This SBS Learn teacher resource focuses on Celebrate NAIDOC: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud and provides educators with range of activities for primary and secondary students to explore the 2024 NAIDOC Week theme. Celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, perspectives, histories and stories in this in-depth guide. These are aligned with the Australian Curriculum and free to print and download for all educators.

This teacher resource for NAIDOC Week 2024: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud is organised into school years, containing:

• Key questions to prompt meaningful discussions;
• Targeted reading lists appropriate to year level with suggested activities;
• Selected videos accompanied by activities;
• Individual, pair and collaborative activities for the classroom;
• Further resources and suggested links; and
• Extension activities.

SBS is thrilled to partner with educator and proud Yankunyjatjara, Kokatha and Wirangu woman, Shelley Ware again in 2024. This is the sixth National NAIDOC Week education resource Shelley has authored for SBS. We extend our gratitude and thanks to Shelley for her ongoing contributions.

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Welcome

This year’s NAIDOC theme Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud resonates strongly with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are a strong community. Throughout the years of colonisation we have stood together with the resistance and courage of our ancestors, fighting for a better future.

We keep the fire burning in our hearts and souls and pass this passion and courage down to our young ones through storytelling, songs, cultures, traditions and ceremonies. We want all Australians to connect with the beauty of First Nations cultures and for the fire to ignite in them, so they too keep the fire burning and pass it on to the next generations, as we do.

Being Blak, Loud and Proud can come in many forms. You don’t have to make noise to be loud; actions can be a way of being loud and people can be positively influenced by your example.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are innately proud people. We are proud of our ancestors who lived before us, who paved the way and broke down barriers for us. We are proud of our children, who carry the knowledge of stories and love to share with their children. We are proud of ourselves as we navigate a country still learning how to listen to what we share.

These resources and all the previous SBS Learn NAIDOC materials can be used throughout the year to support you in the classroom.

It’s been an honour to write the SBS Learn NAIDOC week resources for the past six years and be a part of your teaching journey. I am grateful for the all the educators who have embraced these NAIDOC resources and endeavour to connect to the true history of our people, which is both beautiful and devastating. As we connect to the oldest living surviving culture in the world, thank you for helping create a better Australia as we heal together through truth-telling.

Thank you again and have fun celebrating NAIDOC with your class and school.

Shelley Ware

About the Author of Celebrate 2024 NAIDOC: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud

Shelley Ware, Yankunytjatjara, Kokatha and Wirangu descendant

Shelley has been a classroom, specialist reading, and art teacher in primary schools for 25 years, based in Melbourne. She has her own education consultancy to help educate teachers and inspire them to confidently embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures into everyday curriculum. Shelley is an ambassador for The Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s Create Initiative program, mentoring children from remote communities to write and publish their own books and incorporate their local Indigenous language. She sits on the Victorian Institute of Sport board, and serves as the chairperson on Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) advisory committees for Banyule City Council and Carlton Football Club. Shelley loves to give back to the community through her passion for helping people — particularly children — to be the best they can. She is a regular presenter on Broad Radio and writes a regular opinion and AFL column for the Koori Mail.

About SBS and NITV's National NAIDOC Week 2024 artwork

Jeremy Worrall (Wright), a proud Ngarabal/Gomeroi man

Jeremy was born in Gadigal Country Sydney. His family is from Emmaville, Strathbogie Station, on Ngarabal Country (NSW). Jeremy works in multimedia with a focus on digital painting and animation, having spent his career bringing his cultural knowledge to canvas, and watching it intersect with the modern world he grew up in. Jeremy’s goal is to be a part of maintaining, protecting and creating culture. He hopes to one day create art pieces as a full-time passion and to share his skills with the younger generation. Jeremy is also the illustrator of children’s book, Etta and the Shadow Taboo written by Gamilaraay author, JM Field. This beautiful book invites readers to follow a Gamilaraay tradition where one must avoid stepping on the shadows of others. If you would like to see more of Jeremy’s work, visit his Instagram: @lord_jorrall

Using this Teacher Resource

Guidance for using this resource

SBS wishes to advise members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities this resource may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons and could cause distress.

Key notes for educators:

• The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, First Nations and Indigenous are used respectfully and interchangeably throughout this resource when referring to First Nations peoples of Australia. These terms are used to respectfully encompass the diversity of cultures, identities, and preferences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• When inviting Elders into your school community, ask how they would like to be addressed by non-Indigenous people. They may prefer to be called Ms or Mr rather than “Aunty” or “Uncle”.
• When using the Reading sections for each Year group, try to engage with books and language from the Country you are on.

While the resource discusses First Nations fire practices, teachers should reinforce to students that some First Nations peoples use fire as part of their culture and tradition. For reasons of safety and cultural appropriateness these practices should not be replicated.

Introduction:

Teachers – this is your National NAIDOC Week 2024 teacher resource. It is a resource for all Australian schools. It will help embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, knowledges and histories in your teaching and learning. Though NAIDOC Week is celebrated for one week each year, the teaching and learning opportunities in this resource are applicable year-round. SBS strongly recommends schools connect with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, Traditional Owners, Elders, Land Councils, and other Indigenous community organisations. Click here for a directory of useful contacts. It is worth noting NAIDOC Week is one of the busiest calendar events for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ and that your respectful, timely communication with organisations and people is crucial.

Building meaningful relationships with your First Nations’ community is extremely important. With support from the school, First Nations’ community members should be appropriately compensated for their time and sharing of knowledge. It’s important the relationship is mutually beneficial for both the school community and the First Nations community, but you should also be mindful that someone may not feel comfortable with what is being asked of them by the school.

Please be respectful and consider the cultural load carried by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and staff in your school community around NAIDOC Week and other significant dates in the calendar year. It is important to remember not everyone feels comfortable or has the cultural knowledge to lead and facilitate activities or events that some Indigenous staff are asked to undertake. It is vital that respectful conversations are held with these staff members about their willingness to participate in sharing their cultural knowledge.

The teacher’s role

The teacher does not always need to be the knowledge-holder when it comes to First Nations knowledges. In fact, the teacher’s role is to facilitate the lesson using the content provided by First Nations peoples.

Here are some key points:

• Following this approach is an effective way to run classroom sessions suggested in this resource, so the students drive the learning.
• If this is a new way of running a learning opportunity, it might feel strange to begin with, but stick with it!
• Having your students drive the learning is a powerful way to engage students and let them demonstrate their knowledge.
• The teacher’s role is also to make sure that everyone is respectful to each other, and that everyone who wants to contribute constructively can be heard.

Where possible, invite Traditional Owners, Elders and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members to talk about this year’s NAIDOC Week theme, Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. This gives students the opportunity to understand the concept, value, and power of oral traditions. It also provides students with multiple perspectives on this topic. There are also classroom protocol guides when teaching, noted below.

Classroom protocols

Before you start, please read the SBS Learn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protocols Guide for Teachers. In this, authors Jarin Baigent and Shiralee Lawson (with guidance from Aunty Norma Ingram) take teachers through essential steps to a safe, respectful learning environment for all students. Align these with existing school policies and practices to bolster mutual respect, equity of dialogue and empathic communication amongst your students. Schools should also liaise with their state or territory education department to see if they can contact an Aboriginal educator on staff.

It is essential to carefully consider the integrity of references used in class.

Prompt students to examine the sources of their prior learning and to seek new knowledge through reputable sources. Triangulate information using trusted sites such as AIATSIS, Reconciliation Australia, Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education, and NITV/SBS. Teachers should also consider using local resources where appropriate.

Content protocols

Diagram: A Model of Social and Emotional Wellbeing
This diagram is from Chapter 4: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing (Gee et al) in the book Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental  Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (2nd Ed). It is republished here with permission. 

Explore Aboriginal ways of learning and working, such as interconnectivity and holistic thinking (rather than considering concepts in isolation). The diagram describes how the context of the learner and the substance of what is being learnt are interconnected.

Consider organising a professional development session through a First Nations provider to help embed cultural competence. Scroll down to the ‘Keep Going!’ section for helpful ways to get this going. Investing in this professional development can help embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, histories and cultures year-round, and build confidence in teaching staff.

The 2024 National NAIDOC Week Poster Competition winner

Deb Belyea, a proud Samuawgadhalgal artist from the Torres Strait, is the winner of the prestigious National NAIDOC Week Poster Competition for 2024 with her entry, ‘Urapun Muy’.

‘Urapun Muy’, from the Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect of the Top Western Islands of the Torres Strait, means ‘One Fire’. The title of this work pays homage to Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people everywhere, as we all have that one fire: our passion for our culture.

In this work, I have depicted the hands of our ancestors that have carefully dropped a burning ember on to a fire. This ember burns hot with intensity, stoking the flames, as it combines with the new fire. The linear detail shows the energy and power as cultural knowledge is transferred from our ancestors to us today. Culture is the fire that gives us knowledge, wisdom and purpose. It is our responsibility to maintain, practice, and pass on our fire to our future generations. After all, Culture keeps us Blak, Loud and Proud.

Deb Belyea

Learn more about Deb Belyea and her artwork on the NAIDOC website.

Early Childhood

We know many early childhood educators use this resource to plan their NAIDOC Week celebrations, so here are some suggestions for younger learners:

Whole school activity ideas

• Start a NAIDOC Committee to create plans for the whole school events.
• Invite a First Nations community member to speak at the whole school assembly about this year’s NAIDOC theme Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.
• In what ways can each class embed the theme Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud in the classroom to celebrate the importance of First Nations peoples?
• How else could you celebrate NAIDOC 2024: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud?
• How will you and the school community celebrate First Nations perspectives beyond NAIDOC Week?
• Watch the following video below. Conduct a series of interviews around the school with a range of students and teachers. Ask them “What does NAIDOC Week mean to you?” and create your own video to share with your school community. 

Activities

• Contact your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community cultural centres or Local Aboriginal Land Council, to connect with Elders or respected community members who can visit your school and run sessions relating to this year’s NAIDOC theme. Ensure you engage in a respectful relationship with individuals and organisations that encourage reciprocity.  
• There are lots of picture books listed in this resource that early childhood learners will enjoy.
• There are colouring sheets and posters available on the NAIDOC website.
• Decorate your school with official posters, available on the NAIDOC website. 
• Dedicate a daily session to watching television programs from National Indigenous Television (NITV, part of the SBS family). For example, you can watch episodes (below) each day for the duration of NAIDOC week and beyond.
• Watch Eddie’s Lil’ Homies based on the picture books by the legendary former Australian Rules Football Player Eddie Betts. Season One is made up of 12-minute long episodes and follows the story of eight-year-old Eddie and his best friends. For more information about the books and series click here.
• Watch Award-winning animation Little J & Big Cuz. Episodes are 12-minutes long and in addition to being available in English, they have also been translated into Aboriginal languages Pintinjarra, Arrernte, Wiradjuri, Yawuru, palawa kani, Ngukurr Kriol, Kunwinjku, Noongar, Torres Strait Creole, Warlpiri and Djambarrpuyngu. Season 4 is also coming soon! For more ideas or resources on Little J and Big Cuz click here.  

Let us know how your little ones go with their NAIDOC learning! Send us an email and tell us what you’ve been up to: sbslearn@sbs.com.au 

Reading  

• Bush Tracks by Ros Moriarty, illustrated by Balarinji (A&U Children’s, 2018)
• The Rainbow by Ros Moriarty, illustrated by Balarinji (A&U Children’s, 2018)
• Who Saw Turtle? by Ros Moriarty, illustrated by Balarinji (A&U Children’s, 2024)

Useful Resources 

• Kids on Country is an activity book celebrating Victorian First Nations peoples and their connection to Country. Contributors: Wurundjeri Elder, cultural consultant Aunty Di Kerr, author Shelley Ware, featured illustrator Ky-Ya Nicholson, early learning specialist Francesca Spillane.
• Deadly Story Colouring Activity Book includes colouring, dot-to-dots, mazes and other activities.
• NITV interview with Eddie Betts on ‘The Cartoon series was based in this Community’

Foundation

First Nations people have a strong connection to fire – it is sacred and has been used for millennia to care for Country. This knowledge has and is being passed down today for future generations. Understanding, recognising and celebrating First Nations peoples’ connection to Country can allow all Australians to learn the importance of nurturing, protecting and replenishing Country together.

Country holds deep significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is a culmination of cultural, spiritual and ancestral connections that represents the deeply profound relationship with land, waterways, sky, plants and animals, and all living things. Country is living, it is part of identity, belonging, and holds the wisdom of generations before us. 

Keep the fire burning to strengthen Culture, heal our Country, and in our hearts to make a better world for the future generations.

Victor Steffensen

Key Questions

• Why do we need to care for Country?
• How do you care for Country?
• How do First Nations people care for Country with fire?
• Why do we need to replenish Country together?
• How will you care for Country moving forward?
• What does it mean to be proud?

Activities

Explore with your students what it means to be proud. How do they feel when they are proud and how do they express themselves when they feel a sense of pride? Discuss this year’s NAIDOC theme Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. Ask students about First Nations peoples, cultures and history, and what person, achievement or event they feel most connected to and how it fills them with pride. Create a class book to read all year-round by using these moments of pride to celebrate every day. Leave blank pages for students to add their thoughts throughout the year.

Ask students what they think of when they hear the word fire. Watch and listen to actor Tamala Shelton read the opening of the story Looking After Country With Fire: Aboriginal Burning Knowledge with Uncle Kuu by Victor Steffensen and illustrated by Sandra Steffensen (Hardie Grant Explore, 2022). Ask your students to share their thoughts in a yarning circle. Use the links below under Useful Resources to answer any questions your students may still have.

Go on Country and read with your class The Heartbeat of the Land by Cathy Freeman with Coral Vass and Tannya Harricks (Larrikin House, 2022). Allow the students to share their thoughts in a yarning circle. Provide seeds of native plants to your students and grow them together in class, caring and nurturing them until they become strong seedlings ready to plant in the ground. Give the students an information pack and the seeds to take home to plant in their garden or local area so they can help heal Country too. Get in touch with your local council or garden centre to see if they have any community garden projects with native plants and seeds. They may even have someone who can come and speak to your class about caring for native plants on Country and in the classroom.

Understanding the different levels of Country is important for children to understand. Watch the video What are the six layers of Wurundjeri Country? by Clothing The Gaps with your students. Talk to your local Aboriginal Elders or respected community members to learn what layers of Country your school is built on. Create a wall mural by the front office so others can learn about the layers of Country they are on when they enter the school.

Help educate your students on the many little changes they can make in their lives to help Country heal through refusing, reducing, repairing, reusing and recycling. To celebrate NAIDOC week with your class, have a plastic free lunch box week and yarning circles about the difference students are making at home and at school. For more ideas and information, head to the Clean Up Australia page and Get to know more about 5Rs of sustainability.

Reading

Take your class out on Country and sit in a yarning circle. Read Open your heart to Country by Jasmine Seymour (Magabala Books, 2022) and talk about how Country is a part of the kinship system for First Nations people. The Dharug language word for family is Mudyin. Explore what Mudyin means to the children in your class. Who is part of their family? Why are they important? How do they care for family? Ask the students how they can care for Country like it is part of their family too.

The time of Chaos story by N’arwee’t Professor Carolyn Briggs AM, PhD with images created by Balnarring Bubups (Boon Wurrung Publications, 2023) is a beautiful story of how we must listen to Country and follow the laws of the past to keep Country well. Create a book using photographs and illustrations with your class about how students listen to and care for the Country their school is built on. Try to find the local First Nations language so you can incorporate a glossary for your students to learn the local language.

Ninni Yabini by Cheryl Kickett-Tucker, illustrated by Tyrwon Waigana (Freemantle Press, 2022) is written in Noongar and English. Read this book to your class and ask your students about the lessons in this story young children could learn. Share the six Noongar Seasons, at the back of the book, and compare them to the local First Nations seasons and the Western seasons. Create a sign for your classroom door to celebrate the current local First Nations season.

Read Giinagay Gaagal Hello Ocean by Melissa Greenwood (Harper Collins, 2023) and celebrate Sea Country with your students. Discuss how celebrating and connecting to Country is not just the land but many levels of Country like Sea and Sky Country. Outline some of the ways the story tells us to care for Sea Country. Brainstorm ideas on how students can connect to and respect Sea Country.

Extension Activities

Create posters to display around the school or add to the digital school newsletter with suggestions for the wider community on how they can care for Country at home and in their workplace. You may even create a short video that can be shared with carers and parents on how to care for Country at home, so people understand we all have a role to play.

To learn more about the importance of cultural burns and how they benefit and connect people to each other and Country, watch the Firesticks – Cultural burning: healthy communities, healthy landscapes videos that best suits your cohort . Play the videos while students eat their lunch or create a yarning circle for them to discuss what is special about the use of fire.

Research with your students what local native and indigenous plants would benefit Country if planted widely in the community. Then do a walking tour around the neighbourhood to take notes and map out where they can see native and indigenous trees. Organise a trip with your students to your local nursery or council to learn more about these plants.

Useful Resources

• Common Ground | Looking After Country with Fire with Victor Steffensen: https://www.commonground.org.au/article/looking-after-country-with-fire
• CSIRO | Three practical ways to support Indigenous landscape burning in Australia: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2020/February/three-practical-ways-to-support-indigenous-landscape-burning-in-australia
• DCCEEW | Caring for Country Australia state of the environment 2021: https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/indigenous/management/caring-country
• Deadly Kindies | Storytime with Deadly Kindies: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYvFB0OnMJyMIp0XvDk–BxsJzKQwZJUv
• National Environmental Science Program | Threatened Species Recovery Hub – Cultural fire: Listening to and caring for Country with fire: https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/news-and-media/latest-news/cultural-fire-listening-to-and-caring-for-country-with-fire
• National Geographic Kids | How to save the planet – A guide for kids: https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/nature/how-to-save-the-planet/
• NSW Government Local Land Service | Respect Local Culture: https://www.adventuresatyourplace.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Activity-Culture-2021.pdf
• SBS | SBS World News introduces First Nations place names in nightly national weather forecast: https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/2023/02/21/sbs-world-news-introduces-first-nations-place-names-nightly-national-weather/
• Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council | Land is our future: Caring for Country: https://www.aboriginalheritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/taking-care-culture-discussion-paper/land-our-future-caring-country

Years 1 and 2

Fire is a symbolic representation of First Nations peoples’ enduring strength and the vitality of culture and knowledge, which is passed down through generations. We honour the flames as they show renewed commitment to acknowledging, preserving and sharing their cultural heritage to enrich our nation.

Key Questions

• Why is it important to be proud of your heritage?
• How do you connect to the beauty of First Nations cultures?
• Why is fire a good representation of strength?
• Why is it important for Elders to pass down stories to young people?

While many older people are highly regarded in the community, Elders for First Nations peoples has a specific meaning. In this resource Elders is capitalised when referring to First Nations peoples who are knowledge holders and highly respected in the community. When referring to non-Indigenous elders, a lower-case e is used. 

Activities

Invite an Elder or respected community member to your school to do a smoking ceremony. Ask the Elder or respected community member to explain the importance of fire and smoke to First Nations people in the past and today. After the smoking ceremony ask your students to write a poem about their experience. This poem should focus on how they connect to the beauty of the smoking ceremony and the knowledge they have learnt. Make sure you share these poems with your Elders and community too!

Share Winthali Fire a traditional Bunuba Story adapted by Joe Willigan Ross and Stacey Bush, illustrated by Remi Nyandat Ross and Boheme Baiana Ross (Indigenous Literacy Foundation, 2022) with your class. Use the QR code or use this link to watch the animated story in Bunuba and English. Talk to your students about the importance of keeping First Nations languages alive and strong.

Ask your students to bring in a t-shirt they can paint, draw or print on the NAIDOC 2024 theme Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. Students can create a 30-second video wearing the t-shirt explaining what this year’s NAIDOC theme means to them. Share the video with their families and then take the t-shirt home to wear for NAIDOC celebrations. 

Watch Traditional Burning Biraban with your students and ask them to share what they learnt with a trusted partner in a two-minute discussion. They should choose two really important facts from this video to share with the rest of the class. Then create a class mind map together.

Watch and listen to Aunty Joy Murphy AO reading the opening to Welcome to Country, by Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy (Walker Books Australia, 2016) a beautiful story about First Nations peoples’ connection to Country. Invite an Elder or respected community member to perform a Welcome to Country with your school, year level or class and ask them to share why a Welcome to Country is so important to First Nations people.

Reading

Read The Trees: Learning Tree Knowledge with Uncle Kuu by Victor Steffensen and Sandra Steffensen (Hardie Grant, 2023) with your class about how special trees are to First Nations people. Scan the QR code at the back of the book to enjoy the song ‘The Trees’ and create your own music video of your class singing this beautiful song. Plant a native tree to celebrate your class’ connection to trees and the gifts they offer for the next generation.

Share Walk with us by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing, illustrated by David Hardy (A & U Children’s, 2023) with your class. Use the QR code to listen to a special reading.

Through this NITV article How to Acknowledge Country in a meaningful way, teach your students how to share an Acknowledgement of Country from the heart. Organise a walk or excursion on Country with your students so they can connect and learn local knowledge that has been passed down for thousands and thousands of years.

Share one of the nine stories a day from the NT Mob Sharing Stories in Language (Indigenous Literacy Foundation, 2023) from the nine different regions in the Northern Territory. Listening to these stories will help your students connect to the strength and beauty of these communities, their Countries and languages.

Read to your students Tiwi Seasons with Marius by Tiwi College Students (Indigenous Literacy Foundation, 2023). You can also use the QR code at the back of the book to hear and learn how to say words in language. Take this further by creating a display to share with others in your school on what you have learnt about the people of Tiwi Islands, their culture, stories and seasonal calendar.

Download the free app Our Yarning e-books which has a library of First Nations stories from around Australia. The stories are categorised into reader levels for you to share with your class or incorporate into your everyday reading groups.

Extension Activities

Watch this video to further explore this year’s NAIDOC theme. What do students think Keep the Fire Burning! Blak Loud and Proud means? Ask students to create posters to display around the school with their own interpretation of the theme through different art mediums. Here is a guide for you and your students around appropriate art styles for non-Indigenous students.

Fire has played a vital role in healing Country for thousands and thousands of years. Watch this video from NITV’s The Point on Aboriginal cultural burning returns to regional Victoria and learn how First Nations people are reclaiming culture through burning. Learn about the first cultural burn in a century and how fire is being used to heal Country in regional Victoria. Discuss with your students their thoughts on why reclaiming cultural burning is important for Country and First Nations people.

Being proud of your heritage is important. Understanding who you are as a person and your own identity helps to keep you well and strong. Ask your students if they are comfortable to go home and talk to their parents, family or carers about the beauty of their heritage and culture they would like to share with the class in the coming weeks. Being Loud and Proud is important for all.

Useful Resources

• AIATSIS | Language alive: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/languages-alive
• Australian National Botanic Gardens | Aboriginal Plant Use: https://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/visiting/exploring/aboriginal-trail/index.html
• Clothing the Gaps | Waking up Woiwurrung series: https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=waking+up+woiwurrung
• Deadly Story | Life & Lore: https://deadlystory.com/page/culture/Life_Lore
• Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water | First Nations Heritage: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/about/indigenous-heritage
• National Geographic | How Australia’s Aboriginal people fight fire – with fire: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/how-australias-aboriginal-people-fight-fire-with-fire-feature
• Reconciliation Australia | Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/
• SBS NITV | Do you know what Aboriginal land you’re on today?: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/do-you-know-what-aboriginal-land-youre-on-today/ytff85vi1
• SBS NITV | Indigenous kids teach caring-for-country knowledge for a better future: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/indigenous-kids-teach-caring-for-country-knowledge-for-a-better-future/yamhwbmm1
• The Conversation | Indigenous cultural appropriation: what not to do: https://theconversation.com/indigenous-cultural-appropriation-what-not-to-do-86679

Years 3 and 4

First Nations people are storytellers and have passed down traditions, language, cultures and history for thousands and thousands of years through powerful memory systems and Songlines. First Nations people also have a strong connection to their flags, which hold special meaning through the representation of culture, people and history.

Songlines mark the journeys of the ancestral spirits as they created the land, animals and lore. They help to map out Country and store knowledge through stories and songs.

Key Questions

• Do you know the language of your local First Nations people?
• How do First Nations people pass down stories?
• Why are Songlines important to First Nations people?
• What stories do the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags hold in them?
• Why are First Nations people so deeply connected to their flags?

Activities

Watch this video about Songlines: Aboriginal Art and Storytelling which helps explain why Songlines and storytelling is so important to First Nations people. Discuss with your students what they learnt from the video. Using what they have learnt, ask your students to create an infographic on Songlines to display in the classroom.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are very important to First Nations people. They signify identity, connection and pride within our community. Watch this video What do the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags mean? to learn about the meaning behind the flags. After learning about the importance of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to First Nations people and to Australia’s identity, take the students for a walk in your school playground and see what flags are raised at your school. If you don’t have all three flags, students may want to consider presenting a proposal to your school leadership team about the flags you would like to see flown in your school every day.

Do you know the local language of the First Nations people where your school is located? There are more than 250 Indigenous languages including 800 dialects spoken in Australia (Source: AIATSIS). Due to colonisation many languages have become endangered or lost, so it may not be possible for your class to learn a local language. Sit in a yarning circle and explore with your students how they feel and what they think about the loss of language in their area. You may be able to get a list of words to learn from your local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language centre. Ensure you gain permission from these groups before incorporating into your lessons. Celebrate First Nations languages by creating a First Nations library in your classroom. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation is a perfect place to start with many books celebrating and reclaiming languages from all around Australia.

Where is the c in black? Many people think the c has been left out of Blak by mistake, but it’s been taken out of black deliberately. Talk through with your class why First Nations people prefer to use Blak. What does it mean to reclaim language and why it is so important for First Nations people to do so?

Blak – Bla(c)K is used widely by First Nations People. Taking back in reclaiming the many aspects and notions of Black and Blackness that non-Indigenous people have placed on us. 

Deadly Wears – Deadly Definitions

Read the Science Principles in Traditional Aboriginal Australia with your class and discuss how science and technology has been strong in First Nations people for millennia. Ask them to further research and create a fact file on one of the discussed items and theories from the article. Create a fact file box for others to read. This can be added to throughout the year.  

Reading

Read a chapter at the start of the day with your students from Songlines: First Knowledges for Younger Readers by Margo Neale, Lynne Kelly and Blak Douglas (Thames and Hudson, 2023). At the end of each chapter, complete the “Your Turn” activities together to strengthen their understanding and connection to the importance of Songlines.

Read Our Flag, Our Story by Bernard Namok Jnr, Thomas Mayo and Tori-Jay Mordey (Magabala Books, 2024) and use different art mediums to create a large Torres Strait Flag with your class. Share the story of the Torres Strait Islander people’s connection to the flag with others in your school.    

In my Blood It Runs by Dujuan Hoosan, Margaret Anderson and Carol Turner, illustrated by Blak Douglas (Pan MacMillan, 2023) is based on the award-winning documentary of the same name. Locate five copies of the book for your class to use in reading groups. Spend the week exploring and discussing the themes in each chapter with your students. This will help to develop empathy and understanding of the reality many First Nations students face in school and the wider community. Alternatively, read the book to your class and discuss their thoughts. Then read the message “From the Grandmothers”, Margaret Anderson and Carol Turner. Once you have discussed their feelings about this message, ask students to go home and ask their grandparents or a respected older person in their life to share a wish they have for them and their future. Bring in a written copy of these wishes and share as a class. You may even invite the respected older person into the classroom to celebrate their wishes together.

Extension Activities

Watch the following clip from NITV’s Living Black of Cathy Freeman being interviewed by Walkley Award-winning journalist Karla Grant, 20-years after winning gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She won gold medals in the 400m and 200m sprint, carrying both the Australian and Aboriginal flag in her lap of honour. This caused a lot of controversy and was a catalyst in changing many Australians perspectives about the connection Aboriginal people have to their flag. Show your students an image of Cathy Freeman carrying both the Aboriginal and Australian flag in celebration of winning gold in the 200m sprint at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Discuss what they see and how they feel when they look at this image. Ask your students to do further research in pairs and then present a one-minute speech about the importance of this moment in Australian history and what changes they have seen around the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.

Margaret Tucker MBE was one of Australia’s earliest female First Nations activists. She was a founding member and treasurer of the Australian Aborigines’ League, one of the first Aboriginal-run organisations. [While the term “Aborigines” is often seen as outdated, it is used here due to its historical context.] The league campaigned in support of citizenship rights for Aboriginal people. Ask your students to further research Margaret Tucker MBE and write a short memoir of her life. They should include their thoughts and information on her life and advocacy. Students may wish to consult her autobiography If Everyone Cared Enough – Her voice reclaimed by Margaret Tucker (National Library of Australia, 2024).  

Useful Resources

• AIATSIS | Torres Strait Islander Flag: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/torres-strait-islander-flag
• Deadly Stories | Songlines: https://deadlystory.com/page/culture/Life_Lore/Songlines
• Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet | Free issue of Australian flags: https://www.pmc.gov.au/publications/australian-flags-booklet/free-issue-australian-flags
• Margo Neale | Songlines https://youtu.be/TzHPAxsfL0Y
• National Museum of Australia | Tracking the Seven Sisters: https://www.nma.gov.au/audio/songlines-tracking-the-seven-sisters/telling-the-story-of-songlines-tracking-the-seven-sisters
• NITV | Songlines on Screen Footprints: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/learn-indigenous-australian-creation-stories-songlines-on-screen-multimedia-features/jqxv5gi9w
• NITV | Did you know the facts?…Facts about the Aboriginal Flag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu1UXRU8DSQ
• NITV | Did you know the facts?…Facts about the Torres Strait Flag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDkx9fsJBw8
• SBS | Rhoda Roberts on Songlines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vxsgyHru90
• SBS Learn | Wiradjuri Workbooks: https://www.sbs.com.au/learn/resources/learn-wiradjuri-volume-1-ngumbaay/
• SBS NITV | Explainer: How Tasmania’s Aboriginal people reclaimed a language: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/explainer-how-tasmanias-aboriginal-people-reclaimed-a-language/l1f920kc7
• The Australian Museum | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flag: https://australian.museum/learn/cultures/atsi-collection/cultural-objects/indigenous-australia-flags/
• Yarn | The Importance of Storytelling within Indigenous Culture: https://www.yarn.com.au/blogs/yarn-in-the-community/the-importance-of-storytelling-within-indigenous-culture

Years 5 and 6

“Blak, Loud and Proud” allows First Nations people to celebrate identity and the oldest living surviving culture in the world. Acknowledging First Nations cultures and connection to Country is important, so we can stand proud in understanding the original peoples of this nation. Through meaningful dialogue together, First Nations peoples can continue to share their rich knowledge in the modern world to create a better land and future for all.

Key Questions

• Why is it important to celebrate First Nations cultures and peoples?
• Why do First Nations people spell Blak without a c?
• How do people reclaim language?
• Why is it important to listen to First Nations peoples’ knowledge of the land?

Activities

Go to the NAIDOC Poster Gallery to explore the different themes of NAIDOC since the 1970s. In pairs or small groups, allocate students a different theme to research. They should explore the different messages in the posters and the purpose around that year’s theme. Alternatively, in small groups students can make a timeline of the different themes and explain to the class the messaging of the posters throughout history.

Explore the meaning of Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud with your class. What does it mean to your students? Discuss the importance of the NAIDOC theme for all Australians in celebrating the beauty of our First Nations peoples, stories and truths. Share the NAIDOC theme video and explore the theme by breaking it down together. Brainstorm ideas as a class on how they can celebrate NAIDOC as a class, year or school. Once you have collated their ideas it’s time to make one of them happen! Be sure to share photographs of your completed projects with descriptions with us at SBS Learn.

Share the videos embedded in the AIATSIS article Languages Alive to gain an understanding of why keeping First Nations languages alive and strong is important. Ask students about the relationship between language, culture and identity. How does speaking another language affect one’s culture and identity? Teachers should use this article to continue their self-education on the importance of keeping languages alive. Learn more about the AIATSIS Indigenous Languages Preservation Dictionaries Project, where more than 20 dictionaries have been published in First Nations languages.      

Identity and kinship systems are central to First Nations people. The 2024 Venice Biennale saw the first ever Australian artwork to win the prestigious Golden Lion prize for best national participation. Give your students this Guardian article ‘Very totemic and very Aboriginal’: Australia’s entry at Venice Biennale is a family tree going back 65,000 years. Get them to read about Bigambul-Kamilaroi artist Archie Moore’s work called Kith and Kin where he celebrates 65,000 years of genealogy at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Discuss what kinship means and ask your students to use Moore’s artwork as an inspiration to showcase their kinship while expressing their identity.

For over the past 65,000 years, First Nations people have cared for Country to ensure sustainability for future generations. They consider Country to be a part of their kinship system. Watch this video Aboriginal Australian Totems: Indigenous Caring for Country and ask your students to further explore the importance of totems to First Nations people and their connection to Country. Provide art materials so your students can create a collage to showcase how First Nations people have and continue to care for Country through their totem systems.

Celebrate the achievements of “Blak, Loud and Proud” First Nations advocates who have fought for the rights of their people to be recognised. Create a timeline showcasing First Nations individuals and groups who have championed for equality since colonisation.

Reading

During the week of NAIDOC and beyond, use learning breaks to share some of the amazing stories in This Book Thinks Ya Deadly! A celebration of Blak Excellence by Corey Tutt and illustrations by Molly Hunt (Hardie Grant, 2023). Create a gallery of portraits and profiles to share the First Nations peoples highlighted in the book to display in your classroom.

Use your time reading or listening to Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest by Diane Lucas, Ben Tyler and Emma Long (A&U Children’s, 2021). As a class turn your room into the Monsoon Forest by showcasing the knowledge Gagudju people share in this beautiful book.

Read We are Matildas by Shelley Ware and Serena Geddes (Penguin, 2023). The story follows Jazzy, a loud and proud Aboriginal girl, strong in her identity who dreams of playing for the Matildas and representing her country. Explore the identity of your students and discuss what makes them who they are as a person. Guide a deeper discussion on what drives them and what they are doing to make their dreams come true, just like Jazzy. 

Extension Activities

Watch the following clip on How Outback Childhood & Cathy Freeman’s gold drove Lydia Williams to the Matildas. Discuss with your class the importance of role models and how representation and visibility is important in sport and public life. Ask students to create profiles on their favourite First Nations role model to display around the classroom and school. Learn more about Lydia Williams through this NITV article or watch this episode of Living Black with Karla Grant about Lydia’s life, career, and the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

Read this article from Screen Australia Spotlight on 9 First Nations voices to watch that highlights nine First Nations creatives to watch and celebrate now and into the future. Divide your class into nine groups and allow them time to create a project of their choice, sharing the past and ongoing work of these brilliant storytellers. They could create a project in the form of a presentation, collage, report, podcast or website.

Watch this video Get to know artist Blak Douglas, a prominent First Nations artist and Archibald Prize winner. Ask students to research other First Nations artists and use this interview as a model to write questions they would like to ask those artists. Write open ended questions to allow the artist to provide meaningful responses.

Read the following NITV article Could this Boorloo boy become the next Kid LAROI? and listen to rapper Inkabee’s song “Beat the Odds”. Discuss with your class how the article and song lyrics “Beat the Odds” celebrates Blak strength, pride and unity. Ask each student to choose their favourite lyric from the class and share why it is special to them.

The NITV article First contact: the Gweagal spears have been returned to community outlines the repatriation process after four spears were taken by James Cook and Joseph Banks almost 254 years ago. Discuss with your students the importance of culturally significant items being returned to community.

Useful Resources

• Blak Douglas | https://blakdouglas.com.au/
• Guardian | Artwork commemorating Indigenous Australian history triumphs in Venice: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/apr/20/artwork-commemorating-indigenous-australian-history-triumphs-in-venice
• Government of Western Australia | Inkabee Unearthed: https://www.education.wa.edu.au/news/inkabee-unearthed
• NITV | Bush to Bowl: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ud6xGhksL1w?feature=share
• SBS German | Songlines – What they are and how they guide us across Australia: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/german/en/article/songlines-what-they-are-and-how-they-guide-us-across-australia/vo3asd8u3 
• SBS On Demand | Living Black: Blak Douglas – Artistic Disrupter: https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/news-series/living-black/living-black-series-31/living-black-s2024-ep3/2328734275621
• SBS News | Indigenous groups band together to revitalise language through younger generation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBlgaMVLYIo
• SBS NITV | The stories behind Aboriginal star names now recognised by the world’s astronomical body: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/the-stories-behind-aboriginal-star-names-now-recognised-by-the-worlds-astronomical-body/z8oia2dgx
• The University of Sydney | Kinship Module: https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/vision-and-values/our-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-community/kinship-module.html

Years 7 and 8

Through collective efforts we can create a future where First Nations oral history, stories, cultures, traditions and achievements are cherished and celebrated. When we truly connect to the beauty and strength of First Nations’ cultures and histories, together we can further enrich the fabric of the nation.

Elders are often the living libraries of our cultures and knowledge systems. They are the people who will ensure that our cultures and knowledge survive for future generations. Every effort should be made to ensure that they are respected and given opportunities to transmit their knowledge. NAIDOC is a national network of events for educating our young people about their importance and learning from them.

Dr Marcia Langton AO

Key Questions

• How do we connect to and celebrate the beauty of First Nations’ cultures, histories and traditions?
• Why is it important to understand the true history of Australia?
• Why is working together as a country important?
• How can First Nations peoples’ knowledge of Country help create a better future for Australia?
• Why is it important to celebrate Blak excellence as a country?

Activities

There are many misconceptions and myths about First Nations people and what they were doing prior to colonisation. The truth has too often been hidden or ignored. Truth-telling is a vital part of reconciliation as a country. Understanding the true history of this country is important. Watch this video The impacts of colonisation – Aboriginal Perspectives with your class to better understand colonisation and how First Nations people were and still are affected by colonisation. Allow some time for your students to research the impacts of colonisation by exploring statistics, stories and truths from First Nations perspectives. Ask them to journal their thoughts on what they learnt and how this has changed their perspective on the history of colonisation in Australia.

Truth-telling is crucial to the ongoing process of healing and reconciliation in Australia. It is an opportunity to record the history and evidence of the impacts of colonisation as well as an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to share their culture and language with their communities.

Final Report – Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: Truth-telling, Parliament of Australia, 2018

Times are changing, as myths are being shattered and schools are celebrating warriors that fought for their Country. The warriors highlighted in the SBS NITV article 8 war heroes you didn’t learn about in school are important stories for Australian history lessons. Ask your students to read this article and learn about the warriors of Tasmania/lutruwita. Discuss why it is important to remember and honour the warriors of the Frontier wars. How can you honour them in your school?

Read this SBS NITV article 20 inspiring black women who have changed Australia with your class. Then divide your class into small groups to further research one of these First Nations women and their achievements. Students may even have other First Nations people they would like to research and celebrate too.  Ask your students to create a project celebrating one of these women. Invite another year level to come view the projects.

Read the SBS article to learn more about the Deep ties between Indigenous Australians and Indonesia’s Macassans celebrated through song and dance. Explore the relationship Aboriginal people had with the Macassans. Research what and how they traded, the benefits of this relationship and how colonisation ended this trade connection. Ask students to imagine what it would be like today if this trade relationship was able to flourish.

Gamilaraay artist, storyteller and musician Mitch Tambo is passionate about sharing his culture, language and stories of his people through music. Play his music to the class. Listen to him share language and culture, and ask students to share their thoughts. He has a strong message of reconciliation, pride and unity in his music and is passionate about the future of this country. If you have music playing instead of bells (to mark the start or end of a lesson or break), add his songs and other First Nations artists to your playlist.

Reading

As a class read Songlines: The Power and Promise by Margo Neale and Lynne Kelly (Thames & Hudson, 2020) to learn about how Songlines share the knowledges of First Nations people both ancient and modern. Together explore the Songlines of your local First Nations people. Often you will find the major highways are indeed the ancient Songlines of our First Peoples. To learn more about this, read the National Geographic Education blog article Aboriginal Songlines Helped Draw the Map in Australia.

Divide your class into eight groups and allocate each group with a story from the book Growing up Wiradjuri Stories from the Wiradjuri Nation edited by Dr Anita Heiss (Magabala Books, 2022). Allow time for each group to read the story. Each group must create a way to retell the story they have read, whether it is through poetry, song or dance – to share with the class.

Take your students out on Country and sit in a yarning circle to read the verse novel She is the Earth by Ali Cobby Eckermann (Magabala Books, 2023). Pause along the way and ask students to share their thoughts and feelings. When you are finished, allow students time to write their own verse of how Country makes them feel. Collate them and create your own class verse novel.

Extension Activities

Last year around 60% of people in Australia voted no to the Referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. This referendum aimed to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Read this SBS News article Here’s how First Nations leaders reacted to the Voice referendum result with your class and share the thoughts of some First Nations leaders’ responses to the referendum results. Then read the article Voice to Parliament referendum: How ‘worrying’ misinformation spreads online and discuss how to spot misinformation and disinformation on social media and its impact on the referendum. In a safe yarning circle explore with your students how misinformation and disinformation has and can affect their daily lives.

Listen to the Right Country – Right Fire: Podcast Series as a class or by yourself prior to sharing with your students to see which of the 13-minute podcast episodes suits your cohort and what you have been learning. Hear from Elders and leaders in the Aboriginal community openly share why caring for Country through traditional burnings is vital for a better future for our country.

Check out the SBS Learn resource The First Inventors written by Shelley Ware and Associate Professor Dr Lynette Riley. The First Inventors is a four-part series that will help your students connect to and celebrate the beauty and achievements of First Nations people for the past 65,000 plus years.

Useful Resources

Websites

• ACT Government | Ngunnawal culture and heritage: https://www.tidbinbilla.act.gov.au/learn/ngunnawal-culture-and-heritage
• AIATSIS | The AIATSIS Songlines project – Preserving Aboriginal Cultural Songs: https://www.integratesustainability.com.au/2020/06/19/the-aiatsis-songlines-project-preserving-aboriginal-cultural-songs/
• Australian Geographic | How oral cultures memorise so much information: https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/history-culture/2016/09/how-oral-cultures-memorise-so-much-information/ 
• Australian Museum | Unsettled: Uncovering our nation’s hidden history:  https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/unsettled-uncovering-our-nations-hidden-history/
• Japingka Aboriginal Art | Why Songlines are important in Aboriginal Art: https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/articles/songlines-important-aboriginal-art/
• SBS Learn | Rebel Writer: Oodgeroo Noonuccal: https://www.sbs.com.au/learn/resources/oodgeroo-noonuccal-rebel-writer/
• SBS Learn | Wiradjuri Workbooks: https://www.sbs.com.au/learn/learn-wiradjuri/
• Sharing Stories Foundation | https://sharingstoriesfoundation.org/
• WCC Language Program | The Wiradjuri Dictionary App: https://wcclp.com.au/wiradjuri-dictionary/
• We are SA | Meet six local First Nations trailblazers making their mark: https://www.wearesa.au/news/2023/q3/meet-six-local-first-nations-trailblazers-making-their-mark

Reading

• First Knowledges Country: Future Fire, Future Farming by Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe (Hudson and Thames, 2021)

Years 9 and 10

The effects of colonisation have had devastating outcomes for First Nations people in this country. Throughout our country’s history First Nations people have resisted colonisation. They have fought for equality and a better future for today and future generations. This resistance has taken on many different forms; through actions, stories, protest, song and art.

Key Questions

• How has colonisation impacted First Nations people?
• How have First Nations people resisted colonisation throughout history?
• What does it mean to decolonise a space, thoughts or actions?
• What is your role in making a better future for all Australians?

Activities

Explore the National Museum of Australia’s resource, Indigenous cultures and contact history: Community stories where 27 communities around Australia share their first contact stories. Each class member can prepare a one to two-minute speech on their community story, sharing what they learnt and how the story challenged their thoughts and feelings of colonisation to the class.

Read the following SBS article on How Jandamarra went from resistance fighter to a Bunuba legend and discuss the difference between what makes an enemy, rebel, freedom fighter, resistance fighter, warrior or outlaw. How can we better celebrate First Nations resistance fighters? What is required to ensure people like Jandamarra are learnt about and recognised as leaders fighting for their peoples’ rights and freedom?

Watch documentary series Rebel with a Cause on trailblazers from Queensland; including Neville Bonner, Pat O’Shane, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Tiga Bayles. What is one lesson students have learnt from one of these trailblazers they will take away into their lives moving forward? Create an art piece, write a poem or song showcasing this message to share with others. Or visit SBS Learn for other activities on Oodgeroo Noonuccal: Rebel Writer authored by Yuin woman, Kyarna Cruse.

The Referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice which aimed to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, did not pass in 2023. Some states are working towards creating a Treaty with their State Government. Discuss with your students their understanding of Treaty. What do some people hope a Treaty will achieve? You may wish to consult the Treaty for Victoria site and the South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament factsheet. Ask your students to write a reflective piece about their thoughts on Treaty for First Nations people and all Australians.

Complete an artist study on Kudjla/Gangula man Daniel Boyd who challenges colonial history by addressing the erasure and disregard of Aboriginal peoples and their perspectives. Introduce Daniel and the complexities of his art through this video during his residency at the Natural History Museum, London in 2011. Watch the following Art Gallery of New South Wales clip, made almost a decade later, to better understand the range and themes of Daniel’s work. Ask your students to choose a piece of Daniel’s art that resonates with them and then discuss the different perspective they gained through his artwork. How does his art resist and challenge colonialism?

Through the court system, the Elders and community members of the Tiwi Islands were successful in protecting culture, water ways, marine life and sacred Tiwi Songlines. Ask your students to read the SBS NITV article Tiwi Songlines will be protected from this Santos pipeline. But the works will go ahead and share their thoughts on why preserving sacred Songlines is important for the past, present and future of all Australians.

Check out the SBS Learn resource Understanding the Frontier Wars, written by Culture is Life, based on Blackfella Films’ three-part series The Australian Wars, which highlights the resistance of First Nations Elders and ancestors to protect their people against colonisation.

Reading

Throughout NAIDOC and beyond share these beautiful stories of resilience with your class Telling Stories of Resilience from Nairm Marr Djambana (Magabala Books, 2023). Sit in yarning circles and discuss the impact of colonisation on these storytellers and how they responded with resilience. How did connection to community, Country and culture help guide them through these times? How do these stories inspire your students?

Read Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance by Banjo Woorunmurra and Howard Pedersen (Magabala Books, 2011) as a class. Explore the themes of resistance against colonisation and what makes a hero. Discuss why it is important to face this history for the future of our country. For more teaching ideas check out this guide by Reading Australia.

Returning by Kirli Saunders (Magabala Books, 2023) is a stunning collection of poetry reflecting on self, Country, the effects of colonisation, decolonisation, truth-telling and connection. It is accompanied by gorgeous artworks to reflect the poetry and feelings evoked. Ask your students to choose a poem from the collection and create their own artwork to share their emotional response to the poem. Go a step further and get students to write a poetic response to a poem of their choice.

Extension Activities

Australia was colonised by the British and the ramifications of the choices made by many colonisers are still felt today. Ask your students to read The Conversation article Explainer: What is decolonisation and learn about how to decolonise the spaces we live. When students have read the article ask them to journal spaces in their lives they could decolonise.

Explore how First Nations street art helps to decolonise spaces and thoughts through this SBS NITV article Decolonising urban space; the power of Indigenous street art. Create a piece of art, as a class or in small groups, that illustrates decolonisation to the viewer.

One of the ways you can be a part of creating a better future for all Australians is to be a good ally to First Nations people. Watch the video Ask Aunty! What is a good Ally and how can I be a good one? and discuss their thoughts. Your students or school might have other really great culturally safe questions they want answered. They can ask Aunty Munya Andrews and she will answer it for them in a personal video.

Ask students to read the Australian Humans Rights Commission article Being an Ally which has some brilliant suggestions. Get them to write a letter of commitment to themselves on what they are going to do to be a good ally to First Nations people moving forward.

Useful Resources

• Amnesty Australia | 10 ways to be a genuine ally to First Nations communities: https://www.amnesty.org.au/10-ways-to-be-an-ally-to-first-nations-communities/
• Art Gallery of NSW | Featured Artists Daniel Boyd: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/artists/boyd-daniel/
• Common Ground | What is decolonisation?: https://www.commonground.org.au/article/what-is-decolonisation
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading | Treaties: https://www.dfat.gov.au/international-relations/treaties
• Indigenous X | Fostering culturally safe classrooms after a divisive January 26^th: https://indigenousx.com.au/fostering-culturally-safe-classrooms-after-invasion-day/
• National Museum Australia | Community Stories – Bunuba Country: https://www.nma.gov.au/learn/encounters-education/community-stories/west-kimberley
• NITV | If the flag was good enough for Cook, it was good enough for us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhYu5FBXPvE
• Paint it Blak | The right and wrong words to use when describing ATSI people https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X-N1SRGBq_0
• SBS NITV | Why ’Blak’ not Black?: Artist Destiny Deacon and the origins of this word:  https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/why-blak-not-black-artist-destiny-deacon-and-the-origins-of-this-word/7gv3mykzv
• Tiwi Land Council | History: https://www.tiwilandcouncil.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&p=229&l=2&id=56&smid=164

Keep Going!

Teacher learning is an effective way to build staff confidence and competence around embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives across curricula. Here is a sample of course providers, to get you started:

• Supply Nation has a listing of professional learning providers: use the business directory to search for First Nations cultural competence providers. Supplynation.org.au
• BlackCard: theblackcard.com.au
• Australians Together: australianstogether.org.au
• Narragunnawali: narragunnawali.org.au
• Share Our Pride: shareourpride.org.au

Kinship Module

This module, developed by Associate Professor Lynette Riley, promotes cross-cultural understanding by explaining the intricacies of the Aboriginal Kinship system.

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership

Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness Continuum |  https://continuum.aitsl.edu.au/

Set aside time for teachers during a staff meeting or whole school meeting to reflect on where they fall on the continuum. Collect this data and address how your school community can progress on the continuum.

SBS Learn teacher resources

Head to SBS Learn for resources and classroom ready clips connected to documentaries, online interactives, dramas, multilingual content and news and current affairs. www.sbs.com.au/learn  

Useful teacher resources:

Australian Curriculum: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures: Glossary

Websites

• AIATSIS | https://aiatsis.gov.au/whats-new/podcasts/blak-books
• Australian National Maritime Museum | https://www.sea.museum/explore/indigenous
• Common Ground | https://www.commonground.org.au/
• Evolve Communities | https://www.evolves.com.au/
• Islamic Museum of Australia | http://education.islamicmuseum.org.au/
• National Museum of Australia | https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/learning-modules/deep-time-history-australia
• SBS Learn | https://www.sbs.com.au/learn/resources/living-black-for-our-elders/
• SBS NITV Radio | https://www.sbs.com.au/language/nitv-radio/en/podcast/ngiyang
• Stronger Smarter Institute | https://strongersmarter.com.au/program-calendar/
• Wingaru | https://www.wingaru.com.au/

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Special Broadcasting Service Corporation Author: Shelley Ware Title: NAIDOC Week 2024 Teacher Resource ISBN 978-0-6487076-7-7 (e-book)

Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Book cover images reproduced with permission from respective publishers.

The post Celebrate NAIDOC 2024: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud appeared first on SBS Learn.

Introductory Activities

Focus

• Highlight First Nations perspectives and knowledges of Country
• Understand our impact on the environment with an emphasis on sustainability
• Learn about Australian geography, wildlife, plants, climate and liveability
• Exploration of survival skills in the form of mental and physical fortitude
• Examination of health in relation to nutrition, exposure and wellbeing
• Learn on Country by observing with our senses

Guiding Questions

1. What skills and knowledge are required to survive alone in the wilderness?
2. How can we better understand the cycles of nature and our relationship to them?
3. In what ways can we appropriately and respectfully observe First Nations knowledges of caring for Country to reduce our impact on the environment?
4. How can our physical health have an impact on our wellbeing?

Introductory Activities

Watch the trailer as a hook to introduce ideas and concepts to students.

1. What do you think would be the most challenging aspects of being on Alone Australia in New Zealand’s South Island, Aotearoa’s Te Waipounamu.
2. List the skills or experiences you think would be most valuable as a participant on Alone Australia.
3. Which do you think is more important, being physically strong, emotionally resilient, or having survival experience?
4. What ten items would you pack? 
5. What would you do on your first day, build a shelter or find food? Explain the reasons for your plan.
6. Create a list of dangers you would fear, heading into Alone Australia, New Zealand.
7. How long do you think you would survive alone in the wilderness? Give reasons.
8. What would you do with the $250,000 prize money? Give reasons for your response.

The Participants

To be completed in small groups:

1. What factors do you think would be desirable for a successful participant? Ensure you include reasons for your choices.

a. Age: 20-34, 35-50, 51+
b. Married/defacto or single
c. Children or childfree
d. Male or female

2. Decide which background would make a winning participant. You will need to think about what experiences, qualities, or skills this person would have due to their profession. Choose one participant’s background from the Alone Australia Season 2 list below:

• Personal Trainer & Subsistence Hunter
• Defence Force Combat Engineer
• Tradesperson & Wild Game Hunter
• Youth Worker & Jungai (protector of the land)
• Aquaculturalist
• World Heritage Aboriginal Programs Officer
• Resilience Coach
• Survival Educator & Former SAS Soldier
• Wilderness Adventure Guide
• Off-Gridder & Former Police Officer

3. As a class: Were you mostly in agreement with the desirable factors for a participant and the winner’s professional background? Did you notice any assumptions made about particular people or groups? Why do you think this was the case? Have your assumptions changed as a result of class discussions?

4. Read the article on Season 2 participants “Meet the 10 brave people taking on the wilderness in Alone Australia”. Learn about each participant by reading the information and watching the clips from Season 2. Discuss in your small groups who you believe will be the winning participant. Which of the personal quotes from participants inspired you the most and persuaded you in believing they have what it takes to win?

Extension

Discuss: What are the benefits of existing in a community and society? Create a list of positives and negatives relating to being part of a community. As a class discuss your answers and whether humans benefit from being part of a society.

English Years 7-10

English Years 7-8

Proverb Activity

Each Alone Australia episode opens with a proverb relating to messages relating to survival. The following proverbs are from Season 1.

Episode 1:

Traveller, there are no paths. Paths are made by walking. – Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Episode 2:

There’s no harm in hoping for the best, as long you’re prepared for the worst. – Stephen King

Episode 3:

Hunger is the handmaid of genius. – Mark Twain

1. In pairs or small groups unpack the proverbs and interpret what they mean. Identify the most appropriate proverb for the survival series. Think about your answers carefully as you will have to justify your choice.
2. Conduct further research into proverbs and their purpose. The teacher may wish to select a theme. Student to select one proverb important to them or one from their cultural background. As an ongoing task, allow students to read their proverb at the start of the lesson, explaining how it relates to the theme and why they chose it.

Writing Tasks

Conduct a range of writing tasks, such as empathy and predictive tasks. This will allow students to focus on purpose, audience, structure, description, as well as emotive language. Use the following writing prompts:

• a. Persuasive writing – Try to convince the wider public audience to watch the Alone Australia series.
• b. Journal entry – Using first person, write a response using emotive language describing the experience of being alone in the natural environment of New Zealand (Aotearoa’s Te Waipounamu) or Tasmania (lutruwita).
• c. Imaginative piece – Create an opening to a story that describes the sounds, smells, feelings and what you can see in Aotearoa’s Te Waipounamu or lutruwita.

Pitch

It is your job to write a short piece to attract the right participants for Alone Australia. Use the following SBS article Casting call: Alone Australia Season 2 as a model. You can either create your casting call piece as a video or a website.

Board Game Design

Design a survival board game or computer game based on the show Alone Australia. This will allow students the creativity to develop a survival narrative, how many players, rules, possible challenges or setbacks, ways to advance and succeed, and how to win the game. Students to write a proposal, outline the rules of the game, and present the game to the class. The final step (if a board game) is to create the game and allow students to play it.

English Years 9-10

Be a part of Alone Australia. Video log: How to survive school

1. Create your own video log in the style of Alone Australia on how to survive your first day or a typical day at school. Duration 1-2 minutes.
2. Brainstorm the essential skills or knowledge to survive at school, possible filming locations and equipment required.
3. Class develops a list of camera techniques used by Alone Australia participants. Students to use their phones (with permission from the school community) to replicate the film style of the Alone series, camera angles and language of the program. For example, use of handheld camera, the facts that appear on screen, use of maps, or listing how many participants are left.
4. Storyboard and plan your short film.
5. Film and edit. This activity is not how great a cinematographer you are, but about the thought put into creating meaning through filming and editing and understanding the Alone Australia format as a survival documentary.
6. Write a justification piece explaining the choices you have made and how they helped to achieve your purpose.
7. Show the class and share your videos. Teachers should consider which students may not want to complete this task and adjust accordingly so students can work in pairs or small groups.

Research Task

Research the theme ‘human versus nature’. What are the features of this theme? List some examples of literature over time that explores this theme. Why do you think this theme continues to be relevant to different cultures and societies today? This resource has used the term ‘human versus nature’ to be more inclusive, however, when researching you may notice the theme as man versus nature. There are some suggested links at the end of this resource.

HASS Years 4-8

History Year 4

Research the palawa from Tasmania (lutruwita). In your research you should try to locate reliable information on:

• The Country palawa live and language spoken
• The relationship palawa have with the land, sea, waterways and skies
• palawa cultures, laws, beliefs, customs and traditions
• In what ways did First Nations peoples respond to European colonisation in lutruwita?

You will need to examine a range of primary and secondary sources. The following sites may help you get started: with information on place names and a map (The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre), an education guide (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery), The Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies (University of Tasmania), Australia’s Defining moments (National Museum of Australia), The Colonisation of Hobart (ABC Education).

Geography Years 7-8

Each of these activities build towards the final project.

Brainstorm: Deepen students understanding of liveability. What criteria is required to make a place habitable? Students may want to think about water, shelter, safety and access.

Research Project: Unit 1 Landforms and Landscapes

Research Tasmania (lutruwita) regarding its geography, temperature, wind patterns and speed, average rainfall, waterways, and natural predators. Describe the cultural value of landscapes and landforms for people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. You may find the Bureau of Meteorology, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania sites a useful place to start. What might be some of the challenges the participants face in lutruwita? Create a table of the positives and negative attributes of having Tasmania as the site for Alone Australia Season 1.

Water Project: Unit 1 Water in the World

Alone Australia highlights the importance of water in daily life and as a commodity. Research the following:

• Water as a resource
• How it connects places and the environment
• Its quantity and variability in Australia
• Water scarcity
• Value of water for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

(Source: Year 7 Geography Water in the World)

Display your findings in the form of a presentation such as PowerPoint or Prezi. Ensure you use visuals to support your text and include citations for your images. Include a bibliography with the URL and only use reputable sites such as ones published by governmental or educational organisations. You may wish to use the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Parliament House or the National Geographic to start your research.

Group Project

You now have a strong understanding of geography of lutruwita. It is your job to plan your first 24-hours after being dropped onto your site of Alone Australia. You have seven more hours of daylight and a storm approaching. Construct a plan detailing your actions and the time taken to complete the tasks. Use the information you have learnt from your previous projects on landforms, landscapes and water to assist you.

Aspects for consideration:

• What site would be best to set up? Think about protection from the elements and proximity to important resources like water.
• List potential immediate dangers and how would you approach them. For example: rising water, rain, animals, falling trees or branches, hypothermia.
• Gathering food source/s.
• Collecting materials and designing a shelter, then constructing it.
• Locating dry firewood and making a fire, maintaining it for warmth, food and water preparation and safety.
• You can consult the participant gear list but only 10 items can be used.

Deliver your plans to the class in a three-to-four-minute presentation. You may use visuals and text to support your delivery.

For more ideas on how to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, watch below how Margate Primary School explores the impact of colonisation on the palawa for Year 3-4 students through HASS.

Health and Physical Education Years 9-10

Design a participant health preparation website

Develop a health guide website designed for Alone Australia participants in preparation for the show, as support for their physical and emotional wellbeing. Using the trailer to Alone Australia, identify areas of concern around health, safety and wellbeing, then develop a list of strategies to support these concerns. The site should include but is not limited to average intake of food for men and women, recommended water allowance, information on signs for hypothermia, dehydration and starvation and other possible health risks, and a range of ways to maintain one’s emotional wellbeing (especially when being alone).

Mathematics Years 5-6

Units of measurement

A range of tasks relating to units of measurement and conversion:

• Telling the time using AM and PM, then changing to 24 hr time and the other way round.
• Understand distances and area, then convert different units such as kms to metres (can include metric system).
• Measure and compare volume and lengths of items in different units (for example: what sized pot or drink bottle would you bring on Alone Australia?).

Shape and geometric reasoning

Group project: How would you build a shelter? In your project you should:

• Think of the strongest shapes and dimensions.
• What would be the most comfortable and practical? You will need to approximate the average height and size of an adult.
• What would your shelter need to protect you from?
• List the materials required and construction procedures.
• Include a detailed diagram labelled with accurate angles and measurements, including a scale.
• Provide annotations explaining the choices you made for materials, dimensions, shapes and angles.
• Make a final smaller scale model (you may wish to use paddle pop sticks or more readily available materials).

Science Years 6-9

Science Years 6-7

Class debate: Allow students to prioritise and debate what they would need to survive (physically and emotionally). Start with any objects or people, then keep reducing the parameters. Explore basic needs such as food and water extending on structural features to help with adaptation to survive in the physical environment.

Science Year 8

Body systems
Explore the impact of extreme conditions on different body systems and how this would affect an individual from Alone Australia. Choose one of the body systems (respiratory, muscular, circulatory, digestive, immune) and how one of the following conditions would impact your chosen system: extreme heat or cold, starvation or dehydration. Your report should include diagrams and explanations of how the condition would impact your chosen body system.

Science Year 9

Biomes in Australia
Research the different biomes in Australia, especially the site chosen in Tasmania (lutruwita) for Alone Australia, Season 1. Unpack the ecosystem, resources, geological features of lutruwita; explore the impact of humans on the environment, citing any adaptations. Choose one of the areas you have researched above, create an infographic to explain your understanding of the topic. When conducting your research use reputable sites, such as government, scientific or educational organisations using edu or gov in the URL.

Science Years 9-10

Experiments
These experiments will extend your science inquiry skills. Students to create their own inquiry question to investigate, relating to the following Alone Australia topics:

• Sanitation and purifying water (for example: boiling temperature of water or filtration methods)
• Conduction and transfer of heat (for example: body heat loss, hypothermia, cooking, and shelter construction)
• Flammables, fuel and fire starting (for example: bushfires, fire management)

In your investigation you will need to include the following information:

1. Inquiry question
2. Hypothesis
3. Plan for the experiment
4. Qualitative and quantitative data collection (advantages and disadvantages)
5. List materials and equipment
6. Diagram of set up
7. Method (including risks and how you will ensure this is completed safely)
8. Results
9. Conclusion/s

Extension discussion topics designed for students to move beyond the text

• One of the major themes in both seasons is about respecting the environment. How would you go about respecting the environment and reducing your impact on the planet?
• In what ways do First Nations peoples successfully work, live, survive in harmony with Country and what can we learn from these practices?
• What ethical considerations do you think the production company of Alone Australia had to manage in making this documentary series and why?
• What do you think is the purpose of the television series? Has it been achieved?
• After watching the series, what do you think is the most important attribute to survive?
• What could you do to get more in touch with nature?
• How would you go about reducing your impact on the environment?

Whole School Projects

School Nature Project

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Country is more than Land or place, although Country can include these.

Everyone can learn so much from deep observation of the natural environment and from the Traditional Custodians who have preserved the lands, waterways and skies since time immemorial. This school challenge focuses on observing and respecting Country through our senses and taking time to listen to the world around us. What can we learn from our natural landscape and how can this help us to appreciate and preserve it?

This challenge will require students to be outside in the school playground looking for wildlife and plants which are indigenous to Australia. This project encourages quiet observation and should be completed with student safety and risk assessment as a consideration.

Brainstorm

1. Create a list of plants indigenous to Australia.
2. Add to the list by asking students, what animals are only found in Australia?
3. On these lists, how many students have seen these animals in their natural habitat? Why do you think this is the case?

Research

When using information online you should only use reputable sites, such as government, scientific or educational organisations using edu or gov in the URL.

1. Which of the following plants and wildlife are local to your school’s area?
2. Do these plants or animals have another name for First Nations peoples?
3. Outline the importance or functions these plants or animals have to First Nations communities. For example: are they bushfoods, used for bushcrafts or bush medicine? (You may wish to but are not limited using the Australian National Botanical Gardens which has a comprehensive list for Aboriginal plant uses.)
4. What Country is your school located? (use AIATSIS Whose Country am I on? and the SBS Learn Protocols Guide for Teachers for best practice on identifying Traditional Custodians).
5. What First Languages are spoken in your school’s area? You may wish to visit the AIATSIS Austlang site. If you are unable to find the First Languages spoken in your area, your class can try investigating this further. Engage with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community through organisations such as Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) or Local Aboriginal Land Councils. It is important to connect with community members with appropriate cultural authority to arrange a visit to the school, facilitate learning and share language and knowledges about, culture and Country. Please visit the SBS Learn Protocols Guide for Teachers for further information. This could also provide learning opportunities to discuss the importance of preserving languages and cultures, and through learning some Aboriginal words or phrases of the Country where your school is located.

Outdoor Learning

1. With guidance facilitated by Aboriginal community members, walk around your school grounds, taking the time to quietly observe the natural environment by listening, looking, smelling, and touching (in a safe way, ensure students are being respectful to one another and the environment and any allergies, asthma or hay fever are considered).
2. Students form a Yarning Circle, a collaborative way of communicating where student-to-student interactions are promoted. If you have never used a Yarning Circle click here on how to implement one in your classroom. Students share how the experience made them feel. What did they notice when they were not talking and just focusing on their senses? What did they see, smell, hear and touch? Share whether there was a particular sense they used the most and why? Could we try and rely on some other senses more in daily life? What benefits might this bring?
3. Now the nature challenge requires students to use a device to photograph and video different indigenous plants or wildlife in the school. Ensure this complies with your school’s BYOD policy.

Step 1 – Record ONE natural soundscape.
Step 2 – Photograph TWO native plants (bonus: if you can find a native animal, include that in your challenge entry).
Step 3 – Did you know the _________________ [insert plant or animal name] is important to First Nations peoples of Australia because_______________________________.
Step 4 – Name the Country your school is located and label the plant or animal in your recording and photographs.

Can the students quietly record a native stingless bee or a galah, the wind rustling the leaves of a Coolabah tree or take a close up shot of a waratah, or even locate a large green cone high up in a Bunya pine tree.

Bringing The ‘School Nature Challenge’ Together

1. As a class, students need to collate a collection of images and recordings of nature, including native plants and wildlife with the descriptions of their images and videos.
2. Teacher to email sbslearn@sbs.com.au under the title ‘School Nature Challenge’ with Steps 1-4 including photographs and recordings of the indigenous plants and wildlife with descriptions. *These images will be shared on the SBS Learn website and as such there should be no faces of students or teachers in the photographs or videos.
3. Students can present their findings to the class on what they have learnt about these plants and wildlife, and their importance to First Nations peoples.

Extension Activity

Create a poster to be placed around the school based on an indigenous plant or animal found in your school. This poster should be informative and engaging for other students to learn about their natural school environment. Include an image and information about the species such as its Aboriginal name, uses and importance to First Nations peoples.

Reflections

1. What did you enjoy most about this activity and why?
2. What skills did you gain from learning on Country and how can you adopt what you have learnt in your daily life?

Form an environment club

A club can be a great way to make new friends with similar goals and interests. Your school may already have one to join or there could be a growing need in your school community. Some aspects to consider:

1. With the support of a teacher and school community, develop a team and proposal outlining what you would like to achieve.
2. Allocate roles within the team and set regular meetings.
3. Create plans or a project calendar outlining what you would like to work on. This could start by identifying an issue to address, the desired outcome, how to measure and track your progress, and when you would like to complete your goal.
4. You could also connect with your local council or surrounding schools to collaborate.

Create a sensory garden or experience

Try to make it part of your practice to have brain breaks where students can stretch their legs and take a walk, reflect on what they can see, smell, hear and feel, to break up the lesson. Or provide a list of items from the natural environment for the students to locate and observe.

Plant a native garden

Contact your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisation to locate appropriate Elders or knowledge-holders who can come to your school and assist in planning a native garden. If possible, try to engage with First Nations businesses that specialise in creating native gardens in your area.  What bush foods and plants would best suit your school’s climate and soil? You will also need to think about the best site on the school, with permission and consultation from your school leaders and community. Your local council may also offer some helpful information in planning and implementing a native garden.

The post Alone Australia: Learning about Country appeared first on SBS Learn.

This SBS Learn teacher resource was created as an introduction to the significance of Ramadan and Eid celebrations for Muslim communities around the world; and can be used alongside the Celebrating Eid materials. These resources are aligned with the Australian Curriculum and free to print and download, providing educators with a range of activities for primary and secondary students.

This teacher resource for Ramadan and Eid includes:

• Visually engaging infographics suitable for classroom displays
• Placemat activity to better understand complex information
• Flip book research task for student-led learning
• Colouring in activities

This resource reflects the insights of the staff, supporters and community of the Islamic Museum of Australia in celebration of the artistic and cultural heritage of Muslims in Australia and in Islamic societies abroad.

About the Islamic Museum of Australia

The Islamic Museum of Australia (IMA), the first Islamic museum in the country, showcases a wide range of Islamic arts. The museum is made up of five permanent galleries including: Islamic Faith, Islamic Contribution to Civilization, Islamic Art, Islamic Architecture and Australian Muslim History. The museum provides educational and cross-cultural experiences, encompassing the cultural heritage of Muslims in Australia and Islamic societies across the world. SBS and the IMA are proud to work on education projects together, and to celebrate culture and community with Australian schools.

Meet the author

Kym Wilton National Education Manager Islamic Museum of Australia (IMA)

Kym is the National Education Manager at the Islamic Museum of Australia. Prior to this appointment in September 2021, Kym was an AITSL certified Highly Accomplished Teacher with over ten years teaching experience in Victoria, the Northern Territory and the United Kingdom. Kym has a passion for inclusive education that allows every student to access their full potential.

Kym holds a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations) from Deakin University and a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) from Monash University – both with distinctions. She has presented at a number of different education conferences on engagement and differentiation strategies. She has also contributed to several newspapers and journals on the values of connecting and understanding Australia’s uniquely diverse history.

Understanding Ramadan and Eid

Primary School Resources

Secondary School Resource

The post Understanding Ramadan and Eid appeared first on SBS Learn.

This SBS Learn teacher resource was created as the main teacher resource for Lunar New Year, to be used alongside the current year’s teacher resource for Lunar New Year. It provides educators with a range of activities for primary and secondary students. The separate year-specific Lunar New Year resources provide annual zodiac-focused classroom activities, and can be found searching on SBS Learn. This lesson plan is aligned with the Australian Curriculum and is free to print and download for all educators.

This teacher resource for Lunar New Year is organised into four different areas with activities, worksheets and videos:

• Introduction to Lunar New Year
• Zodiac animals and what they represent 
• Happy Lunar New Year!: Making lucky envelopes 
• Creating your own recipe book 

Lunar New Year is an important time of year for many people in Australia from many different Asian communities. It has a long and rich history, and this resource allows teachers and students to gain a deeper understanding of its importance to many people in Australia and across the world. Through this resource, a stronger understanding of Asian culture will allow a deeper connection to the diverse customs and traditions in our schools and communities.

Lunar New Year in China: Years 4-7

In many cultures, there is much excitement surrounding an important festival especially one that is celebrated over several days. Chunyun, also known as the Spring Festival travel rush, is when millions of people in China travel home to celebrate this important time. Lunar New Year has many important traditions to celebrate over a two-week period.

Please click here for a teacher resource worksheet on Lunar New Year in China which:

• Provides detail on different cultural practices and customs for Lunar New Year in the Chinese community
• Includes an activity where students can represent their understanding of celebrations around this festival as an infographic

Lunar New Year in Korea (Seollal): Years 4-7

Korean New Year also follows the lunar calendar and is therefore celebrated the same time as Vietnamese and Chinese communities. It is usually celebrated over 3 days and focuses on spending time with family, with many people returning home for this holiday.

Watch SBS Korean’s Learning Sebae video here:

Please click here for a teacher resource worksheet on Lunar New Year in Korea (Seollal) which:

• Explores the cultural traditions surrounding Seollal
• Includes a kite designing activity (a Korean custom to celebrate Lunar New Year)
• Contains an origami activity on making a bokjumeoni (a lucky pouch)

Zodiac animals and what they represent

Focus

• Deeper exploration of cultural beliefs relating to zodiac animals
• The importance of a birth year and its alignment to personality traits

Introduction to Zodiac Animals

Many of you may be familiar with your Western horoscope or star sign which foretells your future depending on when you were born. For example, you may be an Aries if you were born around March or April. Each star sign has qualities or traits relating to it. Did you know in Asia many countries believe the year you were born relates to an animal that represents your personality?

Activity: Introduction to Zodiac Animals

Discuss with the person next to you what animal best represents you (this can relate to your personality or physical features). If you enjoy sleeping you might say you are like sloth or if you are loyal, maybe a dog. You can provide suggestions to your partner if they cannot think of anything. If there is time, share with the class but rather than sharing the animal for yourself, you should discuss your partner’s animal and why they best represent that creature. This should help to develop active listening skills.

In 2023, the zodiac animal is the rabbit or the cat. Why are there two different animals? Many people celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, but you may not know that Vietnamese people celebrate the Year of the Cat. As you learn more about the zodiac you will be exposed to different variations; some sources or people may refer to the rat, or a mouse, an ox or buffalo, sheep or goat, and a pig or boar. Be mindful some cultures may refer to animals differently and they may be similar or even the same.

To gain a deeper understanding of the zodiac animals and its origins you can complete either of the following activities in the sections below.

Happy Lunar New Year! Making Lucky Envelopes: Years 3-10

Focus: Hopes for the Lunar New Year

• What are your hopes or wishes for the year?
• Why is it important to have goals for the future?
• Deeper understanding of the ways to celebrate Lunar new Year through a range of customs and traditions

Pre-discussion Questions

• When is your most celebrated holiday?
• What kind of celebrations occur?
• Why do you think there are so many celebrations around the new year? Why might people be feeling positive around this time?

Activity: ‘Lunar New Year: The Great Chase’ Viewing & Discussion

Watch

Discussion: ‘Lunar New Year: The Great Chase’ Questions

1. What do you notice about the act of giving? Why do people refuse the red packets of money?
2. How is this tradition of giving part of a cycle?
3. What do we learn about the cultural celebrations of many Chinese people for Lunar New Year?
4. Why do you think Nike would choose Lunar New Year as a cultural celebration to use in their advertisement?
5. Would you prefer money as a gift or a present? Explain.

Activity: Making Lucky Envelopes for Lunar New Year

Please click here for a teacher resource worksheet on Lucky Envelope Template which:

• Explores the cultural practice of giving during Lunar New Year.
• Allows students to unpack the concept of gratitude and reflect on their hopes and goals for the new year.
• Outlines instructions on how to construct a lucky envelope.

Extension Task: The Dos and Don’t of Lunar New Year

Read the following article ‘The Dos and Don’ts of Lunar New Year’ and complete the following table.

To complete this activity as a teacher resource worksheet click here. 

Further reading for Lunar New Year

• Learn more about the history of giving red envelopes from a Chinese perspective. 
• Nike ad celebrates Chinese Lunar New Year ‘Aunty gift tussle’.

Creating Your Own Lunar New Year Recipe Book or Video: Years 5-10

Lunar New Year Recipe Book/Video Pre-discussion Questions

Think/pair/share

1. What is your favourite celebration?

2. Are there any special meals or foods celebrated with this occasion?

3. Do you have a favourite dish from your cultural background?

Activity: Making a Lunar New Year Recipe Book/Video

For many people, our memories and the way we celebrate and come together is through food. For many cultures we have a special cake for our birthday, or for many Muslim people dates are eaten to break a fast. It is your job to write out a recipe of your favourite food from your own culture. If you cannot think of one, maybe ask some family members or choose a dish from a cuisine you enjoy.

Recipe video

Watch the following clip of Campsie Public School students making the traditional Korean dish gimbap.

Use this clip as an example to create a short instructional video on how to create your dish.

In your videos you will need to include:

• What you are making
• List of ingredients required
• Clear step by step instructions on how to make the recipe

*Note: you do not need to have amazing video editing skills it is more important to have clear and accurate instructions for a successful recipe!

With appropriate permissions, these videos will be a great way to share on your school website or socials fun and exciting ways to celebrate culture in the classroom!

Recipe book

For inspiration you may even want to watch this segment from the SBS program The Cook Up with Adam Liaw.

Use this as a format and watch the clip.

Use this Recipe teacher resource worksheet to complete the activity. The focus is to write a detailed procedure that is in chronological order. When listing ingredients, be specific with the timing (minutes), units of measurement and temperatures. If your family recipe uses a pinch or an estimation try to accurately provide a unit of measurement to be exact. In Australia, we use Celsius to measure temperature and the metric system such as mls, kilograms or grams to measure weight; or use teaspoons, tablespoons or cups to measure out quantities.

Lunar New Year Recipe Extension Tasks

1. Create a video of you following the recipe and cooking the dish. Ensure there is adequate and appropriate supervision if required. Your class may want to develop a website to make your cultural recipe book digital.

2. Research the history of your recipe and provide a short report including:

• The origins, when it was first created, country/culture
• Why you like this food
• Have you or your family made changes to this recipe? Explain

This research task could add a further dimension to the class recipe website.
3. “How food fosters a prosperous Lunar New Year”
Read this SBS article and complete the table below:

Further Reading Lunar New Year Recipes

• 30+ Lunar New Year recipes to bring you good fortune
• Cumquats are a well-preserved New Year tradition

The post Celebrate Lunar New Year appeared first on SBS Learn.

Primary school activities for 2024 Lunar New Year

Activity 1: Think/ Pair/ Share

• What is a dragon? 
• How do they look?  
• Where do you think they come from? 
• List some adjectives to describe dragons. 
• How would you describe a dragon to a person who has never seen one or heard of one before?  

The dragon is the 5^th animal in the Asian zodiac and is the only mythical creature. Dragons may be seen as a symbol for darkness but for others, especially in Asia, people believe the dragon to be associated with success, strength, good luck, power, and health. As a result, many people with Asian heritage try to have their child in the dragon zodiac year due to the positive traits it represents. (SBS News: Year of the Dragon ushered in)  

Watch the following clip, then discuss with your class what they have learnt about the significance of the year of the dragon.

Activity 2: 2024 Lunar New Year Colouring-In & Discussion

The above artwork was designed by Sydney-born Chinese-Vietnamese artist, Gina Tran.  

Discussion questions: 

• What do you recognise in the artwork? 
• What do you think is the story in this artwork? 
• Does this artwork tell us anything about what it means to be Australian?  

Explain to the class there are different elements in the image that represent different cultural groups who celebrate Lunar New Year.

Read this SBS article Celebrating the Lunar New Year with SBS’s unique dragon creative to deepen your understanding of the artwork.
Then click on the following 2024 Lunar New Year Colouring-In teacher resource to print for your class:    

Activity 3: 2024 Lunar New Year Find-a-word

Click on the following 2024 Lunar New Year Find-a-word teacher resource to print for your class:

Secondary school activities for 2024 Lunar New Year

The post 2024 Lunar New Year: Celebrate the Year of the Dragon appeared first on SBS Learn.

The four-part documentary series Rebel with A Cause celebrates four iconic and outstanding First Nations rebels – Senator Neville Bonner, poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, magistrate Pat O’Shane and media icon Tiga Bayles – who put everything on the line for change. 

Meet the author

Kyarna Cruse, image by Rachel Scholich

Kyarna Cruse is a Yuin woman from the far south coast of NSW with family ties to Gunaikurnai Country in the south and Gubbi Gubbi and Gureng Gureng Countries in the north. Growing up on Dharawal-speaking Country, Kyarna spent most of her time with family between Wollongong and Eden. She completed her secondary teaching degree in 2019, and now with a Master of Education under her belt, Kyarna undertakes consultative roles in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, employment and engagement in various industries. Kyarna is also an established singer/songwriter, performing around Adelaide, Sydney and the Illawarra.

Activity 1: Exploring identity through poetry

• Begin by discussing Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s quote, “I have a tongue that whiplashes the present generation of the Australian white.” What do students think she meant by this?
• Locate copies of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poems “We are Going” or “No More Boomerang”. In pairs or small groups, ask students to analyse one of the poems and discuss the themes of identity, culture, and activism in the poem.
• Encourage students to write their own poems that reflect their identity or experiences. This can be done individually or collaboratively, and they can draw inspiration from Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s use of poetic devices such as simile, allusion, and irony to convey her message.

Activity 2: Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s legacy

• The clip shows two of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s great-granddaughters speaking about their grandmother’s impact in their lives. Discuss the idea of generational connections and cultural preservation. What do students see as important in preserving their own cultural heritage?
• Discuss the significance of Oodgeroo Noonuccal changing her name from Kath Walker to her tribal name in 1987. What does this act symbolise, and how does it relate to reclaiming culture?
• Have students research and create a timeline of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s life, highlighting key events in her journey as an activist, poet, and First Nations rights advocate.

*Students should use a range of reliable sources from reputable links such as government or university pages. Or use the Further Resources section at the end of this page as a starting point.

Activity 3: Role of activism in social change

• Analyse the dialogue in the interview where Oodgeroo Noonuccal states, “I won’t hold you responsible for the past but I will hold you responsible for the present and the future.” Engage in a class discussion about the responsibilities of individuals and society in addressing historical injustices. Break down the statement by looking at the key components – the past, the present and the future. What are some of the ways society can address historical injustice? Think about policy reform, constitutional change, truth-telling and reconciliation, reparations, and restitution and how these can help to shape social change in the future.
• Discuss how art and expressions of art can be acts of activism and resistance, and how Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poetry was an act of resistance and helped to spur social change.

Discussion questions:

1. What do you think Oodgeroo Noonuccal meant when she referred to herself as “a rebel right from the beginning of my life”?
2. Why do you think it took Elizabeth Walker until she was about 13 to realise the importance of her great-grandmother’s work?
3. How do Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s words, “I am what my people want me to be,” reflect her sense of identity and purpose?
4. What role do you believe art and poetry play in advocating for social change and First Nations peoples’ rights?
5. How can individuals and society today take responsibility for addressing historical injustices while moving forward?

Extension activities:

1. Create a tribute: In groups, students create artistic tributes to Oodgeroo Noonuccal using various media such as visual art, music, or dance. Discuss how art can be a powerful way to convey important messages. Share with the class or organise a display in the school library or auditorium.
2. Research First Nations activists: Have students research other prominent First Nations activists and create profiles or presentations about their contributions to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and social justice in Australia. Discuss what an activist looks like – who can be an activist? Does activism have to look like protesting outside the steps of Parliament House? What forms does activism take?

Pre-viewing discussion questions:

• Do you believe education is important? Explain.
• What does the word assimilate mean?
• Why do some people believe assimilation can have negative impacts on identity?

Watch Clip 2 and complete the following activities.

Classroom activities:

Activity 1: Assimilation policy

• Discuss Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s father’s advice regarding the assimilation policy. What did he mean when he said, “The only way that you can get on in the world if you have black skin is to do something as good or better than the European”?
• Divide the class into small groups and provide them with information about the assimilation policy in Australia. Ask each group to create a timeline of key events related to this policy, highlighting its effects on First Nations and marginalised communities.
• Encourage students to share their findings and discuss the broader impact of assimilation on First Nations cultures.

Activity 2: The power of education

• Explore the idea of education as a means of empowerment. Discuss Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s father’s emphasis on learning. Ask students to reflect on the role of education in their lives and communities.
• Reflect on the importance of education in preserving and sharing cultural knowledge. Discuss how education can be empowering.

Activity 3: Preserving cultural values

• Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s father tells her, “You cannot go back to the way it used to be”. Explore the idea of preserving cultural values in today’s changing society. How does Oodgeroo Noonuccal preserve and reclaim her culture even though the old ways are gone? Think about the themes of her poetry and her decision to change her name from Kath Walker to Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Discussion questions:

1. How did Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s father’s advice reflect the challenges and opportunities presented by the policy of assimilation?
2. What role did education play in Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s life and her ability to advocate for First Nations rights?
3. Why is it important to preserve cultural identity, even in the face of external pressures to assimilate?
4. How can education be a tool for both individual empowerment and cultural preservation?

Extension activities:

1. Letter to future generations: Ask students to write a letter to future generations, expressing their hopes and aspirations for the preservation of First Nations cultures and the importance of education in achieving these goals. Look at this resource from First Languages for further context about the importance of language preservation and reclamation.

Watch Clip 3 and complete the following activities.

Classroom activities:

Activity 1: The impact of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poetry

• Listen to Oodgeroo Noonuccal reading her poem, ‘We Are Going’.
• Analyse the themes and messages conveyed in the poem, connecting it to the broader context of Aboriginal rights.
• In pairs or small groups, ask students to explore other works by Oodgeroo Noonuccal and identify recurring themes in her poetry.
• Encourage students to write their own poems or creative pieces that express their perspectives on representation and identity.

Activity 2: Advocacy and political change

• From the clip, list the role of Oodgeroo Noonuccal in the fight for Aboriginal rights. Discuss her activism, including the protests and her involvement in the 1967 Referendum campaign.
• Using the clip and further research, explore the impact of the 1967 Referendum on Australian society and discuss its legacy in shaping the relationship between First Nations and non-First Nations Australians. For further context look at this Right Wrongs resource created and produced by the ABC, NSLA and AIATSIS.

Activity 3: Representation today

• Discuss the concept of representation. What is it and why is it important?
• Discuss Elizabeth Walker’s quote about her great-grandmother – “when I saw that she was a poet and the first Aboriginal woman to be published, what that did for the way I saw myself and the way I saw who I could become because of who she was, was really empowering”. Brainstorm how it feels to see representations of ourselves on TV or in the media.
• In small groups, have students research and present on current issues related to the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the media, politics, and other areas.
• Facilitate a class discussion on the role of representation in fostering inclusivity and diversity in society.

Discussion questions:

1. How did Oodgeroo Noonuccal use poetry as a tool for advocacy?
2. Why was the 1967 Referendum considered a turning point in the fight for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights?
3. How did Oodgeroo Noonuccal contribute to the campaign for the referendum, and what impact did it have on Australian society?
4. In what ways do students think representation is important in society today, and what challenges exist in achieving genuine representation?
5. How can the lessons from Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s activism and the 1967 Referendum inform current discussions on representation and inclusivity in Australia?

Extension activities:

1. Create a multimedia presentation: Ask students to create a multimedia presentation (video, podcast, or infographic) that explores the life of Oodgeroo Noonuccal and the significance of the 1967 Referendum.
2. Interview with First Nations activists: If possible, arrange for a virtual or in-person interview or yarn with contemporary First Nations activists. Have students prepare questions in small groups to discuss the ongoing fight for representation and rights.
3. Deeper dive into constitutional change: Research and examine more recent discussions about constitutional change in Australia, particularly focusing on issues related to the recognition of First Nations peoples in the Australian constitution.

Pre-viewing discussion questions:

• Do you know the meaning of your name and why it was given to you?
• Would you ever want to change it? Why/why not?
• Have you heard of the term “Invasion Day”?
• Why would some people not want to celebrate “Australia Day”?

Watch Clip 4 and complete the following activities.

Classroom activities:

Activity 1: Exploring Bicentennial protests

• Begin with a class discussion on the significance of the Bicentennial protests and their connection to Aboriginal land rights. Use the quote, “While it was a big day for white Australia, it was a momentous one for the country’s original inhabitants.” Why was this protest so significant to Australian First Nations peoples?
• In small groups, ask students to research and present other key protests and events in Australian history. This can include speeches, artworks, or acts of activism that stand out.
• Encourage students to create a visual timeline digitally or physically highlighting key moments and the impact of the protests on public perception in Australia.

Activity 2: The role of artists in social change

• Discuss Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s statement, “It’s not the politicians that change the world for the better, it’s the artists.” Explore this idea in the context of historical and contemporary movements. Here are some resources to help:

• In pairs, have students research and present on Australian and international artists who have played significant roles in advocating for social change. Discuss the impact of various forms of art (visual art, literature, music) on public perception and policy.
• Encourage students to express their views on the role of art in activism through a creative project (For example, poetry, artwork, or a short performance).

Activity 3: Personal identity and naming

• Explore the significance of personal identity, focusing on Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s decision to change her name from Kath Walker to Oodgeroo Noonuccal. How was this an act of protest?
• Discuss the quote from Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s grandson: “And how she got that name, the Old People said to her, ‘Hey girl, you wrote all that stuff, you must be sister to the paperbark tree.'” How does connection to culture strengthen identity?
• In a reflective writing task, ask students to consider the importance of their own names and the stories or meanings behind them. Share and discuss these reflections in small groups or as a class.

Discussion questions:

1. How did Oodgeroo Noonuccal use her public platform to advocate for land rights during the Bicentennial protests?
2. Discuss the symbolism of Kath Walker changing her name to Oodgeroo Noonuccal. How does this reflect her connection to culture and identity?
3. Analyse the quote, “I’m hoping the Aboriginal people of Australia will reject the English name in protest of the last 200 years of sheer unadulterated humiliation and brutality.” How can naming become an act of resistance and reclamation of culture? Create a list as a class of names of places that have been reclaimed. For example, Ayres Rock/Uluru.
4. How can students, as young individuals, contribute to social change and activism in their communities?

Extension activities:

1. Symbolism of the paperbark tree: Thinking about the significance of the paperbark tree to the people of Moongalba (Stradbroke Island) and Oodgeroo Noonuccal specifically, have students research the cultural significance of landmarks or flora and fauna in your local area. Have students create artworks or short essays exploring the symbolism of these significant places/things, and how they are important to identity and belonging.
2. Debate on protest and naming: Organise a class debate on the effectiveness of protests and symbolic acts, such as returning awards or changing one’s name, in bringing about social change. Encourage students to research and present arguments for or against these actions.
3. Discussion about place names: Should we be calling places and cities by the names First Nations people used? Watch the following clip of Aunty Rhoda Roberts explaining the importance of First Nations’ place names and language revival to form your own argument.
4. Exploring contemporary activism: Research and discuss current First Nations Australian activists and artists who continue the legacy of Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Have students create profiles or presentations on these individuals and their contributions to social change.

Watch Clip 5 and complete the following activities.

Pre-viewing discussion questions:

• Is the past important?
• What is your understanding of First Nations people’s connection to Country?

Classroom activities:

Activity 1: Analysis of “The Past”

• Locate a copy of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem “The Past.”
• Begin with a close reading of the poem and discuss the themes of time, memory, and identity.
• In small groups, have students analyse specific lines from the poem that resonate with them. Encourage them to share their interpretations with the class.
• Discuss how Oodgeroo Noonuccal uses language and imagery to convey a sense of connection to the past.

Activity 2: Connection to culture

• Explore reasons why the filmmakers may have used the imagery in this clip along with Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s reading of her poem, “The Past”. How might this relate to reclaiming culture?
• We see images of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s descendants in the clip with ceremonial paint on their faces and bodies. Discuss the significance of ceremony in First Nations cultures in Australia, especially the use of ochre and smoke. Check out this resource from Deadly Story to learn more about ceremony.
• In pairs or individually, have students create their own artwork or written reflection expressing how they celebrate their own cultural identity or the cultural identities of others.

Activity 3: Nature and cultural connection

• Reflect on the images of nature in the clip and their connection to Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem.
• Discuss the importance of nature in First Nations cultures and how it is intertwined with cultural identity.
• Organise a nature walk or outdoor activity where students can connect with Country and reflect on their own sense of cultural connection. If possible, invite a local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander knowledge holder or Elder to speak about their connection to the local area.

Discussion questions:

1. How does Oodgeroo Noonuccal use language and imagery in “The Past” to convey a connection to the past?
2. Discuss the significance of ceremony in First Nations cultures. Think about Welcome to Country ceremonies and modern expressions of cultural dance such as Dance Rites. How do you think these things contribute to cultural connection and reclamation?
3. In what ways do the images of Oodgeroo Noonuccal ‘s descendants engaging in cultural practices resonate with the themes of the poem?
4. How does nature play a role in both Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem and the visual representations in the clip? What is its significance in First Nations cultures?
5. How can individuals, regardless of cultural background, connect to Country and nature?

Extension activities:

1. Creative writing:
   • Encourage students to write their own poem or story inspired by the themes of cultural reclamation and identity. Is there a way they can or do incorporate aspects of their own cultural heritage in their lives? Students can draw from Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s work and incorporate their own personal experiences.
2. Visual representation of identity
   • Invite students to create a visual representation (artwork, collage, or digital media) that reflects their understanding of personal identity, cultural heritage, and connection with nature.

Rebel with a Cause crew

Copyright

© 2023 Special Broadcasting Service Corporation Author: Kyarna Cruse. Title: Oodgeroo Noonuccal: Rebel Writer, SBS Learn.

Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

The post Oodgeroo Noonuccal: Rebel Writer appeared first on SBS Learn.

Welcome

Elders are beloved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Guides, carers, knowledge-holders, nurturers, custodians of what is sacred as well as bestowers of everyday acts of love. Declaring this year’s National NAIDOC Week theme For Our Elders is itself an act of love. This theme gives First Nations communities another platform to be vocal in our adoration for our Elders and their unique role in carrying forward the oldest living culture on the planet. For Our Elders is also a call to all Australians to deepen their understanding of what it means to be a First Nations Elder. This is an opportunity to respectfully connect with Elders, learn treasured stories and appreciate legacies of activism and advocacy. Teachers – use this resource carefully and consciously as you facilitate learning experiences drawing on wisdom shared by so many Elders, community members and knowledge holders. Young people – this theme is a gift for you. Listen and learn with your hearts open, and relish having this resource in your classrooms. Happy National NAIDOC Week 2023.

Rhoda Roberts AO 
Widjabul Wia-bal woman from the Bundjalung Nation.
SBS’s inaugural Elder in Residence.

A proud Widjabul Wia-bal woman from the Bundjalung Nation, actor, director and arts executive Rhoda Roberts AO is also SBS’s inaugural Elder in Residence. SBS’s Elder in Residence program recognises the integral role Elders fulfill within First Nations communities. 

About the Author of Celebrate NAIDOC: For Our Elders

Shelley Ware, a proud Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman

Shelley has been a classroom, specialist reading, and art teacher in primary schools for 25 years, based in Melbourne. She has her own education consultancy to help educate teachers and inspire them to confidently embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures into everyday curriculum. Shelley is an ambassador for The Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s Create Initiative program, mentoring children from remote communities to write and publish their own books and incorporate their local Indigenous language. An Ambassador for the Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health Week, she sits on the boards of Indigenous education foundation Opening The Doors and the Victorian Institute of Sport. She serves as the chairperson on Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) advisory committees for Banyule City Council and Carlton Football Club. Shelley loves to give back to the community through her passion for helping people — particularly children — to be the best they can. She is a member of the all-female sports podcast Outer Sanctum and writes a regular AFL column for the Koori Mail.

About SBS and NITV's National NAIDOC Week 2023 artwork

About the artist

Jeremy Worrall (Wright), a proud Ngarabal/Gomeroi man

Jeremy was born in Sydney. His family is from the Tenterfield area, Emmaville, Strathbogie Station (NSW). Jeremy works in multimedia with a focus on digital painting and animation, having spent his career bringing his cultural knowledge to canvas, and watching it intersect with the modern world he grew up in. Jeremy’s goal is to be a part of maintaining, protecting and creating culture. He hopes to one day create art pieces as a full-time passion and to share his skills with the younger generation. Jeremy has created a children’s book which will come out this NAIDOC Week. If you would like to see more of Jeremy’s work, visit his Instagram: @lord_jorrall

Artist statement

This artwork is a dedication to my Elders, my Uncles who teach me lore, my Aunties and Mother who teach me stories and painting, and my Grandmother; the Matriarch of my family who watches over us. She is with the wind and in the soil, in the flowers and in the birds, she is a Koala, a waratah, a blue gum, my Mother’s mum and her Mother’s Daughter. The flowers represent mine and their ancestors; eternally apart of the country giving life and moving within the circle of it. The top linework are those who are physically with us today; leading the charge, pushing us forward and holding us close. They keep us honest, brave and alive. They contribute and maintain our Culture and family traditions. Our traditions are represented in the middle of the work, an incomplete circle which grows a ring with every story learnt, every story written. It is their lives and mine and overtime it will be completed. The yellow in between is our shared stories, song lines and culture that we live off.

Using this Teacher Resource

Guidance for using this resource

Key notes for educators:

• The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, First Nations and Indigenous are used respectfully and interchangeably throughout this document when referring to First Nations peoples of Australia. These terms are used to respectfully encompass the diversity of cultures, identities, and preferences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• While many older people are highly regarded in the community, Elders for First Nations peoples has a specific meaning. In this resource Elders is capitalised when referring to First Nations peoples who are knowledge holders and highly respected in the community. When referring to non-Indigenous elders, a lower-case e is used.
• When inviting Elders into your school community, ask how they would like to be addressed by non-Indigenous people. They may prefer to be called Ms or Mr rather than “Aunty” or “Uncle”.
• When using the Reading sections for each Year group, try to engage with books and language from the Country you are on.

Introduction

Teachers – this is your National NAIDOC Week 2023 teacher resource. It is a resource for all Australian schools. It will help embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, knowledges and histories in your teaching and learning. Though NAIDOC Week is celebrated for one week each year, the teaching and learning opportunities in this resource are applicable year-round. SBS strongly recommends schools connect with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, Traditional Owners, Elders, Land Councils, and other Indigenous community organisations. Click here for a list to help you. It is worth noting NAIDOC Week is one of the busiest calendar events for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ and that your respectful, timely communication with organisations and people is crucial.

Building meaningful relationships with your First Nations’ community is extremely important. With support from the school, First Nations’ community members should be supported in their time and sharing of knowledge. It’s important the relationship is mutually beneficial for both the school community and the First Nations community, but you should also be mindful that someone may not feel comfortable with what is being asked of them by the school.

The teacher’s role

The teacher does not always need to be the knowledge-holder when it comes to First Nations knowledges. In fact, the teacher’s role is to facilitate the lesson using the content provided by First Nations peoples.

Here are some key points:

• Following this approach is an effective way to run classroom sessions suggested in this resource, so the students drive the learning.
• If this is a new way of running a learning opportunity, it might feel strange to begin with, but stick with it!
• Having your students drive the learning is a powerful way to engage students and let them demonstrate their knowledge.
• The teacher’s role is also to make sure that everyone is respectful to each other, and that everyone who wants to contribute constructively can be heard.

Where possible, invite Traditional Owners, Elders and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members to talk about the NAIDOC Week theme. This gives students the opportunity to understand the concept, value, and power of Oral traditions. It also provides students with multiple perspectives on this topic. There are also classroom protocol guides when teaching, noted below.

Classroom protocols

Before you start, please read the SBS Learn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protocols Guide for Teachers. In this, authors Jarin Baigent and Shiralee Lawson (with guidance from Aunty Norma Ingram) take teachers through essential steps to a safe, respectful learning environment for all students. Align these with existing school policies and practices to bolster mutual respect, equity of dialogue and empathic communication amongst your students. Schools should also liaise with their state or territory education department to see if they can contact an Aboriginal educator on staff.

It is essential to carefully consider the integrity of references used in class.

Prompt students to examine the sources of their prior learning and to seek new knowledge through reputable sources. Triangulate information using trusted sites such as AIATSIS, Reconciliation Australia, Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education, and NITV/SBS. Teachers should also consider using local resources where appropriate.

Content protocols

Diagram: A Model of Social and Emotional Wellbeing
This diagram is from Chapter 4: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing (Gee et al) in the book Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental  Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (2nd Ed). It is republished here with permission. 

Explore Aboriginal ways of learning and working, such as interconnectivity and holistic thinking (rather than considering concepts in isolation). The diagram describes how the context of the learner and the substance of what is being learnt are interconnected.

Consider organising a professional development session through a First Nations provider to help embed cultural competence. Scroll down to the ‘Keep Going!’ section for helpful ways to get this going. Investing in this professional development can help embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, histories and cultures year-round, and build confidence in teaching staff.

The 2023 National NAIDOC Week Poster Competition winner

Bobbi Lockyer, a proud Ngarluma, Kariyarra, Nyulnyul and Yawuru artist, born and based on Kariyarra Country in Port Hedland, is the winner of the prestigious National NAIDOC Week Poster Competition for 2023 with her entry, For Our Elders.

Where there is knowledge, there are our Elders. Our Elders paved the pathways for us, taught us our knowledge, our history, they passed down their art, stories and wisdom. Our Elders are the foundation of our communities and role models for our children. With this poster, I wanted to showcase how important our Elders are in passing down traditions and culture to our children and future.

Bobbi Lockyer

To learn more about Bobbi Lockyer and her artwork, visit her website.

Official posters are available on the NAIDOC Week website.

Early Childhood

We know many early childhood educators use this resource to plan their NAIDOC Week celebrations, so here are some suggestions for younger learners:

• Contact your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to connect with Elders who can visit your school and run sessions relating to each year’s NAIDOC theme.
• Educators can ask Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents for sound foundation readers for
•  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their care.
• There are lots of picture books in this resource that early childhood learners will enjoy.
• Dedicate a daily session to watching television programs from National Indigenous Television (NITV, part of the SBS family). For example, you can watch selected episodes below to celebrate NAIDOC and this year’s theme For Our Elders.

Whole school activity ideas:

• Start a NAIDOC Committee to create plans for the whole school events
• Invite a First Nations community member to speak at the whole school assembly about this year’s NAIDOC theme For Our Elders
• In what ways can each class embed the theme For Our Elders in the classroom to celebrate the importance of First Nations peoples?
• How else could you celebrate NAIDOC 2023: For Our Elders?
• How will you and the school community celebrate First Nations perspectives beyond NAIDOC Week?

Activities

Watch Award-winning animation Little J & Big Cuz each day for the duration of NAIDOC Week (and beyond – there are three seasons so far!) Episodes are 12-minutes long and translated into Aboriginal languages Pintinjarra, Arrernte, Wiradjuri, Yawuru, palawa kani, Ngukurr Kriol, Kunwinjku, Noongar, Torres Strait Creole, Warlpiri and Djambarrpuyngu.

1) S3 Ep 4 Parade: The kids worry that the NAIDOC beach parade will be a disaster if they’re unable to march to the same beat.

Questions:

• How does the class celebrate NAIDOC Week?
• How could your class celebrate NAIDOC Week?

2) S3 Ep 11 Treasure Hunters: Little J and Levi come across some treasure, but Big Cuz may have lost Nanna’s treasure forever and the others can’t find it.

Questions:

• What is something special to you? Is it someone or something?
• Why is it so special?

3) S1 Ep 4 Right under your nose: A beach day leads to a hunt for special items before it grows dark with Nanna joining the boys on the adventure.

Question:

• What do Little J and Big Cuz learn from Nanna?

4) S1 Ep 5 Goanna ate my homework: Little J tries to hunt for bush tucker and confuses himself when he follows his own tracks, leading him to become lost in the bush.

Questions:

• What is bush tucker?
• What animals does Little J see when tracking?
• What bush tucker does Little J collect?

5) S1 Ep 6 Big plans: Little J decides to make up his own adventures when the other kids won’t let him play with them. He has the whole backyard and his imagination to rely on, so, of course, nothing can go wrong.

Questions:

• What does Nanna tell Little J to do when no one will play with him?
• What does Little J learn?

Click here for more ideas or resources on Little J & Big Cuz.

Aussie Bush Tales are stories based on Aussie Gumnuts children’s e-books. The episodes are nine-minutes long and explore a group of Indigenous children from the Australian bush.

6) S1 Ep 3 Go Bungarra Go: The boys are sent to catch a Bungarra for the Elder Moort when he becomes hungry. Instead, they stumble upon a camel who is stuck.

Questions:

• What animals could you see?
• Why couldn’t the boys catch the Bungarra?
• Who was old and wise?

Waabiny time means “playing time” in Noongar culture. The 26-minute-long episodes explore learning and language in Australia for young kids.

7) S1 Ep 10 Celebrate: The Waabiny Time band shows how much fun it can be to celebrate; Kylie explains the importance of NAIDOC Week and shows some of the many families celebrating
the occasion.

Activities:

• What new words did you learn?
• Write them down and say them together.
• Were they in English or Noongar?

Foundation

Key questions

• What does it mean to be a First Nations Elder?
• What makes someone a First Nations Elder?
• Are all older people Elders?
• Do you know any Elders?
• How might an elder in your community differ from one in a First Nation’s community?
• Do you have local Elders who are connected to your school?

Knowledges and cultures are intentionally pluralised to reflect the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations, Places, languages, traditions and peoples.

Activities

Understanding what makes a person a First Nation’s Elder is very important. Sit in a yarning circle and ask your students: What is an Elder? What makes someone an Elder? Do you know any Elders? Your students may have some very insightful conversations, or they may just be learning this for the first time: help the conversation along with information from this webpage on Aboriginal Eldership.

Show students photos of First Nations Elders from your local community, or of Elders of national significance, and talk about their stories sharing why they are such important people. There are many different First Nations Elders photographs throughout this For Our Elders resource to show your students if required. Guide them to understand what makes a First Nation Elder and why they are important. Create a class book about their thoughts and reflections on these wonderful Elders.

Who are the First Nations Elders in your local community? If you need help use the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia to help you learn what Country your school is on. Invite local Elders to your classroom or school to talk about this year’s NAIDOC theme For Our Elders and what it means to them. Make sure you look after them, they are precious to communities, and when you build a strong relationship, they will become precious to your school too. You may even like to have a special morning tea for them as well.

Read Our Dreaming by Gunai author Kirli Saunders OAM and Dub Leffler (Scholastic Australia, 2022) a stunning story about protecting Mother Earth told through the eyes of a mother and baby echidna. This story pays tribute to the knowledges Elders pass on to us while keeping our Dreaming alive. Gundungurra /Gandanguurra language is intertwined in the story for your students to learn with a pronunciation guide at the back of the book. Invite a local Elder or respected community member to share one of the local First Nations Dreaming stories. If this is not possible, sit in a yarning circle and ask your students what they learnt and felt while listening to Our Dreaming. Create a display in your class in any art medium to reflect what your class felt and learnt from your Elder’s visit or reading time.

Reading

Main Abija My Grandad by Karen Rogers (Allen and Unwin Children’s, 2021) is a book of memories from the author’s childhood. She was raised by her Grandad who kept her strong in connection to her Country and culture. Now as a grandmother, Aunty Karen passes down this knowledge to her family. Written in Northern Territory Kriol and English, it is a beautiful celebration of their relationship and how culture is passed down to future generations. Use the QR code at the back of the book to listen to Aunty Karen reading this book in Northern Territory Kriol and English. Do the students have a special grandparent or older person they have learnt something from and will pass onto the next generations too? Create a special tribute wall showcasing these learnings they cherish. For First Nations Elders, use a capital E as a mark of respect for this specific meaning and role.

Elders has specific meaning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is not only about age.

Country Tells Us When… Yawuru Edition written and illustrated by Tsheena Cooper, Mary Dann, Dalisa Pigram-Ross and Sheree Ford (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2023) is a beautiful book where an Elder teaches the next generation knowledges and cultures as she walks through the six seasons of the Yawuru people. Research or invite an Elder in to teach your students the First Nations seasons of your local First Nations peoples. Create your own class book about what students have learnt or your own First Nations season calendar to share with others.

Jonni Plays Netball by Bardi/Noongar author Helen Ockerby (Library For All, 2022) is a story about Jonni who plays in a netball carnival in Derby. The team doesn’t win and Jonni calls her Poppa to talk through her feelings, exploring the importance of connection and kinship for First Nations peoples. Sit in a yarning circle and yarn about who students talk to when they need share their feelings and how this person helps them feel better.

Extension Activities

Your students may have a precious Elder or older person in their family or community they would like to discuss with the class. Ask students to bring a photo of them and share their story with the class about why they are important to them. As a class you may even be fortunate to have one of these special people offer to come to the class and share their story or pass on a cultural activity with the students. While Elders have specific community and cultural roles in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, it is still crucial for young people to connect with and celebrate their elders from their own networks.

In year groups, create a whole-school collaborative art or visual piece on your school fence that says, “For Our Elders“.This is a way of recognising the Elders in your community you have never met but want to acknowledge. Contact your local newspaper and ask them to write a story about your National NAIDOC Week fence display so the Elders in your community know they are respected, and you are grateful for them.

Useful Resources

• ACECQA | Engaging with Aboriginal Communities – Where do we start?
• AIATSIS | Our Land, Our Stories
• CSIRO | About the Indigenous seasonal calendars
• Emerging Minds Podcast | Using Elders’ wisdom to guide your practice
• Kirli Saunders | Resources for teachers
• Main Abija – My Grandad: a new bilingual book from Ngukurr released today!
• SBS NITV Radio | MAIN ABIJA – MY GRANDAD book out now
• SBS NITV | What role does an Elder have in Indigenous Communities?
• SNAICC | Basket weaving activity sheet
• Wingaru | Dreaming Stories as a Teaching Tool

Reading

G is for gugunyal: A Dhurga alphabet book: by Leanne Brooke (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2022)

Years 1 and 2

Key Questions

• What is respect?
• How do you show respect to Elders?
• Why is it important for First Nations peoples to respect their Elders?
• What have you been taught about showing respect to other people, including older people?
• Why should all Australians respect First Nations Elders?

Activities

As a class, start the day appreciating and respecting the Country where your students live, learn and play. Sit out on Country with your students and talk about why it’s important to respect Country and Elders past and present who have cared for the Lands, Skies and Waterways.

Students can enjoy Country by observing the sounds, smells and sensations when being outside. Acknowledging Country is an important way to respect and honour Traditional Custodians. Students can write their own Acknowledgement of Country which can be different every day. As students become more comfortable, they will be able to share an Acknowledgement of Country from the heart.

Ask your students what respecting First Nations Elders means to their family. Ask your students what respecting First Nations Elders means to their family. They can write down their own understanding of how respecting First Nations Elders might look, and talk to their family/ carer about what it means in the community. Ask their parents/carers to write this down in a short paragraph, so the children can bring it into school to share with the class. Then make a poster placing a drawing or painting that represents the words written by both child and parents/carer. People who walk into your classroom can learn why and how Elders are respected in your community. You may even choose to share some on your school website or in your school newsletter.

Schools should liaise with their state or territory education department to see if they can contact an Aboriginal educator on staff. Contact a local First Nations organisation and arrange to visit some Elders (or for Elders to visit your school). As a class you could prepare a song in your local language to sing to them or sing one of the many songs that are throughout this NAIDOC For Our Elders resource. Take some time to sit and yarn about each other’s lives together and get to know each other, or you may even share some food together. Use the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protocols Guide and discuss with the class the importance of respectful conversations and behaviours. After this visit, draw or paint a card or picture for the Elders. Send it to them to say thank you for sharing their time and stories with you. Boon Wurrung Elder N’arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs AM shared a story Barraeemal Story (Balnarring Pre-School, 2020) with the Balnarring Pre-School community and together they created a book. Read the picture book to your class and be inspired by this collaboration to create a picture book of your own. Ask the local Elder that visits your school in celebration of this year’s NAIDOC theme For Our Elders about creating a picture book based on then stories they have shared with you.

Teacher note: Make sure you discuss whether the collaboration of the picture book is culturally appropriate with the local Elder. Teachers should also ask Elders how they would like to be addressed by non-Indigenous people as they may prefer to be called Ms or Mr, rather than “Aunty” or “Uncle”.

Reading

Read the book Tudei en longtaim (Now and Then) by Stella Raymond (Pan Macmillan
Australia, 2021) to your students, a book written in Northern Territory Kriol and English. To help you with the correct pronunciation, use the QR code on the back of the book. Learn some Northern Territory Kriol with your students and follow along with author Stella, as she compares how life is lived now to how her Elders lived. A common misconception is that First Nations cultural practices only existed in the past. In this book, Stella points out many traditions still practised
today, sometimes just in a different way. She pays respect to her Elders who have taught her some of the traditional ways she continues to practise. Ask your students to share different cultural customs they know their elders or ancestors practised, but are slightly different today. If they are unsure, students should go home and ask their parents/carers to share with them. These can be discussed in a yarning circle the next day.

Many of us know what it is like to save up for something expensive, an item that makes us feel special and deadly. My Deadly Boots by Jaru/Kija man Carl Merrison, and Hakea Hustler and Samantha Campbell (Hachette Australia, 2022) show us even though things make us feel deadly, they aren’t what make us deadly. The wisdom shared by the main character’s grandfather is that his identity is more than what we wear. This book also explores some of the stereotypes people have about First Nations peoples and is a perfect way to get into a conversation about self-checking our own perception of stereotypes. Read My Deadly Boots and ask students to share the lessons learnt from the story in a yarning circle. What makes the students feel “deadly”?

The word deadly is used by First Nations peoples as a term of praise and respect. If something is deadly, it’s cool or impressive.

Read Bundjalung author Dr Brownyn Bancroft’s book Remembering Lionsville (Allen and Unwin Children’s, 2016) as she reflects on life growing up sitting around a red cedar table listening to the old people’s stories and oral history of her people. This story encourages us to write down stories  of Elders and of older people in our lives, and to take pride in their life story. Encourage your students to capture a story in a drawing, voice memo or written story they can share with the class about a special older person from their life. Create a display for others to learn their stories too.

Extension Activities

Read through the following article Connecting to culture: here’s what happened when Elders gifted totemic species to school kids where students from Carlton North Public School planted an Indigenous garden with the guidance of Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Dave Wandin. He gifted his totemic species the matted flax-lily (Dianella amoena) to the students, so they could create the correct environment for the plant to flourish and grow. While learning and connecting to First Nations cultures, they also play a part in conserving our precious biodiversity and how to use the plants to eat and drink! Discuss with your class what they learnt from the article and how as individuals, a class, and school community they can respect Country and the knowledges of Elders.

These recipes may not be appropriate for every area. Teachers are encouraged to speak with local Elders or First Nation community members for a recipe they might like to share with the class to make it more personal and localised.

Food is an important part of First Nations cultures; it connects community and generations. Traditions around food are passed down from Elders to the next generation to keep these a part of everyday life. Share the Torres Strait Islander recipes from SBS Food with your families or even cook a dish with your class.

Useful Resources

Websites

• AIATSIS | Languages alive
• Australian National Botanic Gardens | Aboriginal Plant Use
• Reconciliation Australia | Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country
• Respect.gov.au | Resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• SBS Food | Mabu Mabu cookbook by Nornie Bero: How to cook with Indigenous ingredients at home
• NITV Radio | New generations work to keep Indigenous languages alive
• Sustainable Gardening Australia | Indigenous Plants
• The Conversation | The terrifying power of stereotypes – and how to deal with them

Years 3 and 4

Key Questions

• Why is it important for First Nations peoples to listen to their Elders?
• Are there any cultural protocols in your local area you need to know about when talking to an Elder?
• How would you learn these protocols – who would you ask?
• How can we share Elders’ knowledge and wisdom?

Activities

Dadirri can be translated to deep inner listening and quiet still awareness. Listen to Country and the words of Elder Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann AM from Nauiya (Daly River) as she shares her knowledges of dadirri. Play this video of Dadirri and ask your class to close their eyes or bow their heads as they listen.

As a class, ask your students to share how they felt during and after practising dadirri. Ask your students what they learnt by listening to Dr Miriam-Rose and why it is important to listen to Elders. You may choose to start or end your lessons with dadirri and make it a regular practice in your class.

Explore the Australian Museum Sydney Elders Exhibition which includes a range of
photographed portraits of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders. Ask the students to bring in a photo of an important First Nations Elder in their life or an elder in the community they admire to create their own photographic Elders Exhibit for the local community. If possible, invite some of the respected Elders along so they can see how they are valued and respected by your school community.

Read through the article, then listen and watch the music video Yiyili Mawoolie with your class:

It’s a reinvention of a song written for and dedicated to all Gooniyandi people past and
present by local Elders in the 1980s. This song and video clip highlight the importance of keeping language and culture strong. Guidance from Elders for the next generations can help languages and cultures be preserved and flourish, supported and celebrated by all Australians. Discuss with your class why a project like this is so important to communities and Australia.

Enjoy this Dreaming Story with your class where senior Aboriginal man Paul Teerman of the Darug Nation shares a Dreaming Story passed to him by a Yellamundie or storyteller:

The story is about the Crow and Magpie, how they came to be and the role they play in everyday life. In a yarning circle explain the message from Elders for the children. How can students use these lessons moving forward? Create a poster of these lessons to display in your class.

Many First Nations peoples of Tasmania do not capitalise any words in palawa kani, Tasmanian Aboriginal language, intentionally. A site that will tell you more is wukalina Walk.

Watch this video of Tasmanian Elder Aunty Lola Greeno sharing her legacy of pakana knowledge and how she passes this on to the next generations:

She shares how to collect shells and use them to make necklaces and how to weave baskets out of kelp. Discuss why they think it is important for First Nations Elders to pass on knowledge for the next generations. Ask students if they have any traditional cultural practices (from the culture they identify with) that they can bring in to share with the class.

Teacher note: In the opening of the video the term “Aborigines” is used. While this term has often been replaced with “First Nations peoples” or “Indigenous”, it is sometimes the preferred term for people in Tasmania. (Source: Authors’ note in Tongerlongeter – First Nations Leader and Tasmanian War Hero by Henry Reynolds and Nicholas Clements, NewSouth Publishing, 2022). This is an important reminder to ask First Nations peoples how they prefer to be acknowledged as it can differ.

Reading

When I was Little, Like You by Mary Malbunka (Allen and Unwin Children’s, 2005) is a story of what life was like when Mary was little living on the Papunya Mission. Her family moved there to learn and share their own culture. Mary beautifully describes the importance of passing down culture to the next generation while also interweaving Luritja language throughout the book for children to learn. Share this book with your class and ask your students to share stories and experiences where culture has been shared to them from an elder in their community. Ask their grandparents or a family friend to share with them what life was like when they were little so they can share these stories with the class.

Share the unique stories and images of the Traditional Healers of Central Australia: Ngangkari by Ngaannyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council Aboriginal Corporation (Magabala Books, 2013). Ngangkari are traditional healers of the Ngaannyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and
Yankunytjatjara lands of Central Australia. In a yarning circle with students, discuss the wisdom that is shared and their thoughts on the stories of traditional healers. How does it differ from what students know of Western medicine?

Extension Activities

Documenting and preserving First Nations stories is imperative for the next generations. For many years it was forbidden by law for First Nation peoples to practice cultures and share stories. Your class can be a part of preserving and sharing First Nations stories in an appropriate, meaningful, and lasting way. Invite local Elders into your classroom to share local stories with your students. With the Elders’ permission, create digital stories together to share with your school and wider community. Here are some examples for inspiration to get you excited and motivated.

During eating time and breaks in lessons sit your class down to listen to the stories ReTold: A retelling of stories and songs from the Torres Strait shared by Elders and respected community members through the State Library of Queensland. Discuss the messages in the stories and choose your favourite to create a class book to share throughout the year.

Useful Resources

Websites

• AITSL | Dreaming stories
• Care for Kids | How to celebrate indigenous languages in your centre
• Miriam Rose Foundation | Dadirri NPY Women’s Council | Ngangkari – Traditional Healers
• Ronnie Summers and choir sing | Songline of the Moonbirds
• Sharing Stories Foundation
• The Australian Museum | Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklaces: A significant cultural practice
• Working with Indigenous Australian | The Dreaming

Years 5 and 6

Key Questions

• What is advocacy and activism?
• Why is listening to lived experiences important?
• Why do Elders advocate for the next generation?

Activities

Watch this short documentary The Torres Strait: Swallowed by the Sea about Yessie Mosby, a Torres Strait Community Leader and his young son Genia Mosby on how climate change is affecting their home (published in 2022). They are guided by their ancestors and Elders to raise awareness and fight against rising sea levels which is slowly submerging the islands. They provide an urgent call for what needs to happen, taking their message to Sydney Fashion Week. Discuss with your class the interaction with Yessie Mosby and the Elders in influencing his and his son’s advocacy in fighting for their peoples’ home. Investigate where the Torres Strait Islander people are today in this fight to save their islands and what your class can do to help them.

Explore the interactive Mapping of Aboriginal Melbourne created with the guidance of Elders and Staff from the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. Explore the “Resistance and Activism” theme together and allow time for your students to explore the other themes and timelines as well. Using the information, create a map display on your classroom wall for others to learn about “Resistance and Activism” in Victoria from Aboriginal people.

First Nations peoples have been protesting and advocating for equity and equality for their people using many different forms of activism since colonisation. Explore these activists from the National Archives of Australia, like Aboriginal activist and barrister Pat O’Shane AM and Aboriginal artist Jimmy Pike. Then create a list of the different ways you can advocate for yourself and others. Discuss the different ways activists raise attention and which you think are the most effective – and why. For example: Do you think raising awareness about climate change by throwing food at famous paintings in art galleries is effective? As a class discuss why they think Elders advocate so strongly for the next generation. Ask your students to write an opinion piece expressing their thoughts.

Born from the pain of Ngalia Elders in Western Australia about the “gaping mining holes” left all over Country, Reclaim the Void has a vision to create a huge contemporary artwork made out of thousands of handmade rugs. The rugs, woven from discarded fabric, will be stitched together and the final artwork, based on an original painting by Ngalia artist Dolly Walker, will be laid on Country affected by mining. As a class create a rug together, or each student can create one with their family and send to the project. Students can be a part of healing this Country and raising awareness of the damage mining has and continues to cause. Students could also research an issue in their local area and come up with some practical solutions on how they can come together and create an imaginative solution. They could also discuss the power of art and symbolism in relation to Country. To learn more, read the NITV article: These Elders are healing their mining-affected Country in the most incredible way.

Watch Where the Green Ants Dream (on ClickView) based partly on the Milirrpum Nabalco Pty Ltd (Gove Land Rights) case about First Nations land rights on Yolŋu Country (Gove Peninsula) Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Ask your students to share their thoughts on why they think this movie was not well received in Australia when it was made in 1984 but was received well overseas. Students should journal their responses to this story of Elders fighting against mining companies and why they advocated to preserve their land and Dreaming Country.

Reading

Read Bidhi Galing: Big Rain by award-winning author, academic and Wiradyuri woman, Professor Anita Heiss AM (Simon Schuster Australia, 2023), a story that celebrates the heroes of the Great Floods of Gundagai in 1852. The story is told through the eyes of a young Wiradyuri girl
Wagadhaany, who shares the knowledge and strength of her Elders and connection to family, Country and Culture. Discuss in a yarning circle how the devastation of the floods could have been
avoided using the knowledge of Wiradyuri Elders. Further explore how Wiradyuri men Yarri and Jacky Jacky have been celebrated for their bravery and honour for the people of Gundagai. How can you pay tribute to them as a class?

Wiradyuri (also spelled Wiradjuri) is an Aboriginal Nation and Language of central and western NSW.

Teacher note: Considering the large number of floods we have experienced in Australia recently please consider your individual cohort’s needs.

Elder Aunty Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920-1993) of the Noonuccal people of Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) was an Aboriginal rights activist, a world-acclaimed poet, veteran, environmentalist and educator who was also known as Kath Walker. Read, watch and learn about Aunty Oodgeroo and listen to her read some of her poetry in this Deadly Story. Study her acclaimed and revered collection of poems My People (5th Edition, John Wiley & Sons Australia, 2020) that gave voice to the plea for justice for Aboriginal peoples in the 1960s and 1970s. Complete a poet study and be inspired by Aunty Oodgeroo to write your own poetry about the plights of First Nations peoples today.

The United Nations General Assembly have declared the time between 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. Bittangabee Tribe: An Aboriginal story from Coastal New South Wales by Beryl Cruse, Rebecca Kirby, Liddy Stewart and Steven Thomas (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2009) shares stories in language with an English translation and QR codes for you to listen to each story. With old and new stories, they have been translated and illustrated by language teams across the Northern Territory to celebrate Aboriginal cultures, languages and knowledges. It is vital to keep and share stories Elders pass on, so take some time to listen, share and celebrate together as a class. Sit in a yarning circle and discuss what you have learnt from each story.

Extension Activities

Changing the Australian Constitution to adapt with a changing and growing country is not new in Australia. As a class, explore past referendums and changes made to include First Nations peoples through the National Archives of Australia. Later this year, Australians will vote in a referendum regarding a First Nations Voice to Parliament and constitutional recognition. Have you informed yourself and your class about the different positions people have about whether they will vote yes, or no? It is important for young people to understand the upcoming referendum and the potential impacts of the different possible outcomes. It is also important students have access to reputable sources of trusted information, for example the SBS referendum portal:

• SBS Voice referendum portal
• SBS News | Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum: How it will work
• The Guardian | Voice referendum: who’s behind the yes and no campaigns and how do they plan to convince Australia? | Indigenous voice to parliament

Useful Resources

Websites:

• ABC News | Eden Aboriginal language program takes students out of the classroom and on country
• AIATSIS | The 1938 Day of Mourning
• Amnesty International Australia | 9 powerful social change movements you need to know about
• Australian Geographic | How Aboriginal activism brought about change
• National Archives of Australia | Notable First Australians
• National Archives of Australia | The 1967 referendum
• National Museum of Australia | Australia’s Defining Moments Digital Classroom | Gundagai floods
• SBS News | Timeline: Indigenous rights movement
• SBS NITV | Filmmaker Rachel Perkins reveals the truth of The Australian Wars — the battles fought on home soil
• SBS NITV | Truth-telling inquiry expands to hear experiences of racism and injustice
• Sydney Morning Herald | The Torres Strait Islander elders lawyering up to stop their homes from sinking
• Uluru Statement from the Heart

Years 7 and 8

Key Questions

• How can all communities draw strength from celebrating First Nations cultures, experiences and knowledges?
• What can you take forward into your everyday lives from Elders?
• Why is it important to take care of Elders?

Activities

Watch the video of Dharawal Elder Dr Shayne Williams recounting the arrival of Captain Cook in Australia 250 years ago from stories passed down from generation to generation:

Discuss the video with your class and ask your students to reflect on Shayne’s last words “The encounter at the time was a shared event… so we have a shared history, we have a shared present and therefore we have a shared future as well.” Ask them to write a reflection on what they would like to see as a shared future and how this might look.

For many First Nations peoples, it is ingrained from a young age to care for their Elders, both when they are well and when they need extra help to be safe and well. As a class watch the video of Keedon Peachey a Wiradjuri/Malygnapa man A Day in the Life of a Carer. In pairs, list Keedon’s characteristics and values, and what you learnt from him. Discuss how these characteristics and values are reflected in you and in your community.

Watch and listen to the Sydney Elders Continuing Aboriginal Stories by the NSW State Library. Four elders beautifully share their lived experiences, culture and lives as Aboriginal people living on Gai-mariagal, Bidjigal, Gadigal and Dharug Country. Ask your students why it is important to listen to lived experiences and what they gained from listening to the Sydney Elders stories. Ask them to write a reflective poem about what they learnt from one or all the Elders.

Gai-mariagal can also be spelled Cammeraygal, and refers to parts of northern Sydney, mostly near Sydney Harbour.

Watch The Land Owns Us where Yankunytjatjara Elder Bob Randall talks about living on the land as people of the land, and their connection and responsibility to Country:

What do you think people today could learn from Elder Bob Randall and other First Nations peoples’ perspectives on how “the land owns them”? How does this make students think about their connection to lands? Sit in a yarning circle and discuss this as a class. 

Allow your students time to explore the South Australian Museum website dedicated to Aboriginal Heritage and Repatriation. All over Australia, First Nations peoples are advocating for stolen artefacts and ancestral remains to be returned to Country. They want these artefacts and remains to be treated with the respect and honour they deserve. As a class, sit in a yarning circle and ask students to discuss their thoughts and feelings about the repatriation process and what they think should be happening. What role can they play in this process? What do they think should/should not happen and why? Make sure they cite reputable evidence for their opinions.

Sign up to the free 30-minute Zoom session designed for schools on NAIDOC Portraits: For Our Elders by the National Portrait Gallery. The program celebrates the achievements of Elders and tells the stories of their lives through the visual communication of art.

Reading

Read stories from around Australia, Elders: Wisdom from Australia’s Indigenous Leaders by Peter McConchie (Cambridge University Press, 2003). The stories are from 17 clans and tribal leaders who share their wisdom on traditional and contemporary ways of living. They speak of healing, the land, hunting, gathering, family, law and lore, spirit, the sea, Ceremony and song. Start your lesson in a yarning circle and read the wisdom of one of the Elders to your students and discuss. Once you have finished the Elder’s teachings and stories, ask your students to write a reflective piece about the Elders’ stories they heard. Repeat this process for each Elder.

Read Homecoming as a class, written by Noongar and Yawuru writer Dr Elfie Shiosaki (Magabala Books, 2021). Showcasing the stories of four generations of women, her ancestors and Elders, with their own voice, Homecoming is a collection of poetry, prose and historical colonial archives that honours these remarkable Noongar women. It also highlights the undeniable love for their children, those present and those taken, Country, and kin and the oppression they faced. Create a digital book inspired by the writing style of Elfie Shiosaki of students’ reflections of the stories shared in Homecoming.

Murli la: Songs and Stories of the Tiwi Islands is a book written by The Ngarukuruwala
Women’s Group with Dr Genevieve Campbell (Hardie Grant Explore, 2023). The group is made up of Elders and women from the Tiwi Islands who celebrate the culture of the islands through song and storytelling. As Elders and mentors, the Ngarukuruwala Women’s Group draw on the old ways of Tiwi song traditions to help young people connect with their language and cultural identity. Enjoy the stories and songs together as a class. Talk about what you have learnt together from the Elders that you could take forward with you in your own life. Take the teachings and further explore the Tiwi Islands culture and history with your class.

Extension Activities

Basket weaving is a tradition that has been passed down from Elders for generations. Weaving was used to make carriers, fish traps, bags, baskets and many more items. Watch this video with Djabugay Elder Rhonda Brim about the importance of passing down skills and culture through traditional basket weaving:

Discuss the video with your class. Take some time together to make a basket using local Indigenous plants or raffia while learning some of the history together.

Watch the Weaving Workshop or Weaving Tutorial – Tjanpi Desert Weavers (which includes a PDF with step-by-step instructions) to help you teach your students:

Or invite a local First Nations weaver in to pass on the skills to your class. Classroom tip: Practise before you teach the class and have some parent/carer helpers come along who have already learnt how to make a coil basket, so they can help your students too.

Read The First Astronomers: How the Indigenous Elders read the stars by Duane Hamacher, which explores Elders and knowledge-holders (Allen and Unwin, 2022). Be guided by six First Nations Elders as they take you on a journey across space and time to reveal the wisdom of the first astronomers. Break your class into 10 groups and give them a chapter each to study. Ask them to prepare a two-minute presentation to share with the class on the wisdom they have learnt from the Elders from their selected chapter.

Useful Resources

Websites:

• New SBS Learn resource | Living Black: For Our Elders
• Aboriginal Culture | Aboriginal Women’s bags, baskets and containers
• ACARA | Understand how Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages work
• AIATSIS | Languages alive
• Amnesty International Australia | Five amazing Aboriginal women who shaped history
• Australian Arts Review | Elfie Shiosaki: Homecoming
• Australian Institute of Family Studies | Strengths of Australian Aboriginal cultural practices in family life and child rearing
• BookWidgets | 10 Fun digital book creator tools and lesson ideas for students
• First Languages Australia | Resources
• National Museum of Australia | Repatriation
• SBS Movies | Explore Indigenous history and stories with these movies at SBS On Demand
• The First Astronomers

Reading
Through Old Eyes: Poems by Uncle Wes Marne (Blackbooks, 2022)

Years 9 and 10

Key Questions

• What does “Nothing about us – without us” mean?
• How will you celebrate For Our Elders?
• How can all Australians pay homage to past Elders?
• What makes First Nations Elders important to communities?

Activities

Share the series Keeping Culture: Utilising Koori Elders wisdom and knowledge in Education with your class. This is a project by the University of NSW (UNSW) of 10 short videos of five female and five male Koori Elders sharing their oral histories. They talk about a diverse range of topics including self-determination, environmental activism, academia, arts and more. After watching the videos on Aunty Zona, Aunty Sue, Aunty Norma and Uncle Ralph, Uncle Bud and Uncle Jimmy, ask your students what they think “nothing about us – without us” means. What stories from the First Nations Elders made students realise the importance of First Nations peoples being involved in their own decision-making and self-determination for First Nations peoples? Then, have your students write a letter of appreciation to an Elder they connected with through the series and express gratitude for the knowledges shared. Send the letters to the UNSW so they can be forwarded to the Elders.

Respecting and remembering the stories of First Nations Elders who have passed to the Dreamtime is very important to First Nations peoples. In the past twelve months many significant Elders, who have in many ways and spaces forged a better future for next generations, have been lost. Research and pay your respects to Elders who have passed in your local community and across this continent. Here are some Elders we have lost in the past twelve months who have left a lasting impact on our nation.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, please be aware this next section contains the names and images of deceased peoples. Teachers, you have a responsibility to understand protocols around this and to be flexible to meet the needs of your whole class cohort.

Clan Leader Yunupiŋu campaigned for all First Nations peoples’ rights. Visit the Yothu Yindi Foundation site Vale Yunupiŋu and as a class write a tribute to Yunupiŋu sharing your thoughts on this fierce Elder.

Gunditjmara/Bundjalung Elder Uncle Archie Roach AC was a storyteller who gave a voice to the Stolen Generations through his song Took the Children Away:

Uncle Archie believed in the power of the Arts to help with healing. Listen to the song and as you listen paint your emotions. Write a book together of the story of Uncle Archie to share with others using your paintings as the illustrations.

Uncle Jack Charles was a stage and screen actor, and activist for all First Nations peoples. Watch one of the great storytellers, Uncle Jack’s TEDx Talk Mentoring Indigenous Inmates and how his life experiences have led to him mentoring First Nations inmates:

Research the current situation of overrepresentation of First Nations peoples in jail and write a one-minute monologue about your reflections of Uncle Jack’s important work with First Nation inmates.

Watch on ClickView Season 1 Episode 7 of First Australians – We Are No Longer Shadows, which focuses on Torres Strait Elder Eddie Koiki Mabo, who fought Australian Law to recognise his peoples’ ownership of Murray Island. Look at his work for First Nations land rights leading to the legal landmark Mabo Case which overturned the idea of terra nullius or “land belonging to no-one.” Watch and discuss as a class the impact one man had through his activism and advocacy for this people. Inspire your students to create a short one-minute documentary-style digital presentation about another Elder and their impact on future generations.

Read through the South Australian Native Title services article Old People Welcomed Home To Kaurna Country to learn more about Elders whose remains were taken away from their Country and how they have been repatriated and honoured.

Note this documentary is classified M for mature audiences. It is 1 hour 22 minutes in duration. Watch on ClickView: After the Apology where four Aboriginal Grandmothers and Elders of their community plead to be involved in the care of their children in Out of Home Care and in the removal of children. You can see the definition of “nothing about us – without us” in action. Ask your students to write a poetry reflection or song that shares their feelings on watching After the Apology.

Reading

Listen to the audio book or read The Dreaming Path, Indigenous Thinking to Change Your life by Paul Callaghan with Uncle Paul Gordon (Bloomsbury, 2022) who shares the ancient wisdom of First Nations peoples through exercises, conversations, Dreaming Stories and key messages. Practise some exercises with your class to improve their well-being, even sharing these daily with your class.

Elder Ronnie Summers is a descendant of the Trawl-wool-way and palawa people. Ronnie
is a proud descendant of Mannalargenna, warrior, chief and freedom fighter of the
Traw-wool-way people. Read his story as a class or take extracts from the book he
wrote with Helen Gee called Ronnie: Tasmanian Songman (Magabala Books, 2009). Included in the book is a disc of his songs, including one where he tells the story of the moonbird. Share the songs with your students and the stories and knowledges within them. Write a song together about the life of Ronnie Summers and what he taught us through his music. 

Students could also research a local First Nations musician and their music. This research
should be shared with the class to create a discussion about traditional and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and cultures. Highlight how both exist and are vital to the continuing of culture.

Extension Activities

Read about the Yankunjatjara Elder Lowitja: The Authorised Biography of Lowitja O’Donoghue by Stuart Rintoul (Allen & Unwin, 2020), a powerful and unrelenting advocate for First Nations
peoples. She has been a part of many significant events that have changed the course of history for First Nations peoples. She was recognised as a National Living Treasure in 1998 by the National Trust of Australia for her knowledges and skills. She is still contributing to her people today through the Lowitja O’Donoghue Foundation. Watch the video interview of Elder Dr Lowitja
O’Donoghue AC CBA DSG as she shares her life story and work to date, including her role in the Native Title Act in 1993:

Take note of the last minute in the clip where she is asked to reflect on whether she holds resentment towards the white community. Ask your students to write a letter to Lowitja O’Donoghue about the impact her story has had on them today.

Listen to the CAN Community Arts Network podcast series Ni! Means listen by Noongar man Phil Walley-Stack as he yarns with Elders and allows them to share their stories in their own voice. Phil creates a space for conversations about racism, the Stolen Generations, discrimination, family and many serious topics. Listen to the podcasts on your chosen platform before sharing with your class to find what suits your cohort. Create a response podcast to the Ni! Means Listen series. As a class ask, students to share their emotions and connections to the Elders’ stories they heard.

Check out the SBS Learn resource Understanding the Frontier Wars, written by Culture is Life, based on Blackfella Films’ three-part series The Australian Wars, which highlights the resistance of First Nations Elders and ancestors to protect their people against colonisation.

Useful Resources

Websites:

• AIATSIS | About native title
• Humanrights.gov.au | About Bringing Them Home | Bringing Them Home
• Lowitja Institute | Lowitja O’Donoghue Foundation
• NAIDOC | Lowitja O’Donoghue
• National Archives of Australia | Aboriginal activist and Australian of the Year Lowitja O’Donoghue
• National Archives of Australia | First Australians’ land rights
• National Archives of Australia | History
• SBS News | Filmmaker Rachel Perkins reveals the truth of The Australian Wars — the battles fought on home soil
• SBS News | Today marks the 30th | anniversary of Mabo Day. Here’s what it is and why it matters
• SBS News | Tributes for pioneering Aboriginal singer, storyteller, activist Archie Roach
• SBS NITV | Indigenous cultural protocols: what the media needs to do when depicting deceased persons
• SBS NITV | Yunupingu remembered for his ‘fierce leadership and kindness’ as emotional tributes flow
• UNSW Newsroom | A good yarn: Koori Elders talk about culture, Country and history

Legendary journalist Karla Grant interviews Elders from across the continent in brand new SBS Learn resource, Living Black: For Our Elders. This resource includes interactive worksheets in three languages!

The post Celebrate NAIDOC: For Our Elders appeared first on SBS Learn.

Using this Teacher Resource

Classroom protocols

Read our Classroom Recommendations before completing activities.

We also recommend reading the SBS Learn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protocols Guide for Teachers before delivering this resource. Authored by Wiradjuri woman Jarin Baigent and Wonnarua and Kunja woman Shiralee Lawson (with guidance from Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Norma Ingram), this guide takes teachers through essential steps to a safe, respectful learning environment for all students. Align these with existing school policies and practices to bolster mutual respect, equity of dialogue and empathic communication amongst your students.

Notes on terms and usage
The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, First Nations and Indigenous are used respectfully and interchangeably throughout this document when referring to First Nations peoples of Australia. These terms are used to respectfully encompass the diversity of cultures, identities, and preferences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

While many older people are highly regarded in society, The word Elder holds a specific and distinct meaning for First Nations peoples. In this resource, Elders is capitalised when referring to First Nations peoples as a mark of respect for their unique role in their community. A lowercase e is used for elders when referring to non-Indigenous older people,

About the Clips in this Teacher Resource

This resource is made up of short clips from episodes of the ground-breaking current affairs program Living Black. Hosted by investigative reporter Karla Grant, each episode highlights the importance of Elders and First Nations people who came before and the lasting impact of shared knowledge, tradition, language and culture. The episodes feature:

• Ernie Dingo AM: Storyteller and icon
• Heritage Victory: Protecting culture and knowledge
• Alma Thorpe: Social advocate and role model
• Men’s Tjilirra Movement: Elders educating the next generation
• Cynthia Lui: Family support and legacy
• Tom Calma AO: Giving back to community

With a range of informative clips with accompanying activities, students will gain a deeper understanding of the role of Elders for First Nations people and the wider Australian community. As a result, students should have a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of First Nations Elders in preserving the oldest living continuous culture in the world; and the role every Australian can play in celebrating multiculturalism and diversity.

Introductory Activities

Pre-viewing discussion questions:

• In what ways are older people celebrated in society? Why do you think this is the case?
• Describe the role of Elders in First Nations communities?
• What do you think the show “Living Black” could be about?
• Do you know any First Nations Elders?

What is an Elder?

In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, a special title is given to those people who hold deep cultural knowledge and wisdom, and who work tirelessly for their communities. Elders are highly respected by First Nations peoples. It is important to note that age does not define Eldership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Elders are people who have gained recognition and respect by mob. Many Elders are referred to as “Aunty” or “Uncle”, however, it is always best to ask what they prefer to be called.

Kyarna Cruse (Yuin woman and educator)

NAIDOC 2023: For Our Elders

NAIDOC Week is held in the first week of July across Australia from Sunday to Sunday. It recognises the past and celebrates important contributions of First Nations peoples to communities across Australia. It provides a learning opportunity for all Australians to learn about the oldest, continuous living cultures in the world. Watch the following clip on this year’s theme For Our Elders.

NITV’s Living Black

Hosted by Walkley Award-winning journalist Karla Grant, this Indigenous current affairs program provides insightful and comprehensive coverage on issues affecting the First Nations peoples of Australia. In its 20th year, Living Black is still at the forefront of investigative journalism, exploring unique perspectives and in-depth interviews.

You can watch Living Black episodes via your school’s licensed resource centre (such as ClickView), or for individual viewing head to SBS On Demand.

Worksheets (PDF)

To complete the above activities in a worksheet, click on the PDFs below, available in the following languages:

1. SBS Learn NAIDOC LB Worksheet – Introductory activities (English)
2. SBS Learn NAIDOC LB Worksheet – Introductory Activities (Simplified Chinese) 
3. SBS Learn NAIDOC LB Worksheet – Introductory Activities (Arabic)

Overall Activities

Discussion questions:

• What have you learnt from these Living Black episodes and in particular the role of Elders in the community?
• Aboriginal peoples are the custodians of the longest continuous culture on Earth. How have each of the people and/or movements featured in this resource demonstrated the resilience of First Nations peoples?
• What characteristics or themes can be used to describe First Nations Elders?

With the person next to you discuss:

• Which of the following stories from the Living Black episodes resonated with you the most and why?
• What else would you like to learn about Elders or First Nations cultures, languages, knowledges or traditions?

* Knowledges and cultures are intentionally pluralised to reflect the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations, Places, languages, traditions and peoples.

Extension activities

These extension activities are designed for your students to continue learning about the importance of Elders and First Nations cultures, histories and communities.

1. Watch Living Black episodes with their special line up on Elders for National NAIDOC Week 2023.
2. Research the importance of Living Black and its 20-year history. Create a visual representation or timeline on the highlights of the show and its host, Karla Grant.
3. Investigate the role of Elders in your local community and create a profile on them.
4. Brainstorm: Where to from here? In what way can you, your class and school community celebrate the importance of Elders for NAIDOC Week and beyond?
5. Go to the SBS Learn National NAIDOC Week 2023 education resource: For Our Elders for more activities and ideas.

Worksheets (PDF)

To complete the above activities in a worksheet, click on the PDFs below, available in the following languages:

1. SBS Learn NAIDOC LB Worksheet – Overall activities (English)
   
2. SBS Learn NAIDOC LB Worksheet – Overall activities (Simplified Chinese)
3. SBS Learn NAIDOC LB Worksheet – Overall activities (Arabic)

The post Living Black: For Our Elders appeared first on SBS Learn.

About the Authors & Producers

Author of Education Resource 

This teacher resource is written by Shelley Ware, a proud Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman from Tandanya/Adelaide who currently lives in Naarm/Melbourne. She is a highly regarded AFL media presenter with over two decades of experience and is well known for her time on NITV’s Marngrook football show, Colour of Your Jumper, the Outersanctum Podcast, and Broad Radio. Shelley writes a fortnightly AFL and opinion column for the Koori Mail.

Shelley is also a teacher, author, curriculum writer and facilitator as she is passionate about embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures into classrooms and the national curriculum. She consults and works closely with schools and the corporate sector, teaching and upskilling staff and leadership in Aboriginal Histories and Cultures and in creating culturally safe spaces for all to thrive.

Director’s message
It is always a privilege to be trusted to provide the space for First Nations peoples to tell their stories. It is what I love about documentary filmmaking – that you can create the circumstance for First Nations stories to be told by the knowledge holders and custodians. I am always struck by the generosity in which First Nations people share their stories and the warm engagement their communities have with the project. The stunning and varying landscapes of Country are more than just a beautiful palette; they provide a complimentary narrative to the story being told.

The approach is to privilege First Nations voices and perspectives, to highlight where there is collaboration, and to showcase best practice where Indigenous knowledge is guiding the creation of new knowledges.

I hope audiences see the strength, wisdom, resilience, humour, and determination that I have seen in the people who have shared their insights and stories. At a time when the nation is looking at engaging in Voice, Treaty, and Truth, the insights shared in this series will contribute to important conversations.

– Larissa Behrendt

Co-Producer’s Statement
First and foremost, The First Inventors is a celebration of culture. This series will give mainstream audiences an insight into traditional knowledge systems, Indigenous science, innovation, ingenuity, and invention. The time is right for this series as we are now in an age where people everywhere want to know more about First Nations knowledges.

As a First Nations filmmaker from the [Northern] Territory, I’ve witnessed this dramatic shift myself. From my father’s generation, who were taught almost nothing about First Nations history in school, to the present where audiences across the nation are ready to listen. Seeing this shift, and knowing how many stories of First Nations innovation are at risk of being lost, has driven my passion for making this project a reality.

A ground-breaking series like The First Inventors has the potential to change a lot of minds around the ‘hunter-gatherer’ narrative that so many have long held about First Australians, and to also finally demonstrate the great thinking and innovation that Indigenous Australians used to set up complex societies and live through harsh conditions, including an ice age, for tens of thousands of years.

– Cian Mungatj McCue

Guided by Indigenous Education Consultant

The content in this resource is guided by the expertise of Indigenous Education Consultant Dr Lynette Riley AO, a Wiradjuri & Gamilaroi woman from Dubbo and Moree who is an Associate Professor in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at The University of Sydney, and the Chair of Aboriginal Education & Indigenous Studies at the University of Sydney.

Lynette trained as an infants/primary teacher through Armidale CAE 1975-1977. She has been a classroom teacher in primary and high school, an Aboriginal Education consultant for schools, an Aboriginal Development Manager for VET, Manager of the Dubbo TAFE Campuses, State Manager for NSW DET Aboriginal Education, and an academic at both UNE and Sydney University. Her career focus has been on improving educational delivery for Aboriginal students and educating the wider public about Aboriginal peoples. Where possible, Lynette incorporates her own cultural practices into her teachings.

Lynette had her PhD conferred with ACU in 2017 with her research on ‘Conditions of Academic Success for Aboriginal Students’. Lynette seeks to create sustainable change for Aboriginal communities, through knowledge of cultural education and competence.

“It’s an important theme this year and it’s important for Elders to be acknowledged, as we pass on the knowledge, to the children and our people today, that was passed on to us by our Elders. We instill in our children who they are and where they come from. We walk in two worlds and reconciliation is important, as we want to start walking together. We are here for your people too and we want to learn from each other and who each other are for a better future for our children.”

Click on the following PDF worksheets to learn more about: 

1. Story 1- The Boomerang – History’s Forgotten First Aerofoil
2. Story 2 – Medicines of Tomorrow
3. Story 3- Fighting Climate Change with Fire
4. Story 4- Confronting the Past and Reconnecting for a Better Future

The post The First Inventors appeared first on SBS Learn.

Meet the Author

Jane Gilmore is an author, journalist and consent educator from Melbourne/Naarm. Her first book, Fixed It: Violence and the Representation of women in the Media was published in 2019 and her second book, Teaching Consent: Real Voices from the Consent Classroom was published in 2022.

The post Safe Home: Media reporting on family violence appeared first on SBS Learn.

This SBS Learn teachers resource focuses on Celebrating Eid and provides educators with a range of activities for secondary students. This lesson plan is aligned with the Australian Curriculum and is free to print and download for all educators.

With a range of celebratory and informative activities, students will gain a deeper understanding of one of the most important celebrations in the Islamic calendar. As a result, students should have a greater awareness of how we can create a sense of belonging in Australia as a multi-faith and multicultural society.

This teachers resource for Celebrating Eid is made up of 5 short video interviews with staff and community members from the Islamic Museum of Australia. Reflecting the diversity of the Muslim community, the interviewees Sherene, Hafsa, George, Wafa and Muhammad share their knowledge and experiences on this extremely important celebration. Activities are based on the videos under the following topics:

• What are Ramadan/Eid?
• Observing Ramadan
• How I celebrate Eid
• Cultural traditions
• Personal reflections

Click here for the 2024 teacher resource ‘Understanding Ramadan and Eid‘ also made in partnership with the Islamic Museum of Australia (IMA).

Classroom Activities

Visit the SBS Learn Observing Ramadan resource if students have not previously completed activities on Ramadan, or require greater background knowledge on Islam.

Discussion questions

• What are the main cultural festivities celebrated in your class?
• Why are cultural celebrations important to individuals and communities?

Clip 1: What is Ramadan/Eid?

Watch the following clip to help you create a word cloud poster on Eid al-Fitr (Eid) to decorate the classroom and school. A word cloud is a visual made up of important words relating to a topic.

Answer the following questions to help you build your word cloud:

• What is the purpose of Ramadan and why do Muslim people observe it?
• Who fasts for Ramadan?
• Why is it important or a special occasion?
• What words or phrases are used to describe Ramadan?
• What is Eid al-Fitr and when is it celebrated?
• How long does it last?

There are several free sites where you can create your own word cloud. Insert the title ‘Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr’ and follow the instructions. Use your answers to complete a word cloud. You will produce a word cloud that contains important words relating to this significant cultural celebration which can be printed as posters to decorate the classroom and school. When displaying these posters ensure you also post a copy of the questions as well.

Going further:
Create an image within your word cloud to help illustrate such as the following.

Glossary:

piety – fulfilling a religious duty or showing respect for God

Fun facts: Did you know?

Most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan each year.

(Source: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Smart Traveller)

• 3.2% of the Australian population identify as Muslim (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)
• The 2016 Census reported that 1,140 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples identify as Muslim. (Source: SBS article Muslim, Aboriginal and Outspoken)
• There is another Eid called Eid al-Adha or the Holiday of Sacrifice that is celebrated later in the year
• When El-Hajj George Green introduces himself, he uses the title “El-Hajj” before his name. This is a special title for someone who has made the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.

Extension task: Students read the SBS Article: No, not even water: A guide to Ramadan for non-Muslims. Using the information from the article and from Clip 1: What is Ramadan/Eid? design a PowerPoint or Prezi on the most important details on Ramadan for a traveller who is visiting a Muslim country during Ramadan. This information should be organised under headings, which could include: background information, important facts, dos and don’ts during Ramadan, what to see and do.

Clip 2: Personal Reflections 

Watch the clip and complete the following activities. 

Discussion questions:

• What challenges do you think someone observing Ramadan at school might face?
• What is it like to feel different at school?
• How might you support someone fasting at school?
• What is something important to you that you could give up for a whole month? What challenges do you think you might face? How might this be a positive experience?
• What did you learn about Ramadan?

Think/pair/share:

The video explores several key ideas and principles relating to Ramadan. Discuss in pairs and answer the following questions on the different ideas and principles listed.

Ideas/principles

• Empathy
• Generosity
• Sacrifice
• Blessings
• Self-introspection and reflection
• Rewards
• Unity

Questions: 

1. Choose an idea. What is your understanding of this idea or quality?
2. According to the video, why is this idea or quality important to Muslim people during Ramadan?
3. How important are these to you and what is your relationship to them?
4. Which of the following would you like to experience more and why?

Fun facts: Did you know?

You do not need to fast in some conditions like, if you are a young child, unwell, menstruating, pregnant, breastfeeding, or elderly.

• If you cannot fast, alternatives can be made such as fasting on another day or feeding the poor for every day that is missed

Extension activity:

Read the following SBS article What is religious fasting, how does it affect health and provide a summary of the positives from fasting. With the person next to you discuss what was the most interesting thing you learnt from this article and why.

Clip 3: How I celebrate Eid

Pre-viewing questions in pairs:

• What are your favourite cultural celebrations and why?
• How do you celebrate it?
• What makes this celebration special?

Watch the clip and complete the following activities. 

Venn diagram activity:

A Venn Diagram helps to illustrate the similarities and differences between two things. Draw a Venn Diagram with the circle on the left labelled Eid and the other on the right as your favourite cultural celebration. Write down details about Eid under the heading, then information about your favourite cultural celebration on the right. The similarities between both celebrations should be written in the middle where the two circles overlap.

Glossary:

• henna – a dye used to provide temporary tattoos or designs on the skin
• khutbah – an address read out on Fridays at noon prayer
• mehndi – practice of painting temporary designs on hands and or feet using henna
• zakat – form of charity or payment made every year to charity

Fun Facts: Did you know?

Eid al-Fitr means “the feast of the breaking of the fast”

• Mehndi or henna is also used in other important events like weddings. This practice is also common for other religious groups such as Sikhs and Hindus.
• As the dates for Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr are determined by moon phases, some countries have moon sighting committees to watch for the moon whereas others follow a fixed Islamic calendar. (Source: SBS article Sighting the Moon: Tradition versus technology)

Extension activity:
Discussion questions:

• Is it appropriate to celebrate holidays from another faith?
• Are there any problems or difficulties that could arise?

Read the following Guardian article: “It’s not ours any more”: the changing face of Lakemba’s Ramadan night markets and the SBS article: Why more than a million people are flocking to this one Sydney suburb. How do these articles present different viewpoints on celebrating Ramadan? Which perspective do you find most convincing and why?

Clip 4: Cultural Traditions

Pre-viewing discussion question:
Think/pair/share

• What is the most important aspect of a celebration to you? Is it family, food, clothing or gifts? Provide reasons for your answer.

Watch the clip which highlights the important traditions around Eid and how different cultures celebrate these traditions relating to family, food, clothing and gifts.  

Create an illustration under the title “Eid: Cultural traditions” which depicts the different traditions relating to celebrating Eid. Your illustration should also include words to explain your images. Some aspects to include information on:

• Family
• Special foods or meals
• Clothing
• Gifts

Glossary:

• eidi – or a Salami is a gift given by older relatives to children on Eid
• songkok – in Malay is a type of oval hat without a brim
• shalwar kameez – type of clothing mainly worn in South Asia consisting of loose trousers and a long dress
• foul – Lebanese breakfast made from beans
• thobe – ankle-length, long-sleeved garment mainly worn by men,originating from the Middle East

Fun facts: Did you know?

• Some Muslim people, after saying the Prophet Mohammed’s name will say “peace be upon him” to show respect

Simple clothes are worn on Hajj to the holy city of Mecca. Everyone dresses similarly so there are no visible differences in wealth and status.

Extension activity:

Read the following SBS article Friendship and faith: Leading Australian Muslim women discuss connection through Ramadan. Create profiles on each of the women including information about their cultural background, why Ramadan/Eid is important to them, and their message to others about their faith.

Clip 5: Personal Reflections

Pre-viewing discussion questions:

• Describe some of the traditions important to you or your family.
• What is the reason for these celebrations? Do you know the origins or history of this celebration and its traditions? Is it religious, cultural or historical?
• What is your earliest or favourite memory of this tradition?

Watch the clip and complete the following activities.

Discussion questions:

• Why do the interviewees consider Eid so important?
• What did you learn about Eid from this video?

Carousel activity:

Divide your class into 3 groups. For each group, get students to stand in two concentric circles facing one another. They will both respond to a question in a paired discussion. After each question, the teacher will ask one of the circles to move in a clockwise direction, so each student faces a new partner to discuss a different question. The purpose of this activity is to encourage peer to peer conversation with different students and promote listening skills.

• What was the most interesting aspect of Ramadan you learnt?
• What did you learn about Eid al-Fitr?
• Describe similarities shared between Eid and holidays you celebrate?
• Why do you think many religions regard charity as important?
• What are important garments worn in your culture?
• Can you speak another language? If no, what language would you like to speak and why?
• What tradition would you like to pass down to the next generation?
• What questions do you still have about Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr or Islam?

Glossary:
moderation – in a way that is reasonable and not in excess or extreme

Fun facts: Did you know?

• Eid Mubarak in Arabic means “blessed holiday, feast of festival”
• Kul ‘am wantum bikhair in Arabic means “May you be well every year!”
• Selamat Hari Raya Eid al-Fitr in Malay means “Happy day of rejoicing for Eid al-Fitr”

Extension activity:

Create a collage of your favourite cultural celebration. Include images of your favourite foods, family, clothes or other traditions that make up this celebration. Make sure you annotate the images to explain why these aspects are important to you. If you do not want to include personal photographs you can use symbols or write an explanation.

Overall activity:

Listen to the following SBS Podcast My Ramadan presented by Sarah Malik and write a report. Remember to include the most important details of the interview and when quoting to use inverted commas.  

The post Celebrating Eid appeared first on SBS Learn.

Years 5-6: Activities

These activities have been specifically designed for students in Years 5-6 in collaboration with the education team from Body Safety Australia. The following content and activities focus on themes around respectful relationships and consent.

Teachers are recommended to read the Body Safety Australia Teaching Consent Education guide before delivering the resources and to follow school and/or sector policies and procedures regarding teaching and learning, child protection and student disclosures.

Focus

• Develop and maintain safe, healthy and respectful relationships
• Deepen understanding of consent, centred on a wider discussion about respect
• Explore the relationship between power and consent

Guiding Questions

• What does consent mean?
• When do we need to seek consent and why is it important to do so?
• Who can we ask for help?
• How can I tell someone I don’t like what they are doing or saying?
• How can I develop help-seeking skills and where can I go for support?

Activities

Interacting with others

Life is made up of interactions with others. Whether this is with family, friends, online, or at school. It is important to learn and understand how to interact with others to manage and maintain healthy and respectful connections.

As a class, discuss the following:

• Think of a relationship between two people you know that you think is strong and respectful. What do they do or say to show care and respect?
• What are the qualities you look for in a person when becoming friends?
• What qualities do you have that you think your friends value?
• How do these qualities help create and maintain a good friendship? You may wish to use prompts around happiness, respect, fairness, communication and conflict resolution.

One extremely important aspect of healthy and respectful connections is ensuring people can make choices about what they do or don’t want to do or have done to them. This is called consent. Practising consent helps make people feel safe, valued and heard. Seeking consent is key to positive and respectful relationships. When people practise consent, they understand your body belongs to you, and no one should touch you without permission. They also understand that your image – photos and videos of you – belongs to you and they need to ask consent to take, edit or share your image.

One extremely important aspect of healthy and respectful connections is ensuring people can make choices about what they do or don’t want to do or have done to them.

People should always ask for consent to touch you unless it is for your own health, hygiene or safety (for example, holding hands to cross a busy road or going to the dentist for a toothache).

What is consent?
Read the Using the Consent Continuum guide on how to implement the Body Safety Australia Consent Continuum in your classroom. Read through the poster and explain the continuum in relation to the colour system. Discuss with students their understanding of the terms: consent, compliance, pressure, coercion and force.

Read through the examples provided in the Using the Consent Continuum guide on page two. As a class, complete the table below with your own examples which can then be stuck up in the classroom.

Making healthy and safe choices

Scenario activity
Let’s see if students can now put into practice what they have learnt about consent. Read through the following scenarios in small groups of three to four or as a whole class if this is more appropriate. Discuss the scenario and come to an agreement:

• Where does this example fit on the Body Safety Australia Consent Continuum?
• Who is in a position of power?
• How could this situation be improved through consent?

Extension: what could the next steps be in taking respectful action or help-seeking?

Group 1
Jax is selecting a team to play tip. There is a new student in the class, and they are a new English language learner. Jax assumes they understand the rules of the game, so they don’t explain them. When the game starts, Jax immediately tips the new student, and this student becomes upset and confused. The student wanders off and Jax and the others continue playing without them.

Suggested answer/discussion points:

• What do we mean by force?
• While not realising, Jax used force on the new student. How would this new student have felt when they got “tipped”?
• Who had the power to change the outcome of this story?
• Possible response: Jax as they were organising the game, they could have checked if the new student understood. Jax should next time ensure everyone understands the rules and whether others would like to participate.

Group 2
Andrea is the only girl in her Year 5 class with a mobile phone. She has been taking photos of her friends at recess and lunch time when teachers have not been looking. She’s using a photo editing app to make funny memes to show her friends, but a few of her friends have gotten upset that their photo has been used. Other students notice but they don’t think it’s an issue because they are friends with Andrea.

Suggested answer/discussion points:

• What do we mean by compliance?
• Andrea hasn’t asked anyone for consent to take their photo or alter the image for memes. Why would Andrea’s friends be complying? Explore how compliance can occur when people “want to be liked”.
• Andrea is in a position of power because she has a mobile phone and able to take photos to then edit further.
• Is it easy to tell our friends when they’re doing something we don’t like? Why not? Unpack social pressure, risk of friendship breakdown, hurting their friend, or social isolation.
• Andrea should ask permission to take photos of others and seek permission if she would like to alter them. How could she make it easier for her friends to tell her they don’t consent?
• Possible response: Understand how to set up a question which makes it easier for the person answering to say yes or no; for example, “Can I take your photo for a meme I’m making? No stress if you don’t want me to.”

Group 3
Dean got a new video game for his birthday that he’s really excited to play. The game lets you add friends and play with them online, so he asks his friend Chloe if she’d like to play after school. Chloe has heard of the game and really wants to play, but she needs to ask her grownups at home first if it’s okay. She lets Dean know she’ll message him after school if she’s allowed to play. Dean says that’s all totally fine, and his parents can talk to hers about the game if that will help.

Suggested answer/discussion points:

• What do we mean by consent?
• Dean asked Chloe for her consent to participate in the game and accepted she needed more information before she could agree.
• Why can’t Chloe just say yes if she likes the game? Explore the idea of informed consent, knowing what you’re saying yes to before you agree. Chloe needs to know if the game is allowed by her family before she makes the commitment.
• Dean reacted really well to Chloe needing to ask her family, but do we think everyone would act like this? Explore the ideas of anger from rejection and that Dean could have started pressuring his friend. What makes it easier to react well like Dean?

Group 4
Layla’s grandparents are visiting from overseas and have not been to Australia for many years. Layla’s parents insist on her kissing and hugging the grandparents when they visit, explaining this is how families show love. Layla is particularly shy and has said she doesn’t want to kiss or hug them because she does not remember them very well. Her parents said you’ll make them very sad if you don’t. Layla doesn’t want to upset her grandparents or her parents, so she hugs and kisses them even though she’s uncomfortable.

Suggested answer/discussion points:

• What do we mean by pressure?
• Layla decided to hug and kiss her grandparents even though it made her uncomfortable, was she consenting? While Layla participated, she couldn’t fully consent as she was pressured into it by her parents.
• What did the parents do that made Layla feel pressure? This is challenging because family plays an important role in life, however, Layla did not want to hug or kiss her grandparents because she is unfamiliar and uncomfortable with them.
• What could Layla’s family have done to make her feel comfortable and not pressured?
• Possible response: Her parents could create a space for a no answer or provide prompts to understand her feelings and why she doesn’t want to hug and kiss them, and what they can do for her in the future.

Group 5
Aarav is 10 years old and has fallen off the play equipment, possibly breaking his arm. His parents pick him up from school and take him to see the doctor. The doctor asks him permission to gently touch his arm to check his injury. Aarav refuses because he is in so much pain, but Aarav’s parents tell the doctor it is okay to look at his arm. The doctor talks Aarav through his actions on why he must touch his arm, but Aarav begins to cry and scream.

Suggested answer/discussion points:

• Who gave consent for the doctor to look at Aarav’s arm? Explain why parents and carers can sometimes give consent for children. Ask for other examples when adults may give consent for children (like going on school camp). There are some situations, such as for your safety, health or hygiene, that an adult will need to touch you like a doctor inspecting an injury.
• What did the doctor do to help Aarav understand what was happening? Talk about informed consent as the doctor was explaining what was happening and why they needed to touch his arm. The doctor and parents are fulfilling their duty of care to Aarav.
• Do we always have to let doctors touch our bodies? Doctors are in a powerful position over children and are taught to be trusted and safe people. A doctor should clearly explain why touching needs to happen and to make an individual feel safe. Having parents or carers in the room can help young people feel safe and better understand why touch may be required by the doctor.

Group 6
Xyrus has given Andrew his school email password so Andrew can access some information for a group project they’re doing together. Andrew has now been pretending to be Xyrus and using his email to send his favourite memes to people in their class. When Xyrus finds out and asks him to stop, Andrew says it’s just funny memes and Xyrus is overreacting. Andrew won’t stop, so Xyrus says he’s going to tell their teacher. Andrew doesn’t want to get in trouble, so he tells Xyrus he’s changed the password and now only he has access. If Xyrus tells he’s going to share some of Xyrus’ old private emails with the class.

Suggested answer/discussion points:

• What do we mean by coercion? 
• While Xyrus initially consented, this scenario changes to one of coercion.
• Did Xyrus consent to Andrew having access to his email account? What has Andrew now done with that consent? Explore informed consent and what Xryus said yes to isn’t what Andrew is now doing. Reflect on the ethics of taking consent and pushing it.
• Andrew is pretending to be Xyrus online and threatens to continue this behaviour. Who has the power between Andrew and Xyrus? What power imbalances might make it easier for Andrew to make this threat? Could explore popularity, gender, race, age, or size.
• What steps could Xyrus take? Who might he feel safe to seek help from?
• It is important for Xyrus to seek help from a trusted adult.

Help-seeking
Teachers are encouraged to debrief with their class if this activity has raised any issues in the classroom. If students need help or support, reinforce they are not alone.

Discussion questions

Activity: Think/pair/share

• What is your understanding of the word bystander?
• Have you heard of the word upstander? What could it mean?
• What do you think is the difference between the terms? Provide definitions of how a bystander and an upstander might respond to a situation where they witness someone being bullied.
• Have students explore what kind of problems children can solve by themselves or with friends and what kind of problems they need adult support to solve.
• Have students define what makes a “trusted adult.” Prompts can be: someone who listens without judgement, someone who offers practical help, someone who makes me feel safe, someone whose job it is to help children.

Being a bystander could include being an observer if someone is being bullied or teased. It could also be encouraging hurtful behaviour by laughing, filming the incident or actively helping by blocking exits.

An upstander supports the person being bullied by speaking out and helping to protect them. It is important to reinforce to students they should always assess the risks involved when speaking out and to do so when it is safe.

They could write a list of trusted adults if they need help or who they would share sensitive information. This could be a parent/carer, teacher or community member. Teachers and students are encouraged to reach out for support if required at 1800 RESPECT or the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). There are also more free and confidential support services for educators, students and parents/carers listed at the end of the resource.

Glossary terms:

• consent – informed and freely given agreement to engage in an activity, or permission for a specific thing to happen. This includes agreement and permission giving in online and offline situations. (Source: ACARA: Health and Physical Education)
• relationship – outlines the way people are connected
• participate – to take part
• bystander – a person who observes an event but does not take part
• upstander – one who speaks up in support or helps by intervening when a person needs it

Years 9-10: Activities

The activities have been specifically designed for Years 9-10 in collaboration with the education team from the eSafety Commissioner. They were designed to be completed without students needing to view the documentary Asking For It. The following content and teaching and learning activities focus on the topics :

• Consent and respectful relationships
• Sexual violence
• Gender stereotypes
• Receiving unwanted nudes
• My nudes have been shared.

Teachers are recommended to read the Body Safety Australia Teaching Consent Education guide before delivering the resources and to follow school and/or sector policies and procedures regarding teaching and learning, child protection and student disclosures.

Focus

• Develop and maintain safe, healthy and respectful relationships
• Deepen understanding of consent, centred on a wider discussion about respect
• Explore the relationship between gender, power and language and how this influences consent

Guiding questions

• What does consent mean?
• When do we need to seek consent and why is it important to do so?
• In what ways can gender stereotypes and assumptions be problematic?
• How can I set boundaries and tell someone that I don’t like what they are doing or saying?
• How can I develop help-seeking skills and where can I go for support?
• How can I protect myself in person and online?
• How can we help to create a supportive environment and one that creates a culture of ‘consent?’

Discussion questions

Activity: Think/pair/share

• What is your understanding of the word consent?
• Why do we have to ask permission for certain things? Try to think of specific of examples where you ask permission. Why must you ask for permission in these examples?
• What happens when someone does something without asking, how does that make you feel?
• What are some of the consequences if you don’t seek permission? Provide examples. Teacher note – direct discussion around: not feeling respected or hurting someone’s feelings, misunderstanding, or even breaking rules or laws.
• Why is it important to feel valued and heard?

Consent can be defined as freely giving permission without experiencing any pressure to do something. This means a person is agreeing to willingly participate without feeling obliged or coerced in the decision-making process. When people practise consent, they understand your body belongs to you, and no one should touch you without permission. They also understand that your image – photos and videos of you – belongs to you and they need to ask consent to take, edit or share your image.

Consent – ACARA syllabus definition:

Informed and freely given agreement to engage in an activity, or permission for a specific thing to happen. This includes agreement and permission giving in online and offline situations.

ACARA: Health and Physical Education

Interacting with others

Interacting with others is an important part of everyday life. We interact and connect with many different people daily, including family, friends, teachers, mentors, girlfriends, boyfriends or partners, The way we interact with others can be different due to context and the type of relationship. Ensuring interactions are respectful will help to maintain healthy and safe relationships.

Navigating relationships can be challenging, especially when there is a power imbalance. When a power imbalance occurs in a relationship, the person with less power may be worried or fearful of a negative outcome if they displease or say no to a person in power. For example, you may be less likely to complain to your manager at your part-time job if the person is responsible for the number of shifts you receive. In a relationship where people feel equal, open communication is possible due to feeling less fear of reprisal or consequence.

Discussion questions

• What factors allow people to experience more power than others?
• Which groups of people may be vulnerable in society and why?
• Which groups of people hold more power in society?
• How do power imbalances provide barriers to equality?
• Why does this imbalance exist and how can we make it more equal?

Intimate relationships
From handholding, to hugging, kissing and other sexual experiences, all these situations require consent. When engaging in intimate or close relationships it is crucial to ensure relationships are navigated with respect and care.

Power imbalances can occur due to such factors like a person’s age, gender, physique and popularity. This can influence how a person responds due to feelings of pressure or guilt. Power imbalances can exist in many relationships and the law recognises that some power imbalances are too large for people to freely give consent.

Discussion questions
In pairs or groups of three:

• What signs could a person display they are not comfortable in a situation, even if they have agreed and said yes?
• In what situations may a person say they are consenting to being kissed, even if they are not truly consenting?
• How could an individual ensure the person is freely consenting?
• Why do you think some people don’t ask for consent or pressure others to say yes? How can we help minimise this behaviour?

Read the Using the Body Safety Australia Senior Consent Continuum guide with your class and complete the examples on page two. You may find using the visual below useful when completing the examples as a class. 

Being aware someone may be feeling pressured to say yes because they don’t want to hurt your feelings means gaining consent can be more than asking a question. A person’s body language might indicate they are scared or reluctant to participate.

Checking in to see if the person is still okay when you touch or kiss them is not an act of negotiation of how far you can go. It is seeking clarification if the person you are intimate with wants to be touched because they can change their mind.

No one has the right to touch someone without permission. Noticing if someone’s body language matches what they’re saying is crucial too.

At the end of the day, a respectful relationship embodies honesty and safety, where someone is freely agreeing to your touch, rather than an individual who is saying yes because they feel pressured to do so.

For more information around affirmative consent laws in your state or territory visit Youth Law Australia, where you can select your location and find more information about consent laws specific to your jurisdiction.

Activities

Fact or fiction statements activity
The statistics in this activity are from the documentary series, but students can complete the task without viewing the episodes. They are designed to encourage deep discussion and critical thinking around issues of sexual assault and violence. Read out the following statements used in the Asking For It series to the class.

• Students must decide whether the statistics are fact or fiction without any research undertaken.
• Read the answers out to the class.
• Spend time unpacking the reality of sexual violence and how this problem permeates all of people regardless of gender, socio-economic status, or cultural or linguistic background.
• Use the discussion points to question students about the causes for these statistics and some possible solutions.

Teacher notes and further resource links are also provided to support this activity.

Statement one: Over a 12-month period approximately 2000 reports about non-consensual intimate image sharing were made to the eSafety Commissioner.
Answer: False, over 4000 reports of image-based abuse were made to the eSafety Commissioner in 2021-2022, an increase of 55% (Episode One).
Source: eSafety Media Release, Young men bear the brunt of sexual extortion as reports rise, 26 October 2022

Discussion points:

• Why do you think intimate image sharing without consent is an issue?
• Often when people share nude images of themselves, they are met with the response: “Why did you share that photo? You shouldn’t have shared your picture in the first place.” Where does this statement assign blame? How is this an issue?
• How could you respond sensitively to a friend who confides that they are worried about a nude image of themselves being shared?
• What can we do to reduce image-based abuse?
• It is important to report to the eSafety Commissioner when intimate images are shared, or threatened to be shared, without consent. eSafety can help have images removed and provide advice.

Teacher notes: These statistics from the eSafety Commissioner are only the figures that are reported. Try to get students to think about why some people don’t report. How can we shift culture away from blaming the victim?
Further resources: The eSafety Commissioner: 10 ways to get through image-based abuse

Statement two: Violent crimes towards women are decreasing each year.
Answer: False, crimes towards women are the only major crime category that continues to increase (Episode Two).
In 2021, more than 31,000 people were recorded as victims of sexual assault, a rise of 13 percent in one year and the only major crime category to increase.
Source: Sexual assault reports in Australia hit all-time high. What’s driving the increase? By Nassim Khadem, ABC, 29 July 2022

Discussion points:

• Why do you think this crime is on the increase?
• What reasons or factors does the ABC article provide for the increase?
• What are the possible solutions to tackling this problem?

Teacher notes: While there may be more reporting by women, try to unpack why women would be victims of crime more so than men?
Further resources: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Family, domestic, and sexual violence in Australia

Statement three: Most victims of sexual assault report the perpetrator as a stranger.
Answer: False, both women and men were more likely to experience sexual assault by a known person than by a stranger.
For women, the most common perpetrator was an intimate partner. (Episode Two).
Source: ABS Sexual Violence – Victimisation, 24 August 2021 (from ABS series on nature and prevalence of sexual assault in Australia) 

Discussion points:

• The documentary highlights when growing up we are taught about stranger danger. Parents/carers may feel more comfortable discussing strangers than known people as perpetrators. Why do you think this is the case? What else could be taught about intimate partner violence?
• Why do you think some people would not openly discuss being sexually assaulted by someone they know? How can this be changed to ensure more people are heard so they receive support?

Teacher notes: Promote more conversations around consent and equipping young people with the skills to be safe.
Further resources: ANROWS: Two new reports contribute invaluable data to what we know about intimate partner homicide in Australia, Women are three times more likely than men to report violence by their partner, as rates of sexual harassment fall, ABC, 15 March 2023

Statement four: One in five Australians think women who have been sexually assaulted are lying or exaggerating.
Answer: True, it is the highest of any Western nation (Episode Two).
Source: One in five Australians thinks women who say they were abused often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse or rape – the highest of any western nation, Ipsos and Global Institute for Women’s Leadership survey, 4 March 2022

Discussion points:

• How does it feel when no one believes you?
• What are the outcomes for those who aren’t believed?
• Why do you think people tend not to believe women about assault?

Teacher notes: How can we start believing more women about sexual assault? How can we move the discussion to believing and protecting victims?
Further resources: NCAS: The National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women Survey, ABC article National survey on attitudes toward domestic violence shows widespread misunderstanding of issue and Our Watch quick facts

Statement five: 50% of sexual assault survivors never report their ordeal.
Answer: False, almost 90% of sexual assault survivors never report their assault (Episode 2).
In almost 9 in 10 incidents (87%, or 554,000), women who experienced their most recent aggravated sexual assault by a male in the last 10 years did not contact the police.
Source: Sexual Assault in Australia In Focus, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020

Discussion points:

• Why do you think most victim/survivors of sexual assault never report their ordeal?
• What must be done to reduce this extremely high percentage?

Teacher notes: Common reasons for this include women feeling like they could deal with it themselves (34%, or 189,000) or not regarding the incident as a serious offence (34%, or 187,000). One in 4 women (26%, or 143,000) who did not contact the police also said it was because they felt ashamed or embarrassed about the incident.
Source: ibid (same as previous reference)
Further resources: Australian Bureau of Statistics: Personal Safety, Australia

Overall discussion questions:

• Are there any common themes or patterns in these statistics?
• Did any of these facts or statistics surprise you? Why? Why not?
• What are some ways we can address some of the issues relating to sexual violence?

NOTE: Teachers please be mindful you may need to debrief with your class after this activity. There are useful resources and support services at the end of the resource. Services such as the eSafety Commissioner and Body Safety Australia (both of which are project partners with SBS on this resource) host teacher professional learning and Body Safety Australia host teacher and student workshops to further this learning.

Making healthy and safe choices

Establishing and managing changing relationships

Note to teachers: the following eSafety Commissioner webpages discuss nudes, consent, dating and pressure which some people may find distressing or confronting.

The following questions are designed to be discussed in pairs or small groups, as this may allow more open discussions between peers. Teachers can use discretion if there is a need to guide the discussion in their own classroom more closely, then these questions can be completed as a class.

Read the eSafety Commissioner page on Receiving unwanted nudes and discuss the following questions in pairs:

1. How might someone feel if they receive a nude or sexual image when they haven’t asked for it?
2. Why would someone want to send a nude, sexual image or sexual video?
3. Why does Youth Law Australia recommend never sending sexual images unless you are over 18?
4. What should you do if you are sent an unwanted nude? What steps could you follow?
5. What information did you learn from this page that you will share with another young person?

Read the eSafety Commissioner page on My nudes have been shared and discuss the following questions in pairs:

1. What is image-based abuse?
2. Describe an ‘intimate’ image or video.
3. What should you do if your nudes have been shared?
4. What information did you learn from this page that you will share with another young person?

Representations of consent

Pre-viewing discussion questions:

• What is popular culture?
• How can it influence our lives?
• What impact does popular culture have on your life?
• How do you think popular culture represents consent in movies? Provide reasons and examples for your answer.

Watch the following PG-rated clip about problems with popular culture and complete the activity below.

Episode 2: Problems with popular culture 

Archival film clips courtesy of:
Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney Productions, 1959)
Pepe Le Pew (Warner Bros, 1954)
Beetlejuice (Warner Bros, 1988)
Greys Anatomy (Touchstone Television, 2005)
Thunderball (Eon Productions, 1965)
Goldfinger (Eon Productions, 1964)
Spectre (Eon Productions, 2015)

1. How can popular culture blur the lines of consent?
2. The examples in the clip show animations, feature length films, and TV shows spanning from the 1950s to more recently in 2015, highlighting problematic representations of consent. What do you notice about each of the examples shown? (Sleeping Beauty, Pepe Le Pew, Beetlejuice, Grey’s Anatomy, James Bond)
3. Are there any gender stereotypes represented in this clip? What expectations do you think exist for each gender?
4. Do these representations influence the way people view consent? Or should they be viewed as pieces of entertainment and treated more light-heartedly? Give reasons for your answer.

Unpacking gendered phrases
The way we use language is extremely powerful. Often many common phrases used to describe certain behaviours are gendered.

Watch the two following clips from the Let’s Stop it from the Start campaign, a joint Australian, state and territory government initiative.

Discussion questions:

• What did you notice about both videos?
• Have you ever heard the phrases from the videos? Why do you think they are used?
• Why are these phrases hurtful or problematic?
• How can we try to breakdown gender expectations and stereotypes?

What might the following phrases suggest about gender expectations and how might they be problematic?

1. Don’t be such a girl
2. Boys don’t cry
3. Toughen up princess
4. Man up
5. She was asking for it
6. Look at how she’s dressed
7. He’s got man flu
8. Boys always tease girls they like

Extension task:
Go to Stop it at the Start: The Excuse Interpreter and read through Interpreting Our Excuses. With a partner or in a small group, discuss the examples you have heard in your own experiences.

• Were there any statements you have thought or said which may have been misinterpreted as disrespectful?
• How could you help to overcome gender stereotypes and disrespect in the school community? What more could be done more widely?
• How can your school further promote respect as a value in relation to gender?

Help-seeking
Often when something goes wrong, we don’t know what to do or where to turn. We can at times, feel alone, even when we are not to blame. It is important to know how to protect yourself but also how to seek help and support. While the example below relates to online safety, it provides applicable help-seeking strategies.

Script activity:
Watch the following clip Thalia’s story: The hows and whys of opening up (scroll to the second video) and develop a script on how you could support a friend who needs help.

In this script you should include:

– A list of trusted adults and what characteristics would make them a good choice
– How they can provide support
– What to say
– Examples of environments where they feel safe to share this information with the trusted adult

For more helpful resources visit the eSafety Commissioner site on where to find help, how to support young people and information about reporting image-based abuse. Teachers and students are encouraged to reach out for support if required at 1800 RESPECT or the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). There are also more free and confidential support services for educators, students and parents/carers listed at the end of the resource.

Extension task: A restorative approach or practice
Restorative approaches or practices are outlined in Episode One of Asking For It to improve outcomes for victims and survivors of crime. Even if you have not viewed the series, explore how this approach may provide greater benefits for society.

Discussion questions:

• List some of the consequences of breaking the law in Australia. You can provide a range of consequences depending on the severity of the crime.
• What do you think are appropriate consequences for criminal behaviour?
• Do you believe the prison system is effective in rehabilitating criminals?
• What other forms of consequences do you think would be effective in diminishing crime?

As a class, research:

1. What are the main principles of a restorative approach or practice?
2. Why is it viewed as an effective way to resolve conflict?
3. Do you believe a restorative approach is an effective model?
4. As a class do you think it could be an effective way to provide support for victims and survivors of crime to help minimise reoffending? Give reasons for your answer.
5. How might a restorative approach be useful in your school? Some useful places to start: Monash University article and NSW Government Education page.

Glossary terms:

• assault – a physical or verbal attack
• consent – informed and freely given agreement to engage in an activity, or permission for a specific thing to happen. This includes agreement and permission giving in online and offline situations.(Source: ACARA: Health and Physical Education)
• discriminate – to make an unfair judgement of a person or group
• embodies – to represent an idea
• image-based abuse – sharing, or threatening to share, an intimate image or video without the consent of the person shown (source: eSafety Commissioner)
• intimate – close or personal
• physique – size of someone’s body
• perpetrator – someone who commits a crime
• principles – a rule or belief
• problematic – hard to solve or fix
• rehabilitating – to restore through training or therapy
• reluctant – not willing to do something
• reoffending – to commit another offence or crime
• reprisal – fear due to negative or harmful reaction
• restorative – something that returns health or wellbeing
• severity – unnecessarily harsh
• stereotypes – an assumption about what someone is like often due to an oversimplification of a characteristic
• For more terms visit the eSafety: Glossary of terms

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