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Indigenous Case Studies
Primary
Tarwin Lower, Primary School, Vic
Years Prep–Year 6
KLAs: The Arts, English, SOSE
Exploring Indigenous Art and Dance explores a variety of cultures in order to better understand our own culture. Key concepts are heritage, citizenship and conservation. The project uses a multidisciplinary approach and, although much of the work centres on The Arts, much time is spent reading, writing and discussing the culture that produces such art and dance. The project has a whole school focus and has activities for Prep to Year 6.
Year 5
KLAs: Social Education, English
This unit is based on the Discovering Democracy Middle Primary unit ‘Joining In’. It investigates the kinds, structures and functions of groups in the community and examines how and why people participate in groups. Teaching and learning activities include brainstorming, classification, poster presentations, group problem solving, delivering a speech, creating a club, self evaluation.
Year 6
KLAs: SOSE, English, Visual Arts and Health
This unit of work focuses on the life and work of Albert Namatjira and Sally Morgan. It examines the social and political climates during these periods of time, highlighting the following aspects: the Freedom Rides, the Stolen Generations, the rights associated with citizenship, the implications of the 1967 referendum and racial intolerance. Teaching and learning activities include Internet-based research, group and individual oral presentation activities, group and individual self-evaluation process, artwork in the style of Sally Morgan, and written assessment.
Years 7 & 8
All KLAs
The project Tolerance – Valuing Difference – Towards Reconciliation focuses on the local Djabugay tribe and the closest Indigenous community, Yarrabah. The aim of the project is to address racism, stereotyping, harassment and discrimination. Wide-ranging and varied teaching and learning activities cross all key learning areas and the project is organised into a two-year plan.
Years 5 & 6
KLAs: SOSE, English
The unit Aboriginal Cross-Cultural Awareness was an eight-week course of study developed for the class curriculum. It addresses the Social Responsibility strand in the Tasmanian curriculum framework. The major focus of the unit was to examine the traditional and contemporary complexities of Aboriginal culture, with specific attention to how these complexities determine Aboriginal values, beliefs and relationships with others and the environment.
Years 7 & 8
KLAs: SOSE, English, The Arts
In this 13-week project, Travelling the Road to Reconciliation – How Can We Shorten the Journey?, students demonstrate active citizenship by doing both individual and group projects to enhance the process of reconciliation in the school and local community. Students develop an appreciation of traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and also explore the changes and consequences of cross-cultural contact. Activities include excursions, reading stories, guest speakers and artists, film studies and using community resources.
Secondary
Year 7
KLAs: SOSE, The Arts
Making Choices and Decisions, a five-week unit, aimed to provide an understanding of how rules and laws operate in our daily lives and within society. The unit required two 40-minute lessons each week. An Indigenous tutor provided teaching and learning support in the classroom. The unit correlated directly with the College's overall purpose and mission statement: 'Yirara College, a culturally diverse community, strives to develop living skills, world views and Christian faith, enabling people to respect and live out their spiritual and cultural identities'. Because of language difficulties, students were usually required to present their understanding of the key concepts pictorially or diagrammatically.
Ross Smith Secondary College, SA
Years 7 & 8
KLAs: SOSE, English, The Arts
Indigenous Youth and the Law was a pilot project in 2003 which was developed to raise awareness of the law, law enforcement and consequences of the law. A hands-on approach, involving as many Indigenous representatives from the law as possible, created an awareness of what the law is, how to access information about it, who to obtain information from, and where to go to obtain support. The programme included visits from Aboriginal Justice Officers, Aboriginal Police Officers and the Chief Judge of the Youth Court, a visit to court, participation in a mock court, and use of videos on, for example, the Nunga (Aboriginal) Court and the Youth Court. Students kept journals, developed a video and produced artwork.
Years 7 & 8
KLAs: SOSE, English, Art
The Year 8 unit Indigenous Australia: Law, Governance and Participation is an eight-week unit incorporated into the general Society and Environment units. Students learn about the complex systems of social organisation within Indigenous societies that existed prior to European contact. Law and governance are examined and a comparative study between the two societies is developed. The participation of significant Indigenous people features in this unit. The study also identifies the experiences of other, less well-known groups of Indigenous people whose struggles to be recognised as Australian citizens forged the way for changes to European Australian law. Teaching and learning activities include research, discussion, organising information, note-taking, concept mapping, oral presentation, art work.
Kalkadoon State High School, Qld
Year 8
KLA: SOSE
The unit Law and Rights was adapted from the Discovering Democracy Lower Secondary units ‘Law’ and ‘Should the People Rule?’, as well as additional resources. A major focus was the local history of contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and the development of self-governing Indigenous communities within the context of the Australian system of government. Teaching and learning activities include visits of tribal elders, field visits to sensitive areas and communities, reading for understanding, court visit, mock trial, creating a set of rules, rights and responsibilities, reading and interpreting a range of texts.
Caroline Chisholm High School, ACT
Year 8
KLA: SOSE
This unit of work is titled The Myall Creek Massacre: Reconciliation Past and Present. Students investigate the murders, focusing on selected themes and key questions to guide their research. Through a process of research, reflection and debate they develop their own perspective on whether justice was served at Myall Creek and what reconciliation means to all Australians in a multicultural, inclusive society. Teaching and learning activities include Internet research, viewing of relevant film texts, listening to visiting speakers, concept maps, collages, group presentations, journal writing, role-plays, analysis of newspaper articles.
Year 8
KLAs: SOSE, English
The Year 8 unit Justice is taught over ten weeks. The unit incorporates middle school methodology and integrates concepts from the learning areas of Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) and English. The aim of the programme is for students to develop an awareness of law and democracy with a specific focus on justice and Aboriginal law. The unit requires one 45-minute and two 90-minute lessons per subject per week. The learning outcomes are detailed in the Case Study and are based on the SACSA Framework. Teaching and learning activities include investigation, discussion, questioning, analysis, reviewing and reporting.
Years 8 & 9
KLAs: SOSE, English
This programme is designed to address a lack of understanding on the part of non-Indigenous Australians towards Indigenous Australians, and to show Indigenous Australians that their situation is not necessarily unique and that they share similar experiences with other Indigenous peoples. The programme endeavours to foster empathy and reconciliation. Topics covered are the Indigenous experience in Australia and overseas, government policy, Indigenous biography and current affairs. The project runs over a semester and activities tend to be short and completed in lesson time, to involve the Internet and some work done outside the classroom.
Ballarat Secondary College, East Campus, Vic
Year 9
KLAs: SOSE and Drama
The unit entitled Confronting Issues of Human Rights and focuses on the Koorie community in Ballarat. It begins with a full-day visit to Sovereign Hill, which assesses the historical accuracy of the re-creation and notes the absence of a Koorie presence. Teaching and learning activities include identifying key areas for research, use of original photographic images, developing interview questions, visiting local community resources, preparing a PowerPoint presentation, bringing to life a character or person in a photograph through role-play, designing an Indigenous garden and a public performance.
Centenary State High School, Qld
Year 9
KLAs: SOSE
This unit, Rights and Wrongs: Indigenous Australians and the Democratic System, explores the relationship between Indigenous Australians and the democratic system by focusing on a range of individuals and their achievements. Teaching and learning activities include values clarification, brainstorming, locating and interpreting information from a range of print and non-print resources, creating a multimedia scrapbook and Internet research.
Narara Valley High School, NSW
Year 10
KLA: History
This 30-hour Year 10 unit, Freedom Rides, developed as a part of a thematic Stage 5 Teaching and Learning History Programme using the Discovering Democracy concept of 'Getting Things Done'. It was designed to inform students about Indigenous issues on a local and national level under parts 5, 6 and 7 of the NSW Junior History Syllabus. Teaching and learning activities include undertaking historical research, evaluating sources and interpretations, and locating, selecting and organising information using a variety of technological processes.
Year 11
KLAs: English, SOSE, Arts and Technology
The Reading Our Rights unit gives students the opportunity to make an acquaintance with living Tasmanian Aboriginal history through the voices of Tasmanian Aboriginal people. It demonstrates that citizenship is not a recent phenomenon, and allows students to explore some of the ways in which Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal voices have been heard throughout the land in the past and how they are heard in the present. Teaching and learning activities include an examination of creation stories, visual and/or performing arts presentations, reading for understanding, concept mapping, research using Internet and print resources, interview skills, biographical writing and analysis of visual texts
