learning within EfS. These elements are evident throughout the unit’s design, particularly as students are invited to create their own sculptures and compose artist statements that communicate their environmental concerns and aspirations. Such creative acts serve as both personal expressions and forms of activism, empowering students to see themselves as agents of change. This experiential and hands-on approach nurtures students’ motivation and commitment to sustainable practices, counteracting feelings of helplessness that can sometimes accompany learning about environmental crises. By combining artistic creation with critical inquiry and reflection, the unit embodies an interdisciplinary pedagogy that bridges the cognitive, emotional, and ethical dimensions of learning, thereby supporting holistic student development.

Noble’s (n.d.) discussion on EfS within the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) underscores the unit’s strong relevance to the civics and geography curriculum strands. These strands provide opportunities for students to explore human impacts on environments, understand diverse cultural and ecological perspectives, and investigate sustainability initiatives from local to global scales. The incorporation of research tasks and inquiry-based learning strengthens students’ information literacy and critical evaluation skills, which are vital for navigating the vast and often contradictory information about environmental issues that they encounter in contemporary media landscapes. This alignment with the Australian Curriculum ensures that learning is purposeful, coherent, and linked to students’ real lives and communities, fostering informed and active citizenship.

Further enhancing the resource’s pedagogical soundness, Daniel and Hirsch (2019–2020) highlight the importance of combining scientific understanding with social awareness in education addressing climate change and environmental degradation. This unit effectively blends artistic inquiry with factual research about plastic pollution, providing students with a dual literacy that is crucial for meaningful engagement with sustainability issues. Through exploration of Ocean Sole’s artefacts and the broader context of plastic waste, students develop both conceptual knowledge about environmental science and critical perspectives on human behaviour and societal responsibility. This integrated approach supports comprehensive learning that prepares students to make informed decisions and take purposeful action.

The lessons within this resource are carefully designed to be accessible and inclusive, reflecting the Australian Curriculum’s commitment to equity and diversity. Scaffolding strategies, multimodal activities, and collaborative work structures accommodate diverse learning needs, including students with varying language abilities, learning styles, and cultural backgrounds. This approach not only supports engagement and success for all students but also models inclusive pedagogies that foster respectful intercultural understanding, a key general capability. By providing multiple entry points and flexible pathways for participation, the unit ensures that sustainability education is meaningful and relevant to every learner.

In summary, this resource package presents a rich, interdisciplinary, and experiential approach to sustainability education that empowers students to engage creatively and critically with the pressing issue of plastic pollution. It effectively integrates the Arts and Humanities to support knowledge acquisition, skill development, ethical reflection, and agency. By fostering hope and motivation, as well as intellectual and emotional engagement, this unit nurtures ethical, informed, and hopeful perspectives for the future. Through their involvement in this learning journey, students are not only equipped to understand environmental challenges but also inspired to become active contributors to sustainable solutions, embodying the aims of the Australian Curriculum and Education for Sustainability frameworks.