Stage 1 Unit of Work

Aboriginal Education: Connecting to Country

Rationale
This unit of work provides students in stage 1 with an insight into the cultures and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people in Australia. The focus of the unit is on providing meaningful and authentic opportunities for students to learn
about the significance and meaning of country, and the connections that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to
the land, sea and animals of their place. The content covered throughout this unit of work ties into both the history and
geography syllabuses, while the teaching and learning activities and assessment task, provide opportunities to address a
variety of outcomes from each of the objectives within the english syllabus.

The 10 hour duration of this unit has been divided into six lessons. Five of these take place within the classroom or on school
grounds and are designed to go for 1 hour each. The first four lessons will build students knowledge and understanding of the
diversity and longevity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the meaning of country and connection to country.
Students will meet an Aboriginal person from the local community and listen as they share their experiences, cultural knowledge
and describe what country means to them. Following this visit from a local community member, students will travel to the Royal
National Park for the Aboriginal cultural experience at Jibbon Beach. With an Aboriginal discovery ranger to guide them,
students will see Aboriginal rock engravings and learn how Aboriginal people can find food, medicine and everything they need
in the local environment. Students will learn the historical significance of the rock engravings and other sites, and build their
understanding of the need to preserve and protect sites like these. In the final lesson, students will complete the journals they
have been using to document their learning throughout the unit of work. These journals will be used to assess the development
of student understanding of the main concepts.

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 EDUCATION PROGRAM TEMPLATE

Unit Outline/ Description Unit duration

Throughout this unit of work, students in stage 1 learn about the diversity, longevity, cultures and perspectives of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. Through a range of on-country experiences, they will explore 10 hours
the world around them and learn what country means. Students will meet and listen to Aboriginal people as they share
their experiences and perspectives and discuss the significance and meaning of connection to country. Students
participate in small group, whole class and individual activities in order to develop their understanding of Aboriginal
cultures, and respond to each of these learning experiences in their own learning journals.

Big ideas / key concepts Why does this learning matter?

The key concepts I want students to learn are: The learning that students will cover in this unit is highly important. First and foremost,
- The longevity and diversity of Aboriginal & the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will be able to see
Torres Strait Islander people themselves, their identities and their cultures reflected in their learning at school will
- significance of and connection to country not only strengthen their cultural identity, but will build their self-esteem and encourage
- the importance of culture and maintaining active participation in their learning. Additionally, the topics covered in this unit will
& strengthening cultural identity actively engage non-Aboriginal students in learning about the histories, cultures and
- The historical significance of local perspectives of the traditional owners of this country both on a local and national scale.
Aboriginal sites and the importance of Working together to learn about different cultures and perspectives is a huge step
protecting and preserving them towards reconciliation, and building respect and recognition for the worlds oldest
continuous living cultures.

Target outcomes ACARA CCP Links Resources

GE1-1: Describes features of places and the OI.1: Australia has two distinct Indigenous Picture Books:
connections people have with places groups: Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait - My Place by Nadia Wheatley
- discussion of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and within those groups - My Country by Ezekiel
Islander Peoples connections with land, there is significant diversity Kwaymullina & Sally Morgan
sea and animals of their place OI.2: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
GE1-2: Identifies ways in which people interact communities maintain a special connection Websites:
with and care for places to and responsibility for Country/Place - Teachnology: Time Line
HT1-2: Identifies and describes significant OI.3: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Generator from:
people, events, places, and sites in the local Peoples have holistic belief systems and are http://www.teach-nology.com/w
community over time. spiritually and intellectually connected to the eb_tools/materials/timeline/
- examine local or regional Aboriginal and land, sea, sky and waterways. - Aboriginal Australia Map from
Torres Strait Islander sites e.g. local OI.7: The broader Aboriginal and Torres http://www.abc.net.au/indigenou
national parks Strait Islander societies encompass a s/map/default.html
diversity of nations across Australia

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Content Teaching / Learning Experiences

Lesson 1: (1 hour) Introduction to the unit of work

Overview: This lesson Introduction (15 mins)

acts as an introduction to Explain that we are going to start a new unit of work today. Over the next 6 weeks we will be learning
the unit of work. Using about Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples histories, cultures, perspectives, connection to
the book My Place as a country/place, identity and community.
guide, students will Sitting on the floor with students, invite them to share any prior knowledge or initial thoughts they
construct a timeline of have about Aboriginal histories, languages, cultures or any famous Aboriginal people they know of.
Create a mind map on a poster including each of their ideas, talking through each one (where
Australias history in
possible). Ensure this mind map is kept to compare with new knowledge at the end of the unit.
order to gain an
understanding of the Body: (35 mins)
longevity of Aboriginal Read Nadia Wheatleys My Place aloud to students.
people within this Have a number of small cards with years from the book printed on them, and others with important
country. dates that are relevant to the students (the current year, their years of birth, the year in which the
school was built, year in which they started school, year in which the teacher was born) prepared to
hand out to students. Ask two students to hold a long length of string up between them and work as
class to peg the dates on in order from current year back to 1788. This will give students an idea of
the concept of time. Alternatively, teachers may use the interactive Teachnology: Time Line
Generator to incorporate ICT.
Once major dates on the timeline have been pegged on, re-read the final page of M y Place and
discuss how Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for far longer than what our timeline currently
shows. Get all students to stand up and hold onto the string and stretch it out around the classroom,
getting students to say how long they think Aboriginal people have lived in this country (ensuring
students understand that Aboriginal people s till live here).

Conclusion (10 mins)

Explain that although the lifestyles of Aboriginal people may have changed, they have been here for a
very long time, and have a very special connection to Australia.
Provide time for students to share something new they learnt today, or to ask any questions they
would like to explore throughout the unit of work.
Lesson 2 (1 hour) What is Country?

This lesson will build on the Introduction (15 mins)

knowledge students began Review l earning from the previous lesson.
to gather in the first lesson. Write the w
ord country on the IWB. Ask students to share their initial thoughts and knowledge of this
Using the interactive map of word

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Aboriginal Australia from Think, Pair, Share: Students pair up and brainstorm what they think the word country means to
the ABC site, students will Aboriginal people, and then share with the class.
explore the meaning of the Create a word wall, including all the words and comments that students share (some students may
word Country. They will wish to draw pictures instead).
review the schools
Acknowledgement of Body (35 mins)
country and discuss why Show Aboriginal Australia Map on the IWB. Explain that this map represents all of the different
this is important before Aboriginal language groups, or nations, across Australia. Explain that while there are two main groups
working in small groups to (Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal), there is incredible diversity within each of these, and that each
create their own little coloured area on this map represents the language group or nation of that country.
acknowledgements. Ask if any students know which country the school sits on. Write Cadigal up on the board and explain
that the Cadigal people are the Traditional Owners of the land. Explore how C adigal is made up of
the word Cadi, which is the name of place, and the suffix -gal which means people, hence
Cadigal translates to the people of Cadi.
Review the schools Acknowledgement of Country and discuss what it means, why we do it, and what
it says about the local area and the school. Explain that the Acknowledgement is different to the
Welcome to Country, which can only be done by someone who is from that Country. As a class, read
through it and highlight or circle key words within the Acknowledgement and discuss why these words
are used.

Conclusion (10 mins)

Split students up into small groups and provide time for them to write their own 2-3 sentence
Acknowledgement of Country. Once groups are happy with what they have written, each student can
copy it down into their journal. If there is time, students can also illustrate this page.
Invite groups to share what they have written for their own Acknowledgement of Country

Lesson 3 (1 hour) Connecting to Country

This lesson invites students Introduction (10 mins)

to delve deeper into the Show the cover of My Country to students. Remembering what we learnt last lesson, ask students to
importance of country for make predictions about what they think this book will be about. Read it aloud to students and then do
Aboriginal people. Students a Think Pair Share to see if their predictions were correct, or if their thinking has changed.
will participate in a number Explain that for Aboriginal people, country is more than just a place to live. Country is the land, the
of different activities as they sea, sky, animals and plants. Everything within it is connected and a very special bond is developed
develop an understanding between an Aboriginal person and their country.
of the meaning of
connection to country. Body (35 mins)
Go outside into the playground and split students up into groups of 3. Students will take it in turns to
be the Investigator, the Reporter or the Writer as they move to 3 different spots around the
playground.

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 Spot 1: the investigator is blindfolded and sits down, smelling the air. They share their thoughts to the
reporter and the writer who documents their description of what they can smell.
Spot 2: *change roles* The new investigator is blindfolded and focusses on the sounds of their
environment, reporting everything they can hear to their group as in spot 1.
Spot 3: *change roles* The new investigator is blindfolded before removing their shoes and socks to
feel their environment with their hands and feet, reporting to their group.
All groups come back inside and describe their findings about the smells, sounds and feel of the
country on which the school sits in their journals. Encourage students to both write and draw a picture
to describe their experiences. Provide sentence starters for students to follow if necessary.

Conclusion (15 mins)

Ask students to think of their own special place - what about it makes it special to you? Is it where you
live now? Or maybe somewhere you go on holidays or used to live. Talk about your special place with
a friend. What does it feel like, smell like, look like or sound like?
Explain that in the next lesson, a very special guest will be coming to the classroom to share some
stories with our class. It will be an Aboriginal person who lives in the local area, and they will talk
about their country, and what makes it special to them.
As a class, develop some questions to ask the visitor in the next lesson.

Lesson 4: (1 hour) Our local community

In this lesson, students will Intro (15 mins)

meet an Aboriginal person Introduce the visitor, read the schools acknowledgement of country or invite some students to read
who lives in the local area, the acknowledgements of country they wrote in an earlier lesson.
they will listen to their Sitting in a circle, provide time for everyone to introduce themselves and talk about where they are
stories, prepare questions from (model for students first).
to ask them and write a
journal describing what they Body ( 30 mins)
learnt. Depending on where the visitor would like to base themselves, remain in the classroom sitting in a
circle, or go outside to sit somewhere nice in the playground.
Invite the visitor to share any stories they would like to.
Provide time for the students to ask their questions.

Conclusion (15 mins)

Provide time for students to add their experience today to their journal - writing about the stories they
heard, drawing a picture of the setting (if sitting outside), or describing something new they learnt and
how they felt listening to the visitors stories.
Explain the excursion plan to students for the next lesson, and encourage them to explore not only
what the country looks like, but also what it smells, sounds and feels like when they are on the
excursion.

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Lesson 5: Excursion Excursion: Aboriginal Cultural Experience at Jibbon Beach
(5 hours, not including
travel time) Program Outline:
Welcome and introductions, acknowledgement and safety talk
This school excursion to the Demonstration of preserved animals and Aboriginal artefacts
Royal National Park is Morning tea/toilet
designed for students in Cultural interpretation walk along Jibbon Beach
year 1, focussing on HSIE. Storytelling and ochre face painting
Students will walk along Visit Jibbon Beach rock engravings
Jibbon Beach and visit Shelly beach loop walk (optional)
Aboriginal rock engravings Lunch
with an Aboriginal
Discovery ranger to guide Students will:
them. They will look for meet an Aboriginal person and ask questions about their culture and experience
clues in the landscape and look at preserved animals and discover how these were used by the Dharawal people
learn how Aboriginal people listen to and watch as an Aboriginal person explains and demonstrates the uses of tools and artefacts
can get food, medicine and walk along Jibbon Beach learning and exploring with an Aboriginal Discovery guide
everything they need in the learn the protocols for visiting a traditional site
local environment. listen to tales of the dreaming and try ochre paint, using significant local symbols
walk to the rock engravings, a very ancient site and discover their meanings
look out for whales, dolphins, penguins and other birds (in season).
With permission from the guide, the teacher should take photos throughout the excursion to use in the
following lesson.
Lesson 6 (1 hour) What we know now.
Introduction (15 mins)
For the final lesson in the
unit of work, students will Look through photos from the excursion and, as a class, recount the day, reviewing the most
review their learning and important messages. Discuss what students learnt, what their favourite parts of the day were and
compare it to their what connections they made from the excursion to prior learning in the unit.
knowledge at the beginning Discuss what the guide said about living off and with the land, and the connections local Aboriginal
of the unit. They will be people have to the places we went.
provided with time to add to Discuss the stories of the engravings, and the history behind them.
and complete their learning Body (30 mins)
journals.
Keeping a selection of photos from the excursion up on the IWB for students to look at, ask them to
write a recount of the day in their learning journals. They can write about the main things they learnt,
and their favourite parts of the day, but should choose one of the following to focus on; the historical
significance of the rock engravings and why it is important to respect, protect and preserve them; the

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 connections Aboriginal people have with country and the knowledge of country that helped them
survive off the land for thousands of years.
Conclusion (10 mins)
Sit on the floor in a circle. As a class, create a new mind map showing everything that students now
know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, people, stories, languages etc.
Once complete, compare it with the mind map created in lesson 1.

Assessment

Group: Year 2 Outcomes to be assessed:

Task Title: Learning HT1-2: Identifies and describes significant people, events, places, and sites in the local community over time.
Journal - examine local or regional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sites e.g. local national parks
GE1-1: Describes features of places and the connections people have with places
- discussion of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples connections with land, sea and animals of
their place
The task:
Create a learning journal detailing your experiences, thoughts and feelings throughout this unit of work. Following the excursion, write a
recount describing either; the historical significance of the rock engravings and why it is important to respect, protect and preserve them; or
the meaning of country for Aboriginal people, the connections they have with the land, sea and animals of their place and the knowledge of
country that helped them survive off the land for thousands of years.

Justify how this task reflects your 10-hour program (key concepts)
Throughout the unit of work students will be provided with opportunities to document their learning, thoughts, feelings and experiences in
their own personal journals either through written text or drawings. They will be guided to reflect on their experiences at various points and
after key lessons (including their own Acknowledgement of country, reflections on meeting an Aboriginal person from the local community,
and the excursion to Jibbon Beach).
Assessment Criteria:
You will be assessed on how well you:
Describe the diversity and longevity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in Australia.
Identify the historical significance of local Aboriginal sites and explain the importance of preserving and protecting them
Describe the meaning of country and the connections that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have with the land, sea and
animals of their place.

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 Evaluation

Student learning throughout this unit of work will be evaluated through a comparison of the mind maps that will made as a whole class
activity in the first and final lessons. The first mind map will show the prior knowledge and experiences that students begin with and bring to
the classroom. After participating in a range of different learning experiences both within the classroom and on country, led by the
classroom teacher, a local Aboriginal person from the community surrounding the school, and an Aboriginal discovery ranger on the
excursion, a second mind map will be created in the final lesson. As a class, comparing the two mind maps will show the range of
knowledge and understanding that students have developed throughout the unit of work, and the informal discussions taking place while
completing the mind map will show if any students have experienced a change in thinking. As teachers observe student participation in
discussions taking place during the creation of the mind maps, they will be provided with insights into which students feel confident to share
their knowledge, and whether or not this has changed at the end of the unit.

Resources

Teaching & Learning Resources Professional Development Resources

Picture Books: - Talking Identity: A Teachers handbook.

- My Place by Nadia Wheatley - Hidden In Plain View by Paul Irish
- My Country by Ezekiel Kwaymullina & Sally Morgan - Narragunnawali Curriculum Resources from Reconciliation
Australia
Websites: - Teacher Resources from NSW AECG
- Teachnology: Time Line Generator from:
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timeline/
- Aboriginal Australia Map from
http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/map/default.htm

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References

NSW Australian Education Consultative Group (2017). Teacher Resources. Retrieved from:
https://www.aecg.nsw.edu.au/product-category/teacher-resources/

NSW Department of Education and Training (2002). Talking Identity: teachers handbook. Retrieved from:
http://graftonpublicschool.com.au/Libweb/OtherPDF/talkingidentity.pdf

Reconciliation Australia (2017). Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Schools and Early Learning: curriculum resources. Retrieved from:
https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/curriculum-resources

Yunkaporta, T. (2009). Aboriginal pedagogies at the Cultural Interface. Draft report for DET on Indigenous Research Project conducted by
Tyson Yunkaporta, Aboriginal Education Consultant, in Western NSW Region Schools, 2007-2009. Darlinghurst: DET.

Yunkaporta, T., Kirby, M. (n.d.). 8way, a yarn-up Retrieved from: http://8ways.wikispaces.com/8way+-+a+yarn-up