Australia Kaleidoscope

Australia Kaleidoscope, Julie Hamston with Kath Murdoch

Year Levels: 4-6 and with adaptation 7 and 8
Key learning areas: SOSE and English

A key aspect of Civics and Citizenship Education is dealing with questions of Australian identity. How do we define this identity, how has it changed over time and what might it be in the future? What values underpin the Australian identity? Most resources on Australian identity focus on the successive waves of immigration starting with the Anglo-Celtic and Indigenous past and looking at the impact of the gold rushes, the post-war immigration boom and the current varied sources of our population.

Australian Kaleidoscope takes another tack. It deals with questions of identity by focusing on the contributions to Australia of Asian people, places, beliefs and traditions, historically, in the present and in the future. It looks at both the 'Asianness' of Australian identity and the 'Australianness' of Asian Australians. The resource consists of six case studies:

• Traditions - the influence of Chinese circus arts on Australian circuses
• Places - Broome: a multicultural history of pearling
• Beliefs - Phuoc Tan: life as a Buddhist monk
• Traditions - Daniel Godel: my work in Chinese medicine
• People - Kate Beynon: an artist promoting good spirits
• People - Aisha Novakovich: a campaigner for peace and harmony

Each case study is accompanied by strategies that are intended to scaffold student understanding of the text and structural and linguistic features. These are designed to help students: prepare to read the text by exploring key concepts, structures and vocabulary, examine and critique the text through understanding meaning, explore beyond the text by promoting research and reflect and connect to the text by exploring personal feelings and emotions and connections to their own lives.

The strategies and activities which accompany each case study reflect key principles of teaching and learning for students in the middle years of schooling, including learning styles, multiple intelligences, collaborative and independent learning and active learning. There are numerous practical examples of using graphic organisers such as KWL, Y, PMI, Spider and Venn charts and diagrams as well as brainstorms, flowcharts, the 6 thinking-hat approach, word webs and other strategies for building vocabulary, developing visual literacy, researching and developing action plans. Teachers will find that the strong pedagogical content and the strategies provided will be useful in a range of other teaching contexts.

By focusing on history, beliefs and culture, Australia Kaleidoscope provides rich learning experiences and
texts for students in citizenship and in values.

Available at http://www.curriculum.edu.au/catalogue/