[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Welcome. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

Jingi Walla. Welcome to your geographical skills series.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer’.]

We are filming this series on Bundjalung land and wish to pay our respect to the traditional custodians of the country on which these films are made.

[Screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. Text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’.]

We recognise the contribution of Elders, both past and present, in their role in protection of this beautiful land from where we are learning.

[Screen shows a zoomed-in version of the ‘Our Country’ artwork. The image gradually scrolls to the left.]

This series consists of independent GeoSkills videos, all produced by geography teachers to guide other teachers through basic skills and the rules associated with these skills.

[The screen shows a series of photographs. These photographs include a teacher demonstrating how to use a clinometer to a group of students, two students completing fieldwork, two students completing bookwork with their teacher in a classroom, and a student speaking with his teacher in a classroom. The screen returns to show the presenter standing in front of the light blue background.]

We hope you enjoy the series and at the conclusion feel more confident in implementing geographic skills in your classroom.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Area and distance. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

If you’re working in Google Maps, you can turn on the distance measurement tool and the distance can be calculated for you.

[Screen shows a street map of Byron Bay from Google Maps. The presenter clicks on the ‘Measure distances and areas’ button in the top left-hand corner of the screen. The button looks like a small grey ruler. The presenter uses the tool to draw dotted lines that measure the length of the beach on the map. The distance between these points automatically calculates itself. It shows that the beach is 1.53km long. Text on screen reads, ‘Google Maps: My Maps, https://www.google.com.au/maps/about/mymaps/, accessed 31 March 2022’.]

There are, however, many different types of maps that geographers use, so you need to know how to do this manually.

[Screen shows a ruler and a hand-drawn topographic map. The map has 5 contour lines. The lines have the heights 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 written on them. On the 10 line, the presenter has drawn 2 dots. One of the dots is on the west-most part of the line. It is labelled, ‘A’. The other dot is on the east-most part of the line. It is labelled, ‘B’. At the top of the page, the presenter has drawn a compass. The compass is pointing upwards towards the north. Underneath the compass, they have written, ‘contour interval 10m’. At the bottom of the page, the presenter has drawn a scale. The scale reads, ‘2cm:1km’.]

The first measurement is a straight line, or as the crow flies, distance measurement. This is easy to calculate.

[Presenter lines up the ruler so that it connects point A and point B. They place the part of the ruler that reads ‘0mm’ at point A. Point A and point B are 160mm apart.]

Take a piece of paper with a straight edge or a ruler or divider and measure the distance.

[Presenter lines up the ruler with the scale at the bottom of the page. Using the scale, they work out that the real distance would be 8km. Presenter writes, ‘A to B. 8km.’]

Then place this against the linear scale of the map and determine the distance.

[Screen shows the hand-drawn topographic map. This time, the presenter has drawn a small house near the east-most part of the 30 line. They have also drawn a curved and dotted line between point A and the small house. Underneath the last measurement, the presenter has written ‘A to Hut’.]

As we can see from the image, not every distance we need to measure on a map is a straight line. For example, we may want to measure the curved lines around the river or road or land border.

[Presenter places a blank piece of paper along the dotted line. The corner of the paper lines up with point A, and the straight side of the paper lines up with the first part of the dotted line. Every time the dotted line starts to curve, the presenter makes a little marking on the piece of paper. They then shift the paper so that it continues to line up with the dotted line. The presenter repeats this process until the entire length of the dotted line has been marked and measured.]

One simple way to do this is to divide the curve into straight sections and then mark each measurement on a straight-edged piece of paper.

[Presenter lines up the piece of paper with the scale at the bottom of the page. Using the scale, they work out that the real distance would be 6.5km. The final measurement at the bottom of the page now reads, ‘A to Hut. 6.5km’.]

The final measurement can then be converted to an actual distance using the linear scale.

[Presenter removes the piece of paper. They use the cord of their lapel microphone like a piece of string, and they line up the cord with the dotted line. Whenever the dotted line curves, they also curve the microphone cord. They measure the length of the dotted line in this way and then pinch the part of the cord that lines up with the house. The presenter straightens out the cord and brings it down to the scale at the bottom of the page. Using the scale, they once again work out that the real distance would be 6.5 kilometres.]

Another way this can be done is to place a string along the line distance to be measured and then convert this to actual distance using the linear scale.

[Screen shows a piece of grid paper and a ruler. On the grid paper, the presenter has drawn a simple map of a piece of land. The piece of land is an irregular shape. It has a length of 3 grid squares and a breadth of 2 grid squares. The piece of land sits inside a larger rectangle. This rectangle has a length of 6 grid squares and a breadth of 5 grid squares. Above the rectangle, a small scale has been drawn. The scale is 5 grid squares long. On the right-hand side of the page, the presenter has written, ‘Area of one full grid square = 1 x 1 = 1m2’.]

To calculate the area, we first work out the area. A equals length times the breadth of one grid square.

[Presenter points to one of the grid squares on the map. They then point to the formula on the right-hand side of the page.]

In our example, the length and breadth are both one metre.

[Presenter again points to one of the grid squares on the map.]

So the area is one metre squared.

[Presenter points to the piece of land.]

We then multiply this area by the number of grid squares that the feature covers. This will include whole and partial grid squares. To get this number, we first count the whole grid squares and tick these.

[Presenter draws a tick in all of the full grid squares on the piece of land. They tick 3 squares in total.]

Then estimate the partially covered areas.

[Presenter writes the fraction, ‘one-quarter’, in one of the grid squares on the piece of land. They then write the fraction, ‘one-half’, in the 2 remaining grid squares.]

We have 3 whole grid squares and 1.25 partial grid squares.

[Underneath the previous formula, presenter writes, ‘3 + one-half + one-half + one-quarter = 4 and one-quarter’.]

This means that we have a total of 4.25 grid squares.

[Underneath the previous formula, the presenter writes, ‘Area of feature. 1 x 4 and one-quarter = 4 and one-quarter = 4.25m2.]

We then multiply 4.25 by the area of one grid square. Our total area is 4.25 metres squared.

There you have it, measuring distance and area on maps.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References. Google Maps: My Maps, https://www.google.com.au/maps/about/mymaps/, accessed 31 March 2022.’

Text on the screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Area and grid reference. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

Hello. In this video, we are learning about area and grid reference.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer’.]

We use area and grid references on topographic maps to find information quickly. An area reference is a four-figure reference. A grid reference is a more detailed six-figure reference point.

We use area reference to find a general area on a topographic map and describe or observe what's in the area. We use six-figure grid references to pinpoint an exact location and state what is located there. Here are the rules for area and grid references.

[Screen shows a bird’s-eye view of centimetre grid paper on top of a notepad. On the grid paper, the presenter has drawn a 10 centimetre by 10-centimetre square. On the vertical sides of the square, the presenter has written the numbers 28 through to 37 in ascending order, with one number on each grid line. On the horizontal lines of the square, the presenter has written the numbers 21 through to 30 in ascending order, with one number on each grid line. There are two straight red lines drawn through the middle of the square – one horizontal line and one vertical line. The vertical line has an arrow pointing to it and is labelled ‘Eastings’. The horizontal line has an arrow pointing to it and is labelled ‘Northings’.]

Vertical lines are called eastings.

[Presenter points to the red vertical line.]

They run parallel up and down, east to west, across the map.

[Presenter points to the numbers at the top of the square. They point to each number, going from left to right.]

Horizontal lines are called northings.

[Presenter points to the red horizontal line.]

They run parallel across the map, north to south.

[Presenter points to the numbers on the right-hand side of the square. They point to each number, going from top to bottom.]

When we write the area or grid reference down, we write eastings before northings.

[Presenter points to where the two red lines intersect. They point to the word ‘Eastings’, followed by the word ‘Northings’.]

How do we remember this? A rule of thumb – always follow alphabetical rules. E before N.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

Now, let's take a look at some area references on our map.

[Screen shows a street map of East Ballina. There are grid references on the map. The eastings numbers are 49, 50, 57, 58, 59 and 60. The northings numbers are 06, 07, 08 and 09. Presenter points to the label, ‘Pontoon Rocks’.]

We want to work out what is the area reference for Pontoon Rocks, Angels Beach.

[Presenter points to the number 58 in the eastings.]

Start by finding the eastings, 58.

[Presenter uses a pencil to gesture up and down the eastings grid line.]

Then we note the northing number, 08.

[Presenter uses a pencil to gesture left and right along the northings grid line.]

We are referring to the whole square with an area reference.

[Presenter points to the square where Pontoon Rocks is located. They write ‘AR 5808’ beside the location.]

The AR for Pontoon Rocks is AR 5808.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

You may also need to use the symbols and area reference to locate and identify a land use on a topographic map.

[Screen returns to showing the map of East Ballina. Presenter points to the part of the map where grid reference 5706 is located.]

For example, here we have a grid reference, 5706. What is located here?

[Presenter uses a pencil to gesture along the eastings and northings grid lines. Once they reach the grid reference, they point to a yellow-coloured area that has red street lines running through it.]

Follow the eastings until you've reached the northing in the L and identified the land use. Use the key to identify the land use.

[Presenter moves the map to show the key. There is a list of symbols and their matching land uses. At the top of the list, the presenter points to a yellow rectangle with red lines running through it. The label beside this symbol reads, ‘Built-up area.’]

The key shows a built-up area.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

When we are finding grid references, we are using six figures. This gives an exact location on a topographic map.

[Screen shows the grid paper from the start of the video. There is now a dot in the area reference for 2236. Two arrows are pointing to the dot. One arrow is coming from the top of the square and the other arrow is coming from the right-hand side of the square. Both of these arrows have the label ‘1/2’. The phrases ‘A = 2236’ and ‘GR =’ are written on the right-hand side of the page. Presenter points to ‘GR =’.]

A six-figure grid reference has six numbers in it.

[Presenter uses a pencil to point to each of the eastings numbers along the top of the square. They then glide the pencil down the arrow that is coming from the top of the square. Presenter points to the dot.]

The first two numbers are the grid reference eastings, and the third is how many tenths past the easting the point is.

[Presenter points to the word ‘Northings’. They then point to the dot. The presenter gestures to show that the dot is halfway between the two nearest grid lines.]

The next two numbers tell the northing below the point. And the last number tells us how many tenths past the northing this point is.

[Presenter visually follows the verbal instructions to find the grid reference number. Next to ‘GR =’, they write ‘225365’. The screen then shows the presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

In topographic maps, understanding grid and area reference is key to other more complex skills. For example, distance between places and topographic cross-sections. But once you understand area and grid reference, you'll be well on your way to becoming a real geographer. All the best.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. BOLTSS and scale. Presented by Melissa Ellis.’]

Melissa Ellis

Hello. This episode, we are revisiting some basic geography mapping rules.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer.’]

Every map should include BOLTSS.

[Screen shows a street map of Katoomba – Leura. The text above the map reads, ‘BOLTSS’.]

A border, or a line around it.

[Screen zooms into the bottom-left corner of the map. An arrow points to the border that surrounds the street map. Text on the screen reads, ‘Border’.]

Orientation, a compass showing the direction.

[Screen pans and zooms to the top-right corner of the map. An arrow points to an image of a compass on the street map. Text on the screen reads, ‘Orientation’.]

Legend, showing a key to the symbols used on the map.

[Screen pans and zooms to the top-left corner of the map. An arrow points to a legend on the street map. Text on the screen reads, ‘Legend’.]

Title, or name of the map, scale, showing how small the map is compared to the real world. Source, where the information came from.

[Screen pans and zooms to the bottom middle of the map. An arrow points to the title of the map, which reads, ‘Katoomba – Leura’. Text on the screen reads, ‘Title’. The arrow then points to the scale on the street map. Text on the screen reads, ‘Scale’. The arrow then points to the source of the street map, which reads, ‘Issued by the publicity department. Blue Mountains City Council’. Text on the screen reads, ‘Source’.]

Something many students struggle with is understanding scale when reading maps. Let's run through some basic rules about scale. We are illustrating something large in a smaller way. Therefore, we use scale on maps. How much detail is shown on a map will depend on the scale that has been used to draw it.

The scale of a map is the ratio of map distance to actual distance. We show scale in many ways, writing in words, representative fraction, by drawing a line scale. An example of scaling words is 1 centimetre to 1 kilometre. This means that 1 centimetre on the map represents 1 kilometre in real life on the ground. Examples of scale in words include 1 centimetre to 1 metre, 1 centimetre to 10 metre, 5 centimetres to 1 kilometre.

The scale of a map can also be shown in numbers. A scale in representative fraction might be 1 to 100, 1 to 1,000, 1 to 10,000, 1 to 100,000, 1 to 250,000. If a map has a representative fraction of 1 to 1,000, then one distance on the map is 1,000 times bigger in real life. It often helps to start with representative fraction of 1 to 100,000. This is a common topographic mapping scale.

[Description not needed: The visuals in this part of the video only support what is spoken; the visuals do not provide additional information.]

Picture putting a line through the last two zeros in the 100,000. This leaves 1,000. We have converted the ratio from millimetres to metres.

[Text on screen reads, ‘1 to 100 000’. A red line appears on the screen to cross out the last 2 zeros.]

The scale then represents 1 centimetre to 1,000 metres or 1 centimetre to 1 kilometre. In words, a scale of 1 to 100,000 is 1 centimetre on the map represents 1 kilometre in real life.

Using this basic method, students should be able to convert ratio scales easily. Let's try this again. 1 to 250,000, 1 centimetre to 2,500 metres, or 1 centimetre represents 2.5 kilometres. One more example, 1 to 10,000. 1 centimetre to 100 metres, or 1 centimetre represents 0.1 kilometres. Line scales, also commonly known as linear scales, is a numbered line showing scale on a map.

[The screen shows a street map. There is a line scale on the bottom-right corner of the image. An arrow points to the scale. Text on the screen reads, ‘Linear scale – line scale’.]

Scale is about practice. Take some time to try all the types of scale presented on maps in geography. The more familiar you are with scale, the easier the skill becomes. All the best.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References

Katoomba Leura Tourist Directory, by E. Coleman at Flickr.com/photos/blue_mountains_library_local_studies/9206840596/in/photostream. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0v’.

Text on the screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

Screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled, ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. Text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Climatic graphs. Presented by Melissa Ellis.’]

Melissa Ellis

A climatic graph is a graph which shows the average temperatures and precipitation for a place over a year. Here we have a climatic table and climatic graph. Note the title, latitude, longitude, temperature, and precipitation are clearly identified.

[Screen shows an image of a combination graph – a bar graph and line graph. It also shows a table below the graph. The combination graph is titled, ‘Climate graph’. The screen zooms in under the title. Text on the screen reads, ‘Weather Station. New York City’. The latitude and longitude are also listed.]

When reading climatic graphs, it is easy to become confused. The temperature is always illustrated as a line graph. It's best to draw this in red when drawing your own climatic graph.

[Screen zooms in to show the top of the graph. The left vertical axis of the graph measures temperature in degrees Celsius, from -5 to 30. Evenly spaced dots on the graph are joined together by a line in the shape of an arc. The line glows red.]

The rainfall, millimetres, is always illustrated in a column graph.

[The line fades. The columns on the graph are now highlighted, glowing different shades of light blue. The right vertical axis measures rainfall from 20 to 120 millimetres.]

The maximum highest temperatures will be the highest point on the line graph. The minimum temperature will be the lowest point on the line graph.

[The columns fade and the line becomes highlighted again. An arrow appears on the screen to show the highest point in the line. It reads, ‘Maximum temperatures’. Another arrow appears to show the lowest point. It reads, ‘Minimum temperatures’.]

When asked to find the temperature range, you simply subtract the minimum temperature from the maximum temperature. The highest precipitation will be illustrated by the highest column graph. The lowest precipitation will be illustrated by the lowest graph.

[The line fades and the columns become highlighted again. An arrow appears and points to the longest column. It reads, ‘Highest rainfall’. Another arrow appears and points to the shortest column. It reads, ‘Lowest rainfall’.]

On climatic graphs, a grouping of high rainfall will illustrate wet season. In an area where the columns are collectively low, it will illustrate a dry season.

[The screen shows a red circle around a group of high columns, followed by a group of low columns.]

We find out the total rainfall of the year by adding up all the column graphs together. Here, we can see the total rainfall for the year. Remember, in the climatic graph, temperature is the average for the month and rainfall is the total.

[The screen zooms in to show a table below the graph. The table describes the temperature and rainfall recorded for all the months of the year. The screen highlights the row containing rainfall data to show a total of 1,268 millimetres of rainfall for the year. A circle appears around a temperature of 22 degrees that was recorded in May. Another circle appears around a rainfall measurement of 106.4 millimetres that was recorded in May.]

Temperature is a line graph. Rainfall is a column graph. Always read your graph carefully and make sure you were following the month you were looking for all the way up from the bottom of the graph. That is how we read climatic graphs.

[The screen zooms out to show the table and the whole graph. A red line appears from the bottom of the screen and draws a box around all of the table data for the month of July. The box extends up around the column to the top of the screen.]

Good luck with yours.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled, ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Common graphs. Presented by Melissa Ellis.’]

Melissa Ellis

A graph must include the following, a title, source, horizontal axis, vertical axis, and scale. We use many different types of graphs in geography. This video will review some of the more common graphs you will encounter or use to illustrate data and findings.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer.’]

Column graphs. A simple column graph is one where one or more bars are drawn vertically. This type of graph is used to show a single variable. Here, we have an example of a column graph. It shows the number of animals surveyed in woodland.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Column graph’. To the left of the text, there is an animation of a graph with 6 columns growing towards the top. The columns are at different heights and coloured in different shades of pink. The horizontal axis reads, ‘Species’, and the vertical axis reads, ‘Number 1000s’.]

When describing data in a column graph, you are describing general patterns observed. You should use specific examples and note any obvious anomalies.

[Screen shows an arrow pointing to one of the columns on the graph. Text with the arrow reads, ‘anomaly’.]

Bar graphs, also known as bar charts. A simple bar graph is one where one or more bars are drawn horizontally. These are used to compare the sizes of data between different places or objects at a single point in time. Here, we have an example of a bar graph showing plastic thrown out.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Bar graph’. To the left of the text, there is an animation of the graph with 9 bars growing towards the right. The bars are at different heights and are coloured in different shades of pink. Each bar is labelled with an item and number. The graph shows evenly spaced vertical lines, labelled with percentages ranging from 0 per cent to 16.2 per cent. Text appears on the screen that reads, ‘plastic items in ocean garbage’.]

Pie graph, or pie chart. A circular graph that is used to illustrate percentages. Pie graphs are pretty obvious to read. A bigger piece of the pie illustrates a larger percentage or portion.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Pie chart’. To the left of the text, there is an image of a circle with 10 different sized slices. Each slice is coloured in different shades of pink. An arrow with text that reads, ‘Larger percentage’, points to a slice of the circle. This slice is labelled with the highest percentage out of all of the slices.]

We read pie graphs in a clockwise direction. 100 per cent on a pie graph is 360 degrees. When drawing a pie graph, you must convert data to degrees.

[Screen shows a dotted line gradually forming around the outside of the circle. It is travelling in a clockwise direction. The line closes at the top of the graph to form a circle. Text appears that reads, ‘360 degrees’. Each slice is labelled with the degrees of its angle.]

Line graphs. A line graph joins a series of different data points. We use line graphs in geography to show temperature, population, employment, imports, and exports.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Line graph’. To the left of the text, there is an animation of a graph where dots are appearing. These dots are joined together by a line that moves horizontally across the screen.]

Line graphs effectively show increases or decreases over time. For example, the number of tourists visiting Uluru over a 10-year period.

[Screen zooms out to show the whole graph. Text appears below the title that reads, ‘Number of tourists visiting Uluru’. Numbers from zero to 27.1 are on the vertical axis. Each dot is joined by a line and is labelled with a number.]

When we use multiple line graphs in one, you can compare measurements for two different categories over time. For example, the number of students in different year groups at your school over a 20-year period. When you see a line graph with multiple lines, you call it a multiple line graph.

[Screen shows more dots appearing on different parts of the graph. These dots are joined by a new line. The two lines on the screen zig zag and cross each other at different parts. Text appears below the title that reads, ‘Number of students’. The title also changes to read, ‘Multiple line graph’.]

These are some common graphs used in geography. Hope this has been helpful. Happy graphing.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled, ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Contours, gradient, relief and aspect. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

Because maps are flat and the land isn't, lines and symbols are used to indicate topographic features.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer’.]

The lines on a topographic map that join areas of equal height are called contours.

[Screen shows an illustration of a topographic map hovering above a mountain range. The features of the mountain range match the contour lines of the topographic map. The map is labelled, ‘Topographic map’. The mountain range is labelled, ‘Landscape’. On the topographic map, there are 4 black dots, one red triangle and a range of curved lines. One of the curved lines is circled. This line is labelled, ‘Contour’.]

Cartographers reduce clutter by only recording measurements for a set contour interval.

[Screen zooms in to show just the topographic map. Two of the adjacent contour lines are labelled, ‘Contour interval’.]

For example, this map only shows every increase or decrease in height by 20 metres.

[All of the contour lines on the left-hand side of the map are labelled with their heights above sea level. The heights range from 200 metres to 280 metres.]

The black dots on topographic maps represent spot height.

[A circle appears around one of the black dots on the topographic map. It is labelled, ‘Spot height’.]

Where there is a triangle, it means that there is a triangulation station where the height has been specifically measured and marked by a concrete block linking the map to the real world.

[A circle appears around the red triangle on the topographic map. The screen zooms out slightly to show the tip of the mountain range illustration. There is now a red box sitting on top of the mountain range. This is also circled.]

Relief refers to variations in the height of the land.

[Screen shows the presenter standing in front of a decorative background. Text on the screen matches the presenter’s spoken words.]

Local relief is calculated by finding the difference in height between two points in an area, or the highest minus the lowest point.

[Screen shows a simple topographic map with 3 contour lines. The lines have the heights 700, 800 and 900 written on them. The 900 line has a dot on it that is labelled, ‘A’. The 700 line has a dot on it that is labelled, ‘B’. A straight line connects the 2 dots. In the bottom right-hand corner, there is a box that reads, ‘Contour Interval: 100m’.]

In this example, it is simply the difference between the height at point A, which is 900 metres, and the height at point B, which is 700 metres. Thus, the relief is 200 metres.

[Screen shows an animated illustration of a mountain range. Text on the screen matches the presenter’s spoken words.]

Gradient is a measure of how steep a slope is.

[The illustration moves to the right-hand side of the screen. On the left-hand side, a ruler appears along the height and base of the mountain. The height of the mountain is labelled, ‘Rise – 20m’. The base of the mountain is labelled, ‘Run – 5km’. The screen shows the formula that is used to calculate a gradient. It reads, ‘Gradient = rise divided by run’.]

It is calculated as a fraction of the increase in height, the rise, divided by the distance it covers, run.

[The formula on the screen changes. It now reads, ‘Gradient = 20m divided by 5km’.]

Thus, in this example, the gradient is calculated by first getting the rise and the run into the same units.

[The formula on the screen changes. It now reads, ‘Gradient = 20m divided by 5000m’.]

So we start by converting the 5-kilometre run into 5,000 metres. Then rise over run is 20 over 5,000.

[The formula on the screen changes. It now reads, ‘Gradient = 1 divided by 250’.]

Breaking this down further, it becomes 1 over 250.

[The formula on the screen changes. It now reads, ‘Gradient = 1:250.]

In geography, we state gradient as a ratio. So the gradient is 1 to 250.

[An animated red line extends along the screen, just above the formula. It goes 250 units horizontally, followed by 1 unit vertically.]

This means that for every 250 metres you travel along, you go up 1 metre.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

Sometimes we need to know from a map what direction a slope or object is facing. This is called the aspect. The aspect is simply the direction from the highest point to the lowest point at a site. This will show where the slope is facing downhill.

[Screen shows a video of a hill. The video is being filmed from ground level, with the peak of the hill in the background.]

A good tip to remember this is, if you stood on the slope and dropped a ball, what direction would it roll.

[An arrow appears on the left-hand side of the hill. It is pointing downwards along the slope.]

That is the direction the slope is facing.

[Screen shows the simple topographic map from earlier in the video. There is now a triangle at the highest point of the map. It is labelled, ‘1000’. Point A is now on the south-most part of the 800 line. A vertical blue arrow starts at the triangle, runs through point A and extends towards the base of the map. Point B is now next to the northwest part of the 700 line. A diagonal blue arrow starts at the triangle, runs through point B and extends to the top-left part of the map.]

In this example, the aspect of point A is south, and the aspect of point B is northeast.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

Now you know all about contours, gradient, relief, and aspect.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References. Storyblocks: hills-above-nerja-2-SBV-300081409-HD.mp4’.

Text on the screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Cross sections and transects. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

In this episode, we're learning about topographic cross-sections and transects.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer’.]

A topographic map uses contour lines to illustrate the height of a spot on the map.

[Screen shows an illustration of a topographic map. The lines on the map are labelled, ‘Contour line’. The map is titled, ‘Topographical map’.]

When you are familiar with contour line patterns, you can visualise what landform features are presented.

[The image zooms out to reveal an illustrated mountain range underneath the topographic map. The features of the mountain range match the contour lines of the original topographic map.]

For example, consistent circles spread evenly apart, rising gradually, will illustrate a hill.

[On both the topographic map and the mountain range illustration, the peak of the mountain is circled. These circles are labelled, ‘Hill’.]

A cross-section is a visual representation of a vertical slice of the landscape.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

There are several steps involved in drawing cross-sections.

[Screen shows a topographic map of Newrybar and a folded piece of scrap paper. The presenter writes the letters ‘A’ and ‘B’ at two different places on the map.]

One, find Point A and B on your map.

[Presenter lines up the folded piece of paper so that the top edge is touching both letters. They draw a small line underneath each letter on the folded paper. The lines are labelled, ‘A’ and ‘B’. Next to the lines, the presenter draws a few small markings along the top of the folded paper. These markings show the positions of the different contour lines on the map.]

Number 2, place the edge of a sheet of paper along the transect and note A and B with the height above sea level that is illustrated on the contour line.

[Presenter makes additional markings on the folded piece of paper to show all of the contour lines between points A and B. Each marking is labelled with the height above sea level. The presenter also labels some notable landmarks, such as ‘creek’.]

Working from the left to right, carefully mark where each contour meets the paper and write the height above sea level.

[Presenter removes the map. They place the folded paper on top of a piece of grid paper, lining it up horizontally with the grid. The presenter begins drawing a graph on the grid paper. To create a horizontal axis, they draw a dot above where point A and point B are on the folded piece of paper. They remove the folded paper and rule a line on the grid paper between the 2 dots. They label the dots as ‘A’ and ‘B’.]

Draw a graph to plot the contours. The horizontal axis must be the same length as A to B.

[The presenter adds a vertical axis to the grid paper. Starting from point A, they draw a vertical line that is 5 centimetres tall. They draw an arrowhead at the top of the axis. Going upwards along this axis, the presenter writes the numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80. The axis is labelled, ‘Meters’.]

Choose a suitable scale for the vertical axis.

[Presenter brings back the folded piece of paper and lines it up with the horizontal axis. They plot each of the height markings on the graph by drawing a series of dots.]

Use the contour heights on your scrap piece of paper to plot the heights of each contour line on your graph.

[Presenter connects each of the dots by drawing a series of lines.]

Then you join these lines.

[Screen shows an animated cross-section of Launceston. The cross-section is titled, ‘Cross-section Launceston’. On the vertical axis, the graph starts at 0 metres and rises in regular intervals to 2000 metres. The axis is labelled, ‘Meters above sea level’. As the presenter discusses the key features, labels appear, marking them on the animated cross-section.]

Here we have a complete cross-section. Note the key features – title, labelled axes, and line graph.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

A transect is a special cross-section on which other information about the area has been written. For example, landforms, vegetation or land use.

[Screen shows the cross-section of Launceston again. It zooms out to reveal additional information underneath the original graph. This information is presented in individual boxes that align with different features on the graph. Text on the screen reads:

• Landforms – River flood plain, flat valley floor, undulating plains, gradually rising slope, steep incline, dolerite scarp
• Vegetation – Cleared land, forest, wet and dry sclerophyll, alpine
• Soils – Rich alluvial, very fertile, shallow, rocky, mainly rock (dolerite)
• Transport – Well-developed infrastructure, minor sealed roads, farm roads and tracks, one main access road, poor condition
• Settlement – Built-up area of Launceston, farmhouses, more dispersed with distance from Launceston, no settlement, Nation Park, alpine village
• Landuse – Urban area, farming intensive, extensive farming, sheep and cattle grazing, forestry, national park ski village.]

Here is an example of a transect. Note the additional information about the cross-section.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

Once you learn to use cross-sections and transects, you will understand more about topographic mapping. All the best with yours.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Music]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Directions and bearings. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

Hello.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer’.]

This video is teaching directions and bearings. Direction helps us orientate ourselves in the world.

[Screen shows a close-up video of a hand slowly rotating a compass.]

Geographers use compass points north, east, south, west to describe where things are in relation to other places.

[Screen shows a video of a person using a map and a compass while hiking.]

An easy way to remember direction is, ‘never eat sour worms’.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

When using maps in geography, you will need to be familiar with direction. If you are asked to draw a map in geography, remember – always include direction.

Next, you'll be shown how to find bearings on a map using direction and a protractor.

Bearings is another name for angle. Angles are measured in degrees. A circle has 360 degrees. If north is zero, then the direction of one place from another can be described

as so many degrees from north. We use bearings instead of direction because 360 degrees is more accurate than 8 or 16 on a compass.

Let's take a look at some simple examples.

[Screen shows a piece of paper and a protractor on top of a notepad. On the piece of paper, the presenter has written, ‘Hometown’ and ‘Greenville’. There is a dot on the left-hand side of both words. ‘Hometown’ is written towards the middle of the page. ‘Greenville’ is written above ‘Hometown’ in a north-east direction. Using Hometown’s dot as the base, the presenter has drawn a vertical line with an arrowhead that is pointing upwards. The letter ‘N’ is written above the arrowhead. Presenter points to the word, ‘Hometown’.]

Here we have Hometown.

[Presenter points to the ‘N’.]

Start with finding north.

[Presenter points to the word, ‘Greenville’.]

Here we have Greenville. Use the protractor to measure the angle going clockwise from north to Greenville.

[Presenter draws a diagonal line to connect Hometown’s dot with Greenville’s dot. They have created an acute angle. They then use the protractor to measure the size of the angle. The presenter writes ’48 degrees’ on the page. They draw a curved line that ends with an arrowhead to demonstrate the amount of rotation between the two lines.]

The angle is 48. Let's do another.

[Screen shows a new piece of paper and a protractor. On the piece of paper, the presenter has written, ‘Hometown’ and ‘Bluetown’. There is a dot on the left-hand side of both words. ‘Hometown’ is written towards the middle of the page. ‘Bluetown’ is written below ‘Hometown’ in a south-east direction. Using Hometown’s dot as the base, the presenter has drawn a vertical line with an arrowhead that is pointing upwards. Presenter points to the word, ‘Hometown’ and the word, ‘Bluetown’.]

Here we have Hometown.

[Presenter writes the letter ‘N’ on top of the arrowhead. They point to it.]

Start with finding north.

[Presenter again points to the word, ‘Bluetown’.]

Here we have Bluetown. Use the protractor to measure the angle going clockwise from north to Bluetown.

[Presenter draws a diagonal line to connect Hometown’s dot with Bluetown’s dot. They have created an obtuse angle. They then use the protractor to measure the size of the angle. The presenter writes, ‘140 degrees’ on the page. They draw a curved line that ends with an arrowhead to demonstrate the amount of rotation between the two lines.]

The angle is 140. One more example.

[Screen shows a new piece of paper and a protractor. On the piece of paper, the presenter has written, ‘Cape Red’. They then write the word, ‘Hometown’. There is a dot on the left-hand side of both words. ‘Hometown’ is written towards the middle of the page. ‘Cape Red’ is written below ‘Hometown’ in a south-west direction. Using Hometown’s dot as the base, the presenter has drawn a vertical line with an arrowhead that is pointing upwards. The letter ‘N’ is written above the arrowhead.]

Here we have Hometown. Start with finding north.

[Presenter points to the word, ‘Hometown’. They then point to the letter ‘N’, followed by the word, ‘Cape Red’.]

Here we have Cape Red. Use the protractor to measure the angle going clockwise from north to Cape Red.

[Presenter draws a diagonal line to connect Hometown’s dot with Cape Red’s dot. They have created a reflex angle. They then use the protractor to measure the size of the angle. The presenter writes ‘240 degrees’ on the page. They draw a curved line that ends with an arrowhead to demonstrate the amount of rotation between the two lines.]

The angle is 240.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

Always remember to start with finding north and measure the angle clockwise from north. Good luck with your bearings.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References

cookelma (2022) ‘Traveler hand holds a compass in forest 00:09’ [video], Storyblocks, Storyblocks website, accessed 16 June 2022. https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/traveler-hand-holds-a-compass-in-forest-sfcpb7shikazdeydz is licenced under Storyblock’s Business license https://www.storyblocks.com/license/business-license and has been modified.

Mazhora (2022) ‘Men planning hiking trip on map with compass on mountain with stones and green plants. Finding way concept 00:12’ [video], Storyblocks, Storyblocks website, accessed 16 June 2022. https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/men-planning-hiking-trip-on-map-with-compass-on-mountain-with-stones-and-green-plants-finding-way-concept-bvvxtm6urk0mkswpn is licenced under Storyblock’s Business license https://www.storyblocks.com/license/business-license and has been modified.’

Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

Screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. Text at the top of the screen reads, Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Field instruments. Presented by Melissa Ellis.’]

Melissa Ellis

Geography is the study of the world we live in. Geographers are always asking questions about places and things they see. Some of the most important questions are what is it I am seeing? How did this happen? And why are these things changing?

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer.’]

In this episode, we are learning about field instruments geographers use and where they are useful when learning about geography.

[Screen shows a montage of images of hands plotting coordinates on maps using a compass.]

Let's start with the weather. Weather is the daily condition or state of the atmosphere. So when we are studying the state of the atmosphere, we're exploring the different elements like temperature, humidity, rainfall, air pressure, clouds, and wind.

[Screen shows a series of video snippets, including a sun shining through clouds, the wind blowing over sand dunes, and dark clouds.]

We use a thermometer to measure air temperature.

[Screen shows an image of a thermometer rising to 30 degrees Celsius. Above the image, the screen reads, ‘thermometer’.]

Often we study climatic graphs, which illustrate the average temperature for a location each month over a year.

[Screen shows an image of a combination graph – a bar graph and line graph. Text on the screen reads, ‘Weather Station. New York City’. The image shows temperature and rainfall in a table at the bottom of the graph.]

Humidity is the moisture in the air. Tropical locations generally have high levels of humidity while deserts have low levels of humidity.

[Screen shows a series of video snippets, including a dense green forest covered in mist, and sand dunes.]

We measure humidity using a hot and dry bulb thermometer.

[Screen shows a close-up image of a clock with two smaller gauges. One gauge on the left has text beneath it that reads, ‘Humidity’. It has a dial pointing to ‘20’ with text that reads, ‘Very dry’. The numbers on the gauge range from zero to 100, with 100 being ‘Humid’. The small gauge on the right measures temperature in Fahrenheit.]

Rainfall is measured using a rain gauge. Rainfall is often collected and averaged over each month for the duration of a year and illustrated on a climatic graph.

[Screen shows rain falling. The screen then shows an image of a plastic cylinder attached to a piece of wood. It has a smaller cylinder inside it with ruler markings from the bottom to the top. The ruler measures from zero to 100 millimetres.]

We use a barometer to measure air pressure. Air pressure is very important because it affects other weather elements.

[Screen shows an image of a gauge with two bars that sit along the circumference of the gauge. One is measuring millimetres and the other is measuring millibars. The gauge has three hands. Two of the hands are in the shape of arrows and are facing right. The text above reads, Fair’. One has the shape of a crescent moon on its tip and is facing left. The text above reads, ‘Rain’. The text that appears between the words ‘Fair’ and ‘Rain’ reads, ‘Change’. The text above the entire image reads, ‘Barometer’.]

Low-pressure systems usually present rainfall to a location while high-pressure systems present fine and settled weather.

[Screen shows a pink image of the east of Australia. Over New South Wales, there is a white letter ‘L’ in a blue box. The blue box is surrounded by irregular circles marked with white lines. Each circle is numbered, starting from 850 in the centre, to 880, 900, and a line with 1000 to the left of 900. A smaller circle sits off the coast of South Australia with the number 880 within the 1000 line. The image zooms left to show Western Australia with a white letter ‘H’ in a red box. The red box is surrounded by irregular circles marked with white lines. Each circle around the smaller circle is numbered from 1040, to 1030, to 1020. On the outside of these circles, north of the red box is a smaller irregular circle. This circle has the number 950, as well as a line to its right with the number 990.]

Identifying clouds can be really interesting. Your school may have a cloud chart. These will illustrate the sorts of clouds you are observing.

[Screen shows clouds moving quickly across a blue sky.]

We measure wind using an anemometer. An anemometer only measures wind speed, not the direction it's coming from.

[Screen shows an image of a short metal post and 3 hollow cones attached to 3 spokes, all facing in the same direction. The text above image reads, ‘Anemometer’.]

You will need a wind vane for that. We always state wind as the direction it is coming from.

[Screen shows an image of a metal horse. Under the horse are 4 horizontal posts that read, ‘N’, ‘E’, ‘S’ and ‘W’. The instrument is attached to a roof.]

In the field, geographers use many different types of maps. A common map is a topographic map. Topographic maps are a useful tool for predicting distance, slope, and land use.

[Screen shows an image of a 3-dimensional rectangular slice of a mountain. The slice shows a river and layers of the earth. To the right of the image, it reads, ‘Landscape’. Above the landscape are 4 dotted lines travelling up to a 2-dimensional pink rectangle. On the rectangle, there are dark blue lines that follow the shape of the mountain, a thick light blue line above the river, and some dark blue and red dots. One of the dark blue lines is circled and labelled, ‘Contour’. Image zooms into the pink rectangle and numbers appear on each contour line along the bottom edge. These numbers read, ‘200’, ‘220’, ‘240’, ‘260’ and ‘280’. The text above the image reads, ‘Topographic map’.]

When using a topographic map in the field, you will likely use a compass. Geographers learn to orientate the map to face the north using the compass and the north point on the map. If you do not have a compass, you can always find north using your watch. Did you know halfway between 12 facing the sun and the hour hand on your watch will point north?

[Screen shows an image of a compass, a person holding a map with a compass and an analogue watch.]

We measure the distance in the field using a surveyor's wheel, also commonly known as a click wheel. When drawing a sketch map, you should use the surveyor's wheel to measure the distance and develop a scale for your map.

[Screen shows presenter walking in the grass as they push a yellow wheel on a long stick.]

Clinometer, a small light, robust, and inexpensive instrument for measuring height, you may need to measure the height of trees or a building to make recommendations. Students sometimes make their own clinometer and go out to measure the height of trees or buildings in their school.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Clinometer’ above an image of a small metal instrument with a gauge. Numbers are arranged in a semicircle on the gauge. The numbers start at 90 on both the left and right side and decrease by 10s to zero on the bottom edge. The instrument is branded, ‘Suunto’. The screen then shows a video from the base of a tree, moving slowly upwards along the trunk.]

GIS, Geographic Information Systems, you will be more familiar with GIS than you think. If you have used Google Maps to find your way to a new place, you've used GIS maps. Many GIS tools are great for geography because they show exact data, for example, the latitude and longitude of a site you were studying. GIS is also very useful for finding the height above sea level for a site of study.

[Screen shows a Google map of Barnetts Lookout. The screen shows a cursor click on the pin drop tool. Coordinates for ‘Berowra Heights’ appear at the bottom of the map. The screen then shows the cursor click on the ‘terrain’ option of the map. This causes contour lines to appear on the map.]

Try geocaching. This is a fun way to learn to use GIS.

Cameras. It's often said the best camera is the camera you are carrying. Your phone is a great tool to use in geography. It can be used to take photos of a site you are studying and refer to later. Or if fortunate enough to have a drone and permission to fly the drone, you can get a bird's eye view. Photographs are particularly useful when recording changes at a location over time.

[Screen shows a video of someone sitting on the ground in the bush. They are using their phone as a camera. The screen then shows a video of someone using a drone with the sun setting behind them.]

That is a summary of the most common field instruments we use in geography. Happy fieldwork.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References

• Storyblocks: montage-composition-collage-of-searching-direction-with-compass-on-map-video-wall-b-SBV-337758095-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: light-shining-down-through-clouds-on-valley-SBV-300076328-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: bright-sun-and-massive-clouds-time-lapse-at-sunset-SBV327329779-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: desert-sand-dunes-ripple-with-morning-light-cloudy-sky-timelapse-SBV-306035833-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: the-overcast-sky-is-streaming-time-laps-SBV-338711258-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: thermometer-with-temperature-rising-SBV-338427010-HD.mov
• Storyblocks: mystic-and-foggy-drone-flight-over-the-canopy-primary-tropical-rainforest-sal-guian-SBV-328051823-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: massive-tree-in-amazonian-forest-french-guiana-deep-jungle-sunlight-day-time-SBV-328055663-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: beautiful-aerial-drone-shot-over-sand-dunes-in-gobi-desert-golden-hour-SBV-328082155-HD.mp4
• Temperature humidity clock by B137 CC BY SA 4.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Supermarket_clock_with_hygrometer_very_dry_low_humidity_in_winter.jpg
• Storyblocks:ws-rain-drops-hitting-surface-of-water-SBV-311475499-HD.mp4
• Rain gauge by Farmatin CC BY SA 4.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2018-06-28_20_30_19_A_4-inch_plastic_CoCoRaHS_rain_gauge_with_exactly_1_inch_of_rain_water_along_Terrace_Boulevard_in_Ewing_Township,_Mercer_Country,_New_Jersey.jpg
• Barometer by Langspeed CC BY SA 3.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dosen-barometer.jpg’.

Text on screen then reads, ‘References

• Storyblocks: fast-moving-and-morphing-clouds-SBV-315063775-HD.mp4
• Anemometer by Farmartin CC BY SA 4.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2013-10-20_14_20_39_Anemometer_used_to_measure_for_wind_movement_at_an_evaporation_pan.JPG
• Storyblocks: equestrian-wind-vane-or-weather-vane-depicting-a-horse-atop-a-blue-barn-SBV-337994743-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: traveler-hand-holds-a-compass-in-forest-SBV338480329-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: men-planning-hiking-trip-on-map-with-compass-on-mountain-with-stones-and-green-plan-SBV-337719064-HD-mp4
• Citizen wristwatch by Petar Milošević CC BY SA 4.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Citizen_wristwatch.jpg
• Clinometer by Btomil2 CC BY SA 3.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Citizen_wristwatch.jpg
• Storyblocks: rainforest-jungle-wilderness-natural-ecosystem-environment-cinematic-dolly-shot-SBV-329727425-HD.mp4
• Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps, accessed 31 March 2022
• Storyblocks: adventure-trip-young-woman-hiker-with-dreadlocks-sitting-on-the-ground-in-the-fores-SBV-346704982-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: the-male-controls-quadrocopter-on-the-sunset-background-SBV-337762703-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: the-pilot-flying-drone-control-it-with-a-joystick-SBV-311419487-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: drone-quadcopter-multirotor-flying-with-camera-during-sunset-SBV-309202047-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: drone-quadrocopter-on-the-sunset-background-SBV-337762703.HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: aerial-shot-beautiful-sea-against-sky-during-sunset-drone-flying-toward-sun-SBV-346621235-HD.mp4’.

Text on the screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled, ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Field sketches. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

Hello.

[Presenter is sitting on a rock wall at the beach. In the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Officer’.]

Today, we're here at Shelly Beach in Ballina, and I'm going to give you a quick overview of how to draw field sketches. Geographers use field sketches to observe the local environment, their place, and space. So what we're looking for is an observation of our natural and our built environment.

There are several steps involved in a field sketch, and it's one of the easiest ways to conduct geographical fieldwork.

[Screen briefly changes to show the beach from the presenter’s point of view. On the left of the presenter, there is a concrete path and some grass. On the right, there is sand, some rocks and the ocean. Dividing these 2 areas is the rock wall that the presenter is sitting on. In the background, there is a tree-covered mountain. The screen then goes back to showing the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

When we're conducting a field sketch, basically, what we want to do is select an appropriate area to observe. In this case, I've chosen a location that demonstrates human features and physical features, natural features of our environment.

[Screen once again shows the presenter’s point of view. People can be seen walking along the beach. The screen then goes back to showing the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

The first step we do is identify the actual square that we're going to sketch.

[Presenter stretches her hands out in front of her. Both hands make an ‘L’ shape with the thumb and forefinger. She then uses her hands to create the outline of an invisible box shape that is roughly the size of her head.]

So you do this by having two L-shaped fingers, such as this. And whatever you've got in that frame of your fingers is what you will be sketching. So you make an observation of that to start with.

[Presenter puts down their hands. She pulls out a clipboard with a piece of paper on it.]

The second step is to draw onto your sheet of paper the rectangle or square that you're planning to observe. Okay, so I'm going to do that now.

[Screen changes to show a bird’s eye view of the presenter’s clipboard and paper. The presenter uses a ruler to draw a rectangular box that is slightly smaller than the size of the paper.]

Do not worry about being exact. It's an observation.

[Screen shows the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

Okay, so once you've got your square or rectangle that you're observing drawn on your piece of paper, then you're going to divide the scene in front of you into three zones – foreground, middle ground and background.

[Screen shows the presenter’s clipboard and paper. Presenter uses the ruler to draw two horizontal lines inside the rectangle, dividing it into equal thirds. While the presenter is talking, text on screen labels the bottom third as ‘Foreground’, the middle third as ‘Middle ground’, and the top third as ‘Background’. Presenter points to each of these sections with their pencil.]

So you just do this by drawing very light lines, so it doesn't interfere with your final product. Foreground, middle ground, and background.

[Screen shows the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

This helps you break down the information you're seeing in front of you, so that you don't have too much information and you become overwhelmed with what to draw first.

[Screen shows the presenter’s point of view of the beach.]

So looking at the scene directly in front of me, what is in the foreground is the beach.

[Screen shows the rock wall that the presenter is sitting on.]

A rock wall.

[Screen shows the concrete footpath, surrounded by grass and bordered by rocks.]

A footpath and another rock wall.

[Screen shows a slope covered in greenery. A house sits behind the slope.]

And then some vegetation.

[Screen shows the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

So I'm going to start my field sketch with an illustration of that.

[Screen shows the presenter’s clipboard and paper. She has begun sketching the features that were described. Screen then goes back to showing the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

Now that I've got my foreground drawn, I just want to look for finer details – more significant things to observe. Something I did not observe before was, there's actually a bench and a fence in the foreground of my illustration. So I'm going to draw that in as well.

[Screen shows the presenter’s point of view. It then shows the presenter’s clipboard and paper. More details have been added to the foreground of the drawing.]

Now, I'll move on to the middle ground section of my field sketch.

[Screen shows the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

What I'm observing in my middle ground is a rock ledge, some sand, the footpath and also a building. So I'll sketch that into the middle ground.

[Screen shows the presenter’s clipboard and paper. The presenter begins darkening some lines and adding more detail into the middle ground of their drawing. Screen then goes back to showing the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

I notice here as well the footpath disappears around the bend behind the building.

[Screen shows the presenter’s clipboard and paper. They add in the details that were mentioned. Screen then goes back to showing the presenter sitting on the rock wall.]

Further along in the background of the sketch, I've got a headland, a sweeping bay of a beach, and the hill directly in the foreground actually hides what's in the background a little bit. So you can't see what's behind that hill, so I cannot sketch it.

[Screen briefly shows the presenter’s point of view, then goes back to showing them sitting on the rock wall.]

Okay, the final step in my field sketch is to label the features. So you're looking for things that you want to identify for future reference. The reason we do this is because sometimes, when you get back to the classroom or back home from your field work, you might forget finer details. So labelling your field sketch helps to remember what was there on the site when you went to visit.

[Screen shows the presenter’s clipboard and paper. They have added in a number of labels and arrows, including ‘Building’, ‘Vegetation’, ‘Footpath’, ‘Hill’, ‘Beach’, ‘Ocean’ and ‘Fence’. The presenter has also added a compass, as well as the title, ‘Shelly Beach, Ballina’.]

So the more detail you provide, the better.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

Screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. Text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[The screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Geographical inquiry. Presented by Melissa Ellis.’]

Melissa Ellis

Hello. A geographical inquiry is a process by which students learn about and deepen their understanding of geography.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer.’]

It involves individual, or collaborative, investigations that start with geographical questions and proceed through the collection, evaluation, interpretation, and analysis of information to develop a set of conclusions and proposals for action.

[Screen shows a video of teenage students in a classroom working together at their desks.]

Students apply their geographical skills and use geographical tools during an inquiry. Fieldwork provides opportunities for students to be involved in an active inquiry outside the classroom.

[Screen shows a series of videos, including young people walking with backpacks on a grassy mountain, a close-up view of a compass and map, and a young person walking through trees.]

The stages of inquiry are acquiring geographical information by identifying an issue or problem, developing geographical questions to investigate the issue or problem, collecting primary geographical data, gather geographical information from secondary sources, and recording their information. Secondly, in a geographical inquiry, students will need to process geographical information, evaluate data and information for reliability and bias, represent data and information in appropriate forms, interpreting data and information gathered, analysing the finding and results to draw conclusions. Thirdly, in an inquiry, they have to communicate geographical information, communicate the results using a variety of strategies, reflect on findings of the investigation, propose actions, and predict outcomes, where appropriate students can take action.

[Description not needed: The visuals in this part of the video only support what is spoken; the visuals do not provide additional information.]

A geographical inquiry does not have to follow the complete sequence just outlined. Teachers may provide students with a data set and allow students to interpret and analyse the data provided. Students may be presented with all the information and propose action or may pose a question they want to answer and strategies they would choose when conducting an inquiry.

[Screen shows a video of teenage students in a classroom working together at their desks. The presenter then reappears on the screen.]

So, to sum it up, a geographical inquiry will include some or all of the following, acquiring geographical information, processing geographical information, communicating geographical information. All the best with your inquiries.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References

• Storyblocks student-concentrating-in-high-school-class-SBV-346591867-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks students-working-together-in-high-school-class-SBV-346591833-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks students-writing-in-high-school-class-SBV-346591826-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks students-working-together-in-high-school-class-SBV-346591832-HD-mp4
• Storyblocks students-working-together-in-high-school-class-SBV-346591881-HD-mp4
• Storyblocks the-active-people-with-backpacks-walking-up-on-a-mountain-SBV-337104019-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks male-hand-searching-direction-on-paper-with-compass-finding-your-way-SBV-337500518-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks slow-motion-back-view-young-caucasian-woman-looking-for-direction-on-a-map-while-hi-SBV-338777731-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks hiker-holding-with-paper-map-on-the-stroll-backpacker-travelling-with-backpack-in-f-SBV-316399706-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks teacher-addressing-pupils-from-the-back-of-her-high-school-class-SBV-316635095-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks teacher-studying-school-books-in-class-with-high-school-kids-SBV-316635129.mp4’.

Text on the screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled, ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Introduction to maps. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

Hello. In this video, we are learning about the many different types of maps.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer’.]

Maps are used to locate, display, and record spatial data. Reference maps are used to show the location of physical features, boundaries, and cities. Thematic maps show themes, for example, the concentration of people in an area.

[Screen shows an image of a world map. The text above the image reads, ‘Globe map’.]

The best representation of a map in the world is a globe, but it's not convenient to carry a globe around. So the 3D globe is represented by projecting latitude and longitude onto a flat surface. There are some issues with these causing inaccuracies, though. For example, Mercator's projection distorts the size of the polar regions, Europe, and North America.

[Screen shows an image of a street map of Katoomba and Leura.]

A person who makes maps is a cartographer.

[The street map image moves to the right of the screen. On the left of the screen, the spoken words appear.]

Every map should have a border, orientation, legend, title, scale, and source. An easy way to remember this is using the acronym, BOLTSS.

[The screen shows an image of a relief map of the world. The text above the image reads, ‘Physical or relief map’.]

Physical or relief maps show the natural features of the Earth, like rivers, deserts, mountains, and lakes. They often use colours of the natural environment, like browns for mountains and hills, greens for land, and blues for water.

[The screen shows an image of a topographic map. The text above the image reads, ‘Topographic map’.]

Topographic maps show the shape of the Earth's surface by using contour lines. These lines join points of equal elevation. These maps also show some natural features, like lakes, and cultural features, like roads and bridges.

[The screen shows an image of a political map of Europe. The text above the image reads, ‘Political map’.]

Political maps use different colours to show countries, international borders, and often the major cities and oceans.

[The screen shows an image of a synoptic chart of Australia. The text above the image reads, ‘Synoptic chart’.]

Synoptic charts are maps that summarize atmospheric conditions, including air pressure, precipitation, wind speed and direction. Isobars are the lines on these maps that join places of equal air pressure.

[Screen shows an image of a choropleth map of Western Australia. The text above the image reads, ‘Choropleth map’.]

A choropleth map is a thematic map used to represent the density of values or objects in an area, for example, population density. The darker shading normally shows higher values, and the lighter shading indicates lower values.

[The screen shows an image of a cadastral map of Queensland. The text above the image reads, ‘Cadastral map’.]

Cadastral maps show property boundaries, as well as some information about the property for landowners and local councils.

[The screen shows an image of a flowline map of the world. Text on the image reads, ‘Movements of people: migration and tourism.’ The text above the image reads, ‘Flowline map’.]

Flowline maps are a type of thematic map that use lines or arrows to show movement between places, for example, the movement of people, animals, goods, or money.

[The screen shows an image of a world map. The text above the image reads, ‘Large and small scale map’.]

Finally, you might hear the term, ‘large and small scale map.’ Large scale maps show a lot of detail for a small area, for example, a small town. And small scale maps show a larger geographic area, like a country, with fewer details on them. The map shown here is a small scale map.

That concludes this video. Happy map reading.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References

• Map projections by Tobias Jung, CC BY-SA 4.0, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via map-projections.net
• Katoomba Leura Tourist Directory, by E. Coleman at Flickr.com/photos/blue_mountains_library_local_studies/9206840596/in/photostream. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0v
• Relief world maps by OpenStreetMap-Mitwirkende at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Relief_World_Map_by_maps-for-free.jpg; licenced uder CC-BY-SA
• High School Earth Science/Topographic Maps by Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project. Wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=High_School_Earth_Science/Topographic_Maps&oldid=3665963. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
• Europe Political Map by Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository at wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:2008_Europe_Political_Map_EN.jpg&oldid=565824060. Licensed under CC BY-SA.
• © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2021, Bureau of Meteorology.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/msl_36hr_forecast.shtml
• © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology at bom.gov.au/jsp/watl/rainfall/pme.jsp
• Cadastral map 20chain series Queensland, Sheet by Kerry Raymond, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cadastral_map_20chain_series_Queensland,_Sheet_2520,1962.jpg. Image in public domain, copyright term expired
• European Environmental Agency, Movements of people: migration and tourism. eea.europa.ed/data-and-maps/figures/moving-to-work-and-escape-poverty. Licence: CC BY 2.5 DK.
• Text BoxFreePNGIMG, <a href=”https://www.freepngimg.com/png/93077-world-area-map-free-png-hq”> World Area Map Free PNG HQ FreePNGImg.com</a>. Licenced under CC-BY-NC-’.

Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

Screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. Text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Latitude and longitude. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

Have you ever wondered how apps like WhatsApp can pinpoint exactly where you are or where your friends are? Or how planes can navigate in the dark?

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer’.]

It all comes down to latitude and longitude.

[Screen shows an animated illustration of a globe. The word ‘Longitude’ is written in a blue box, and the word ‘Latitude’ is written in a red box. While the presenter is speaking, a series of evenly-spaced lines appear on the globe, creating a grid. All of the vertical lines are blue and all of the horizontal lines are red. 13 dark blue dots appear in random spots on the globe.]

It's possible to locate any place on the Earth using an imaginary grid of lines called latitude and longitude.

[Screen slowly zooms in on one of the dots. The rest of the illustration fades to a lighter colour.]

These are simply invisible lines that go around the Earth, and the point at which they intersect gives a location.

[On the globe, everything fades away except for the red horizontal lines. Three of the lines towards the centre of the globe are dotted. They are also thicker than the others. The middle line has two labels. On the left of the globe, it is labelled, ‘West’. On the right of the globe, it is labelled, ‘East’.]

Latitude lines are parallel, lateral lines that circle the globe in an east to west direction. The most recognisable parallel of latitude is the equator.

[A white circle appears on the middle line. It is labelled, ‘Equator’. The northern hemisphere on the globe flashes blue and disappears. The southern hemisphere then does the same.]

This invisible line passes through the centre of the Earth and divides the northern and southern hemispheres.

[A vertical ruler appears from the equator. It gradually stretches out towards the north and south of the globe.]

The other lines of latitude measure how far south or north the point is from the equator.

Latitude is expressed in degrees.

[The ruler shrinks back towards the equator and disappears. In its place, a red box appears. It reads, ‘0 degrees’. A similar label appears on both the North Pole and the South Pole. They both read ’90 degrees’.]

The latitude of the equator is 0 degrees, the North Pole is 90 degrees and the South Pole is 90 degrees.

[The entire illustration blurs and fades to a lighter colour. On top of the faded illustration, the screen now reads, ‘Lat is flat’.]

To help you remember that latitude lines run across, try to remember – lat is flat.

[Screen returns to the globe illustration with the three dotted lines. The top line now has the text, ‘23.5 degrees north’. This line is labelled, ‘Tropic of Cancer’.]

So the latitude line at the Tropic of Cancer is 23.5 degrees north, as it is above the equator.

[The bottom dotted line now has the label, ‘Tropic of Capricorn’. It also has the text, ’23.5 degrees south’.]

The Tropic of Capricorn is 23.5 degrees south, as it is below the equator.

[All of the lines and labels on the globe disappear. Blue vertical lines begin stretching in equal intervals along the globe. One of the lines towards the right-hand side of the globe is dotted. It is also thicker than the others. Text on screen reads, ‘Longitude’.]

Longitude lines are the long lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole.

[Underneath the word, ‘Longitude’, the word ‘Meridian’ appears.]

They are sometimes called meridians.

[A white circle appears on the dotted line. It is labelled, ‘Prime meridian’. A red arrow points to where England is located on the globe. This arrow is labelled, ‘Greenwich’.]

A very important line of longitude is the Prime Meridian that runs through Greenwich, England.

[On the left-hand side of the dotted line, a label appears that reads, ‘west’. On the right-hand side of the line, a label appears that reads, ‘east’.]

Longitude is measured in terms of how far east or west the point lies from the Prime Meridian.

[A blue label appears on every vertical line on the globe. These labels contain different measurements in degrees. The Prime Meridian is 0 degrees. The closer a line is to the Prime Meridian, the closer the measurement is to 0.]

This can vary between 0 and 180 degrees, east or west.

[Two points appear on the screen. Point A is on the right of the Prime Meridian. It is labelled, ‘45 degrees E’. Point B is on the left of the Prime Meridian. It is labelled ’15 degrees W’.]

This means that the longitude at point A is 45 degrees east, as it is east or to the right of the Prime Meridian. And the longitude at point B is 15 degrees west, as it is west or to the left of the Prime Meridian.

[Screen shows a map of Australia. The map is overlaid with a grid that shows the latitude and longitude. A circle appears in the centre of Australia. It is labelled, ‘Centre of Australia. 23 degrees and 50 minutes south. 135 degrees and 0 minutes east’. Screen zooms in to highlight this part of the map.]

When we put latitude and longitude together, we have the coordinates of a place. The point in the middle of Australia is 23.5 degrees south and 135 degrees east.

[The map on screen fades into the background. On top of the faded map, the screen now reads, ‘Latitude is always written before longitude’.]

Latitude is always written before longitude.

[Underneath the previous writing, the alphabet stretches across the screen. The letter ‘A’ and the letter ‘O’ are both placed in a red box. A dotted line connects the letter, ‘A’, to the word, ‘Latitude’. Another dotted line connects the letter, ‘O’, to the word, ‘longitude’.]

If you forget which comes first, think about which comes first in the alphabet – a or o.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

Lines of latitude have about 111 kilometres between each. So to pinpoint exact locations, it is necessary to break these down further. Each degree of latitude and longitude can be further broken down into 60 minutes.

[Screen shows the previous map of Australia. A circle appears where Sydney is located. It is labelled, ‘Sydney’. Sydney’s latitude and longitude are written underneath the label. The screen zooms in to highlight this part of the map.]

For example, Sydney's latitude and longitude are given as 33 degrees 51 minutes south, 151 degrees 12 minutes east.

[The map on the screen fades into the background. On top of the faded map, an illustrated globe appears. The globe uses dotted lines to show where Greenwich, Sydney and the Equator are located in relation to each other.]

Meaning it lies 33 degrees 51 minutes south of the equator and 151 degrees 12 minutes east of Greenwich.

To get even more specific, each minute can be further broken down into 60 seconds.

[Screen shows a video of the Sydney Opera House. Text on the screen shows the latitude and longitude of the landmark.]

For example, the Sydney Opera House’s latitude and longitude are given as 33 degrees 51 minutes 30 seconds south, and 151 degrees 12 minutes 53 seconds east, meaning it lies 33 degrees 51 minutes and 30 seconds south of the equator and 151 degrees 12 minutes and 53 seconds east of Greenwich.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

There you have it, latitude and longitude.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References. Storyblocks: aerial-panoramic-view-of-the-sydney-opera-house-by-the-harbour-bridge-april-10-2017-SBV-327188273-HD.mov’.

Text on the screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Other graphs. Presented by Melissa Ellis.’]

Melissa Ellis

Hello. In this episode, we're going to review some other common graphs used in geography.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer.’]

Scatter graphs. Scatter graphs show the relationship between 2 variables. For example, soil erosion and vegetation cover. Just take a moment to think about the relationship between erosion and vegetation. I'd suggest that you are likely to see less erosion where you find more vegetation.

Here is an image of a scatter graph showing erosion and vegetation.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Scatter graph’. The screen shows an image of a graph with gridlines on a blue background. The horizontal axis reads, ‘Soil erosion. Ton/ha/year’. The vertical axis reads, ‘Vegetation cover’. Red dots begin appearing along the top-left area of the graph beside the vertical axis. The dots then begin appearing in greater numbers and closer together as they travel down towards the bottom-left corner of the graph. A white line begins to appear and follows the direction of the dots. The red dots continue to appear along the bottom of the page on the horizontal axis. They are close together at first, but become spread out as the line follows the dots further along the axis towards the right-hand side of the graph.]

See the relationship you can observe when using this type of graph.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Low vegetation cover = high erosion’. An arrow points to a red dot at the top of the vertical axis where erosion is high and the vegetation cover is low.]

Cumulative bar graphs. Cumulative bar graphs show layers of data and allow you to see the proportion that makes the total. The difference between the points on adjacent lines gives the actual values.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Cumulative bar graph’. The screen shows 3 different-sized bars, each with 4 different coloured parts that are also different lengths. The colours range from light blue at the top, followed by red, green and purple at the bottom of the bars.]

To show you this, the areas between the lines are usually shaded or coloured. And there is an accompanying key.

[Screen shows a purple dotted line and text that reads, ‘Plastic bags’. These are pointing to the purple part of the columns. Text on the screen shows that the green columns represent plastic bottles, the red columns represent food containers and the light blue columns represent wrappers.]

The rules for cumulative line graphs include the highest line shows the overall total, each line underneath shows the total of one of the parts that goes to make up the overall total.

[Screen shows a white line appear along the top of the highest column. Text on the screen reads, ‘35kg’. The light blue part of the column reads, ‘4kg’. The red part of the column reads, ‘15kg’. The green part of the column reads, ‘6kg’ and the purple part reads, ‘9kg’.]

When reading the graph, take each proportion and measure it as its own.

[Screen zooms in to the red part of the column graph, while the other parts of the graph fade away. A red line appears along the right edge of the column.]

Divergence bar charts. Divergence bar charts are used to show how measurements vary above and below an average, or some other value. Here we have an example of a divergence bar chart. Note, positive above the line and negative below the line.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Divergence bar chart’. On an imaginary horizontal line in the centre of the screen, columns in shades of blue appear, travelling upwards. Columns in different shades of red appear, travelling downwards. The screen shows an arrow pointing to the blue columns with the word, ‘Positive’. The screen shows an arrow pointing to the red columns with the word, ‘Negative’.]

Divergence bar charts are very useful when you want to illustrate change over time.

[Screen zooms into the graph. Years appear at the base of each column along the centre line, spanning from ‘2018’ to ‘2029’.]

Finally, ternary graphs. These graphs show the relationship between three variables.

[Screen reads, ‘Ternary graph’ beside an image of a triangle with irregular shapes inside it. Each of the shapes are different colours. The 3 axes of the triangle are numbered ‘1’, ‘2’ and ‘3’. The edge of each axes is marked with numbers in tens from ‘10’ to ‘100’.]

This type of graph is commonly used to show soil composition at a location. The ternary graph has three axes. The total has to equal 100 to be accurate.

[Each of the irregular shapes inside the triangle become labelled with different types of soil. Each axis is labelled with, ‘clay %’, ‘silt %’ and ‘sand %’. The screen shows a circle appear around all three ‘100’ numbers in each corner of the triangle.]

The trick to reading ternary graphs is remembering the number angle corresponds with the line. Where your three lines meet, your answer will be.

[Screen shows 3 red lines appear from each axis of the triangle and meet in the centre. This area is labelled, ‘foam’.]

Thanks for watching.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled, ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Photo sketch. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

In this video, we are learning about photo sketches.

[Screen shows a bird’s eye view of a ruler and a piece of paper on top of a notepad. The paper is landscape in orientation. Text on screen reads, ‘Photo sketches’.]

Constructing a photo sketch is like drawing a field sketch but using a photo for the source of information.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Line drawings’.]

We also call photo sketches line drawings in geography. And the purpose of either is to identify key geographical features and summarise these for future reference.

There are some simple steps to follow when drawing a photo sketch.

[Screen shows a photograph of a floating fishing village on Halong Bay. There are three houses floating on some barges on top of the water. Text on the screen reads, ‘Step 1’.]

Step 1, select a clear ground photograph of a landscape that you need to observe.

[Screen returns to showing the ruler, piece of paper and notepad. The presenter uses the ruler to draw a rectangle that is slightly smaller than the size of the paper. They then draw two more horizontal lines inside the rectangle, dividing it into equal thirds. The bottom third is labelled ‘Foreground’. The middle third is labelled ‘Middle ground’. The top third is labelled ‘Background’. Text on the screen reads, ‘Step 2’.]

Step 2, on your paper, draw the frame size and divide into background, middle ground, foreground.

[Presenter draws two vertical lines inside the rectangle, dividing the whole rectangle into equal ninths.]

You can even break it down further with left, centre, and right.

[Presenter uses the drawn grid to sketch the three houses from the photograph. Text on the screen reads, ‘Step 3’.]

Step 3, you will use a pencil to lightly sketch a rough outline of the key features in each frame. It is okay to make mistakes and erase those.

[The sketch is now darker and has more details. The presenter adds some labels, including the words, ‘Boats’, ‘Water’, ‘Water tank’, ‘Floats’ and ‘House’. The title of the drawing is, ‘Floating fishing village, Halong Bay.’ Text on the screen reads, ‘Step 4’.]

Step 4, fill in the detail from the photograph that you want to highlight and then label key features.

[Presenter points to the title of the drawing. Text on the screen reads, ‘Step 5’.]

Step 5, remember to give your photo sketch a title.

And there you have it. That is how we draw photo sketches in geography. Good luck with yours.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References. Floating fishing village, Halong Bay by Andrea Schaffer CC BY-SA 2.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floating_fishing_village,_Halong_Bay_(5678845937).jpg’.

Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Population profiles. Presented by Melissa Ellis.’]

Melissa Ellis

A population profile, also known as a population pyramid, is a graph that shows the number, or percentage, of people in a particular age group living in a country, state, or city.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer.’]

We can gather a lot of information from population profiles.

[Screen shows a graph with the title, ‘Australian regional population by age and sex 2020’. The left side of the graph is labelled, ‘Male population’. There are red bars travelling left across the screen from the centre axis. The right side of the graph is labelled, ‘Female population’. There are white bars travelling right across the screen.]

They show the number age and gender of a population at a set period in time. It's not surprising that population profiles are also known as population pyramids as they often look like a pyramid.

[Screen shows a blue pyramid shape that appears over the graph.]

Let's look at a population profile. In the centre of a population profile is an axis showing the age demographics. On the left are the number of males in each age group and on the right the number of females in each age group. Along the bottom is the measurement of the number of males and females. Sometimes this is also presented as a percentage.

[Screen zooms in to show the centre vertical axis, which shows the ages of the population. The titles, ‘Male population’ and ‘Female population’ are written below the graph. The screen highlights these titles, and then zooms in to show the numbers along the bottom right-hand side of the graph. The numbers are percentages from 0% to 5%.]

We can interpret a lot from a population profile. If there is a bulge at a point, this would indicate a boom in babies in a certain year or two. The opposite, if there is a dip in the profile.

[Text on screen reads, ‘boom in babies’. The screen draws a line around a cluster of bars that reach closest to the right-hand edge of the graph, showing the largest percentage of age groups in the population. Text on the screen reads, ‘decline in babies’. The screen draws a line around a cluster of shorter bars, showing the smallest percentage of age groups in the population.]

A profile with a bulge at the top and a dip or decline at the base will show an aging population.

[The bars on the graph change to show shorter bars near the bottom of the graph, as well as longer bars near the top.]

We can infer from population profile future needs. For example, aged care support or increase in school facility needs. You can also compare national profiles, which can be very interesting. There we have the basic overview of population profiles. To draw your own, all you need is graph paper and data on number of men and women at a set location in a point in time.

[Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled, ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. The text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Teaching geographical skills series. Time zones. Presented by Melissa Ellis.’]

Melissa Ellis

I'm sure that you know that at any given moment, time will be different in different parts of the world.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer.’]

This is why it's possible to fly from Sydney to LA and arrive the day before. How does that work?

[Next to the presenter, the screen shows an image of a plane’s wing flying above the horizon.]

Let's take a look. The Earth is divided into 24 different time zones by latitude and longitude lines. There is a time zone for every hour of the day.

[Screen shows an image of a world map with grid lines. The Equator is labelled on the horizontal axis and the Prime Meridian is labelled on the vertical axis. Latitude is shown by the horizontal lines and longitude is shown by the vertical lines.]

As we can see here, the time zones run from east to west, each covering about 15 degrees of longitude. This is because the Earth rotates at about 15 degrees per hour.

[On the left of the Equator, the map is labelled, ‘West’. On the right of the Equator, it is labelled, ‘East’.]

All time zones are measured from the Prime Meridian.

Generally, time zones are one hour behind the time zone to the east of the Prime Meridian, and one hour ahead of the time zone to the west of it.

[Screen shows an arrow pointing to the Prime Meridian on the vertical axis of the map. Text on the screen reads, ‘minus 1 hour’ to the east of the Prime Meridian and reads, ‘plus one hour’ to the west.]

So if we know the time at a given location, we can determine what time it is in another part of the world using longitude.

[The screen shows another world map. The map is marked with vertical lines that divide the countries into time zones. Along the bottom of the map, each time zone is labelled a different colour and the colour matches countries that fall within the time zone. Time zones on the east of the Prime Meridian are labelled, ‘plus’. Time zones to the west are labelled, ‘minus’.]

For example, if the time at Prime Meridian is 1 am, what time is it in New South Wales? Because we are counting in an easterly direction, the time is ahead. So it is plus 1, plus 2, plus 3, plus 4, plus 5, plus 6, plus 7, plus 8, plus 9, plus 10, making it 11 am in New South Wales.

[The map on the screen is cropped to only show Europe and part of Africa. As this area is directly east of the Prime Meridian, it is labelled at the bottom with ‘plus 1’. The presenter refers to the labels at the bottom of the page as additional sections of the map are revealed, travelling east, until reaching the time zone in New South Wales. This area is labelled, ‘plus 10’.]

What about the time in Western Australia if we know it is 11 am in New South Wales? Because we are counting back to the east of the time zone, it is 2 hours earlier. So 9 am.

[The screen shows the world map again in full. The map is marked with lines that divide the countries into time zones. Text at the top right of the screen reads, ‘East, 9 am’. Next to the words is a horizontal arrow that points towards the west on the map.]

So there you have it. Happy travels.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References

• ‘Flying to Los Angeles from Sydney’ by Alex Proimos. CC-BY 2.0.. Accessed at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flying_to_Los_Angeles_from_Sydney_(3430995956).jpg
• ‘Prime meridian’ by KMF164. Work in public domain. Accessed at Wikimedia.org/Wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Primemeridian.jpg
• ‘World time zones’ by Nelo Esteves, Fotographia.CC-BY 2.0. Accessed at https://www.flickr.com/photos/estevesm/473866656/’

Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

The screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled, ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. Text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land.’ Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on the screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Topographic maps. Presented by Jo Maiden’.]

Jo Maiden

The topography of an area is the physical features such as rivers, hills and valleys in the landscape.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Jo Maiden. HSIE Teacher, Southern Cross School of Distance Education’.]

Topographic maps show us the physical features of the land.

[Screen shows 2 images. On the left, there is a photograph of a mountain. On the right, there is a topographic map of the same mountain. Text on screen reads, ‘Mt Chincogan, Mullumbimby’.]

They show us geographical position and elevations for natural and built features.

[Screen shows a series of videos. These videos include a sun setting behind a mountain, an aerial view of a wetland, a tiered waterfall and a close-up shot of a stream.]

Topographic maps show relief, the shape of the land, the mountains, valleys and plains. They also show vegetation and hydrology – the rivers, streams, lakes, and dams.

[Screen shows a diagram. At the top of the diagram, there is a 3D drawing of a mountain range. There are contour lines wrapping around the 2 mountains. The base contour line is labelled, ‘10’. The lines above it are labelled ‘20’, ‘30’ and ‘40’, in that order. Underneath the mountain range, there is a flat topographic map of the same mountain. It also has contour lines that are labelled, ‘10’, ‘20’, ‘30’ and ‘40’. Vertical dotted lines connect the two drawings. The diagram is titled, ‘Map contours’.]

A contour line is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional landscape.

[Screen shows an illustration of a topographic map. The lines on the map are labelled, ‘Contour line’. The map is titled, ‘Topographical map’. The image then zooms out to reveal an illustrated mountain range underneath the topographic map. The features of the mountain range match the contour lines of the original topographic map.]

Contour lines show elevation or height above sea level.

[On both the topographic map and the mountain range illustration, the peak of the mountain is circled. These circles are labelled, ‘Hill’.]

Contour lines join places of equal elevation, so are a way to see the topography of the landscape on a map.

[Screen shows a topographic map of Wollumbin National Park. Text on screen reads, ‘Contour intervals’.]

A contour interval is the distance between contour lines on the ground.

[On the topographic map, a red line is drawn. This line connects two of the contour lines together. The red line is circled.]

On this map, we can see the contour lines from 500-metre height to 600-metre ADH, which is Australian Height Datum. There are 10 lines, and each line represents another 100 metre above sea level.

[Screen shows a photograph of Mt Warning. The photograph is titled, ‘Mt Warning – Wollumbin and Tweed Valley’.]

Here is a photograph of the general location we are seeing on the topographic map of Mount Warning, Wollumbin.

[Screen goes back to showing the topographic map of Wollumbin National Park. The tallest part of the mountain is circled.]

A hill is an area of high ground.

[A curvy, horizontal red line appears on the map. There is an arrowhead on either end of the line. The line connects the peak of the tallest mountain with another mountain peak.]

A ridge is a sloping line of high ground. Contour lines which are spaced further apart show a more gradual slope.

[The curvy line disappears from the map. Two straight red lines appear instead. There are arrowheads on both ends of the 2 red lines. The red lines each connect 2 thick contour lines together, with a number of thin contour lines in between. The line on the left connects 20 contour lines that are very close together. The line on the right connects 10 contour lines that are spaced further apart.]

Contour lines that are closer together show a steeper slope.

[A transparent red circle appears on top of the left-hand line.]

Here, this line on the map shows a slope that rises 200 metres in elevation.

[A transparent red circle appears on top of the right-hand line.]

Contour lines which are spaced further apart show a more gradual slope. This line also represents a slope, but it is rising only 100 metres in elevation over the distance on the ground.

[Screen shows a video of a gully from above. It then shows a ground-level video of a gully.]

A gully is a groove in the land usually formed by a creek.

[Screen shows a topographic map of Mooball National Park. On the bottom right-hand corner of the map, a piece of land with 4 creeks has been circled. Text on screen reads, ‘Spur’.]

A spur is a short, continuous sloping line of higher ground between the gullies formed from two creeks.

[Screen shows a topographic map of Mullumbimby. The map is titled, ‘Topographic map, Mullumbimby’.]

This topographic map gives us a lot of information.

[The map zooms in to take up the full screen.]

We can see part of the Brunswick River, smaller creeks, the north of Mullumbimby town, main roads, and smaller roads, as well as the contour lines, which show the elevation above sea level. You can see how, close to the river, the land is flatter. The lines are spaced further apart. We can also see how water flows downhill due to gravity.

Topographic maps are incredibly useful.

[Screen shows a map key that has been divided into 2 columns. On the left column, there is a list of symbols. On the right column, there is a list of matching features. Some of the features include built up areas, major roads, railways, woodlands, cliffs, slipways and rocky shorelines. Text on screen reads, ‘Topographic map key’.]

On this picture, we can see the key for a topographic map showing much of the information found on topographic maps.

[Screen shows a close-up version of the key. It slowly scrolls down.]

They are used by travellers and bushwalkers. Importantly, they are used in industry such as mining, by governments in land planning, and emergency management, and helping to establish legal boundaries.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References

• Image: Judd, B (2021). ABC News, ‘Mountains in Mullumbimby’, 13 Mar 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-13/mountains-in-mullumbimby-1/13158806?nw=0
• Storyblocks: aerial-view-of-mt-coonowrin-fg-mt-beerwah-glasshouse-mountains-sunshine-coast-queen-SBV-346543572-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: aerial-view-of-donnybrook-township-glass-house-mountains-in-the-distance-pumiceston-SBV-346792127-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: aerial-shot-of-a-waterfall-in-oregon-SBV-320180077-HD
• Storyblocks:nn river-flowing-between-srock-in-amazonian-forest-saul-french-guiana-SBV-328055582-HD.mp4
• Topographic map excerpt: Huonbrook 1:25000 9540-1N © State of New South Wales (Spatial Services, a business unit of the Department of Customer Service NSW). For current information go to spatial.nsw.gov.au
• Image: UK Ordnance Survey (2020). A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Map Contour Lines. Accessed June 2021. https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/understanding-map-contour-lines-for-beginners/
• Topographic map excerpt: Murwillumbah 1:25000 9541-2N © State of New South Wales (Spatial Services, a business unit of the Department of Customer Service NSW), https://www.spatial.nsw.gov.au/’.

Text on screen reads, ‘References

• Image: ‘Mt Warning and Tweed Valley’ by Sheba, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
• Topographic map excerpt: Murwillumbah 1:25000 9541-2N © State of New South Wales (Spatial Services, a business unit of the Department of Customer Service NSW), https://www.spatial.nsw.gov.au/
• Image: ‘Creek gully’ by Glenn 3095 licenced under CC BY-NC-SA
• Topographic map, Mullumbimby region downloaded from Spatial Map Viewer © State of New South Wales (Spatial Services, a business unit of the Department of Customer Service NSW), https://www.spatial.nsw.gov.au/
• Image: ‘Checking the map at Lake Bell’ by Tony Marsh licenses under CC BY-SA 2.0
• Storyblocks: aerial-top-down-bird-view-of-pinetree-forest-and-small-stream-outdoor-summer-season-SBV-338663263-HD.mp4
• Storyblocks: beautiful-rocky-stream-in-woods-forest-trees-river-brooke-SBV-334644340.mp4
• Image of a map key from Murwillumbah 1:25000 9541-2N © State of New South Wales (Spatial Services, a business unit of the Department of Customer Service NSW), https://ww.spatial.nsw.gov.au/’.

Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

Screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. Text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]

[Music playing]

[Screen shows a blue sky with clouds. Text on screen reads, ‘Curriculum Secondary Learners – HSIE. Types of photos. Presented by Melissa Ellis’.]

Melissa Ellis

Hello.

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, the text reads, ‘Melissa Ellis. HSIE Curriculum Support Project Officer’.]

In this video, we are learning about the different types of photographs geographers use.

[Screen shows an illustration of a photographer taking a photo of a mountain range. Animated dotted lines extend from the photographer’s camera towards the mountain range to show that the photograph is being taken from ground level. Text beneath the photographer reads, ‘Ground’.]

Ground photographs are taken from the ground looking across the area being photographed.

[The screen shows an aeroplane flying above the photographer. Animated dotted lines extend from the front of the plane towards the mountain range to show that the photograph is being taken from a high angle. Text beneath the aeroplane reads, ‘Oblique’.]

Oblique air photographs are usually taken from an aeroplane or drone looking down on an area being photographed at an angle.

[The screen shows a drone hovering above the mountain range. Animated dotted lines extend from the drone towards the mountain range to show that the photograph is being taken from above. Text next to the drone reads, ‘Aerial’.]

Aerial photographs are photographs taken from a plane or drone looking straight down at an area being photographed.

[The illustration on the screen zooms out to reveal a satellite hovering above the previous figures. Animated dotted lines extend from the satellite towards the mountain range to show that the photograph is being taken from a tall height. Text next to the drone reads, ‘Satellite’.]

Satellite imagery. These are taken from a satellite looking straight down. It's important to recognise the different types of photographs in geography.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

Different photographs illustrate different details and serve different purposes. Let's take a look at a few different examples of photographs.

[Screen shows a ground-level photograph of the 12 Apostles in Victoria. Text on screen reads, ‘Ground photograph’.]

Here we have a ground-level photograph. It shows us an area as if we are standing there looking at it. You need to be able to describe the photograph and what is happening geographically by asking questions, like what is in this photograph? What does the place show? What is interesting or important? Are there any people or activities? Do you notice anything unusual? What features in the photograph tell us about the place? How much information does this photograph provide?

[Presenter is standing in front of a decorative background. On the right of the presenter is an oblique aerial photograph of Uluru.]

Here we have an oblique air photograph. Previously, this would have been taken from a plane, but recent technological developments in drones means we're seeing more of these types of photographs. You personally may be able to use a drone to take an oblique photograph.

[The photograph of Uluru fills the screen. Text on screen reads, ‘Oblique aerial photograph’.]

How do you know you are looking at an oblique aerial photograph? Well, that's simple. It's above the ground and it's at an angle. Sometimes people confuse these with ground photographs, thinking they were taken on a mountain or a high point, so be careful with your observations on this one.

[Screen shows an aerial photograph of a canal next to a highway. Text on screen reads, ‘Aerial photograph’.]

Aerial photographs, as previously mentioned, are directly above a site. They are not satellite images.

[The screen shows a satellite photograph of New York. Text on screen reads, ‘Satellite photograph’.]

Satellite photographs are useful when observing large areas of detailed information. Here you can see a satellite image. One advantage of using satellite images from the web is they are up to date and very accurate.

[The screen shows an arrow pointing to the ocean part of the photograph. Text on screen reads, ‘Bodies of water’.]

Some common rules of thumb with satellite images is dark shaded areas are commonly bodies of water.

[Screen shows an arrow pointing to the city part of the photograph. Text on screen reads, ‘Urban spaces’.]

Light, checkerboard areas are usually urban spaces, for example suburbs or industrial areas.

[Screen shows presenter standing in front of a decorative background.]

Satellite images make it easy to observe roads, railway lines and airports. These are the best photographs to show changes over time.

So there you have it, types of photographs we use in geography.

[Text on screen reads, ‘References

• Great Ocean Road Beach by Jason Emery CC BY-SA 2.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Ocean_Road_Beach_(84270811).jpg
• Uluru taken from the air, 2017 by Reggaeh CC BY-SA 4.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uluru,_2017.jpg
• Eluru canal and National Highway 16 by Unknown CC BY-SA 4.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eluru_canal_and_National_Highway_16_near_Denduluru.jpg
• New York Satellite Photograph by Unknown CC BY-SA 4.0 commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_York_City_Satellite_photograph.jpg’.

Text on screen reads, ‘Acknowledgements. NSW Geography K-10 syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales 2015. See the NESA website for additional copyright information. NSW Department of Education Curriculum Secondary Learners. Southern Cross School of Distance Education.’

Screen shows an Indigenous artwork. The artwork features a landscape with native Australian animals. It is titled ‘Our Country’ by Garry Purchase. Text at the top of the screen reads, ‘Filming of these videos has taken place on Bundjalung land’. Video concludes by displaying the NSW Government logo.]

[End of transcript]