The First Inventors

This teacher resource accompanies NITV and Network 10 documentary The First Inventors, presented by Rob Collins and produced by Ronde Media. A different section of the resource will launch as each of the four episodes airs. This resource is authored by proud Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman Shelley Ware, with contributions from Wiradjuri & Gamilaroi woman Associate Professor Dr Lynette Riley.

The resource will include:

• Protocols and guidelines for establishing a respectful and culturally enriching learning environment for all students;
• Discussion questions to encourage critical and deep thinking;
• Classroom activities based on the stories from each episode to help enrich your students’ learning;
• Classroom ready clips of each story from the four-part documentary series The First Inventors;
• Episode 1 – Could you survive in Australia 65,000 years ago? From engineering volcanic landscapes into fish farms to mastering deadly fire, the unique survival inventions that let First Nations people thrive;
• Episode 2 – Can oral stories accurately store vital knowledge? A bold expedition sets out to prove that the First Nations science of storytelling recorded ice age events ten thousand years ago;
• Episode 3 – Vast communication networks, trade superhighways, and sophisticated Kinship systems. How First Nations people built an extraordinarily connected society on this enormous and often inhospitable continent;
• Episode 4 – Indigenous knowledge teams up with cutting-edge science. These stories cover developments in lifesaving medicines and combating climate change, but to tackle humanity’s future challenges, first we need to heal the past.

SBS Learn provides free Australian Curriculum aligned digital learning resources for teachers and educators. We create a wide range of printable and downloadable lesson plans for students.

We recommend you pre-screen the full-length episode before using in class. Head to SBS On Demand for personal viewing. For classroom viewing of whole episodes, please visit ClickView, or your school’s resource centre (for example Wingaru, Informit etc).