Nature documentary | Primary science and English student learning resource
Learning resource
Nature documentary is a Stage 2–3 learning resource from Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre that takes students through the complete documentary workflow. Across nine structured activities with supporting videos, checklists and research scaffolds, students plan, research and script a documentary, practise cinematography, and edit with audio and titles to produce a polished nature film; it is ideal for classroom preparation for the Documentary in a day incursion or excursion.
Learning intention
- We are learning to plan, research, film and create short nature documentaries that communicate information about the environment, habitats and living things.
Lesson 1 - Great documentaries
Students explore what makes a nature documentary effective — focusing on content, visuals, sound and storytelling.
Lesson 2 - Script and research writing
Students research habitats, plants and animals, then write documentary scripts based on factual information and habitat observations.
Lesson 3 - Cinematography
Students learn camera techniques — angles, shots and movement — to capture engaging video for their documentary projects.
Lesson 4 - Documentary studio
Students practise editing, sequencing video clips and adding voiceover, music and titles to produce a polished nature documentary.
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Learning resources
Discover more primary learning resources from Field of Mars EEC.
Documentary in a day excursion
A full-day excursion where Stage 2 or 3 students plan, script, film and review a short documentary about nature or place in and around Field of Mars Reserve, building skills in planning, speaking, listening and multimodal texts linked to English outcomes.
Documentary in a day incursion
A full-day English incursion where Stage 2 or 3 students plan, script, film and review a short documentary about nature or place in their school grounds, building skills in planning, speaking, listening and multimodal storytelling.