Lesson Plan 6

Week 3
Date: Wednesday 15th of April 2015

Duration: 60 70 minutes

Unit: Indigenous Australian Inhabitants

Lesson: 6 of 10

Level: Year level 6

Name: Group Discussion, Yarning Circles.

Curriculum
History
Chronology, terms and concepts
Use historical terms and concepts (ACHHS118).
o Using historical terms and concepts related to the content such as democracy, federation,
empire, immigration, heritage, diversity, enfranchisement, suffrage.
Historical questions and research
Identify questions to inform an historical inquiry (ACHHS119).
o Developing key questions about the birth of Australian democracy and the experiences of
citizenship for women, migrants and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
o Developing key questions about immigration such as: What were the main reasons people
migrated to Australia? Who migrated? Where did they come from? What impact have they
had on the character of Australian society?
Analysis and use of sources
Locate information related to inquiry questions in a range of sources. (ACHHS121)
o Finding relevant historical information in primary and secondary sources (for example related
to the rights and status of women as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and
the experiences of migrants)
Historical Knowledge and Understanding
The contribution of individuals and groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and
migrants, to the development of Australian society, for example in areas such as the economy,
education, science, the arts, sport. (ACHHK116)
Intercultural understanding
o The particular elements of Intercultural understanding addressed by this content description
Recognising culture and developing respect
o Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices
o Develop respect for cultural diversity

General capabilities and cross curriculum

General capabilities
o Literacy Content specific words/phrases e.g. colonization, assimilation, stolen generation,
genocide.
o Numeracy Timeline of certain historical happenings such as Captain Cooks arrival to
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Australia, indigenous persecution, stolen generation etc.

o Information and communication technology (ICT) capability View video footage from
historical archives giving insight into the issues and conditions indigenous Australians. Videos,
Bringing them Home Dr Anita Heiss at TEDxBrisbane, OnexSameness.
o Critical and creative thinking students compare and contrast ideas based on the information
they receive and critically analyze using meta-cognitive skills.
o Personal and social capability- draw on prior knowledge to accommodate new learning and
build personal opinions of the topics covered.
o Ethical understanding gain a knowledge of past and present practices regarding the
treatment of Indigenous Australians compare with their own belief systems
o Intercultural understanding gain an awareness of cultural diversity through the problems
faced by Indigenous communities and how we can learn from past mistakes
Cross curriculum
Curriculum links to Literacy: - (English P-10 Literacy, ACARA, 2015)
o Participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and
supporting arguments, sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions
(ACELY1709)
o Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas, comparing
content from a variety of textual sources including media and digital texts (ACELY1713)

Lesson Objectives
Students will have the ability to:
o Understand how Aboriginal people lived according to efficient laws and ways of interacting with
the environment to meet their needs, prior to colonization.
o Create an empathic understanding of the effects of colonization on Indigenous people with
regards to their identity, which is connected to: - land, kinship, spirituality.
o Use digital technologies to deliver first hand experiences of the effects of the stolen
generation.
o Use technologies to view the success stories of Integration of Indigenous Australians to
eradicate stereotype attitudes of Indigenous people within non-indigenous groups.

Students Prior Knowledge

Students have prior knowledge in:
o Students have some knowledge of why people migrated to Australia (ACHHK096).
o Students have prior knowledge of how some people and groups shaped Australias first colonies
(ACHHK097).
o Students have some knowledge of the shaping of Australia, its citizenship and democracy
(ACHHK114).

Assessment
Assessment for learning:
o To further elicit prior knowledge this lesson will involve grand conversations through yarning
circles to discuss the effects of colonisation on the Indigenous inhabitants of Australia.
o How the effects of colonisation have impacted on modern day Australian, positive? /negative?
o Students will discuss answers to higher order thinking questions to compare and contrast ideas
and concepts discussed throughout the lesson.
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o Anecdotal notes will be taken of students participation and understanding of concepts.

Enquiry questions
Key enquiry question:
1. How did immigration affect the original inhabitants of Australia?
2. Could immigration have occurred in a less aggressive manner?
3. What has history taught us? Positive or negative effects?

Lesson Structure
Time

Introduction & Motivation

Teaching
Resources

Orientation Phase
20 minutes
5 mins

5- 10 mins

Acknowledgement to Country: Explain why and Significance.

o Explain why it is important to acknowledge the original
land owners of Australia.
o Indigenous land, family, spirituality is all connected
and they see the land as part of them.
o Indigenous communities lived on the land thousands
of years before colonisation therefore we respect the
land that is originally theirs.

To begin the lesson: o As colonisation developed indigenous people were

drawn to European colonies due to the lack of food
supplies, which were as a result of Europeans
occupying Indigenous land.

Map of diverse
Indigenous
Languages/Tribes

o These lands that were once an abundant and

sustainable way of living were no longer prosperous
due to the negative effects caused by the early
European settlers (Dudgeon, Milroy & Walker, 2014).
o Another consequence of European settlement was the
introduction of epidemic diseases such as chickenpox,
smallpox, influenza and measles. As these diseases
were infectious, they spread very quickly and killed
many people. In large Aboriginal communities, the
diseases spread even more quickly.
o View the Map of Australia and how the country was
divided regarding Indigenous languages/tribes prior to
colonisation. Over 200 languages and numerous
dialects spoken in Indigenous Cultures prior to
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colonisation.

5 -15 min

5-10 min

Stolen Generation
o View the video Bringing them Home (32:29min)
o This video is lengthy, so only show some parts which
will help to create an understanding of the effects on
the Indigenous people historically and the lingering
problems that have remained today.
o Explain aspects of the programme. Ensure to view
before the lesson is conducted to make notes of the
particular parts you wish to concentrate on.

Resources
Bringing them Home
Video
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=Sl82VMuuK
I0

Dr Anita Heiss,
Integration of Indigenous people
Author and activist in
o Discus the importance of changing stereotype
creating Indigenous
attitudes of Indigenous people.
awareness. TED Talk
o Many important contributions to Australia, by
Indigenous people.
o Explain how integration does not mean you completely https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=1f8ew23tLl0
forget about your own culture. Integration is not
assimilation.
o Integration for the Indigenous community means that
they can share many similar experiences as nonindigenous Australians, whilst still maintaining a strong
connection to culture.
Ask students to raise their hand if they are from another
country. Give the example that although they have similar
experiences likes and dislikes to their peers they still maintain
a strong connection to their own cultures.

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Time

Main Content

Teaching
Resources

Enhancing Phase
30 minutes
15 mins

Yarning Circle: It is where you listen deeply while taking turns

to talk, share knowledge and experiences.

Students will create a

Yarning Circle.

o The use of dialogue circles is an important process

within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
o Students gather in a yarning circle on the ground in
the classroom or appropriate area outdoors
o Remind students how this type of activity resembles
Indigenous ways of interacting with knowledge. (It is
advisable to discuss the use of dialogue processes with
the local Indigenous community and learn about how
it is implemented in their community).

Process of Yarning Circle -A dialogue circle process

includes the following (QCAA, 2010):

o Participants sit in a circle (nothing in the

centre)
o A facilitator (teacher) introduces the process
o No hierarchy all participants are considered
equal

Sequence of events:
o Students are given three post it notes
o On each note they are to write a person, place or thing
that is very precious to them and that they could not
live without (e.g. family, culture etc.).
1. As the teacher walks around the circle with a rubbish
bin, they ask the students to give one thing up say
what it is and place in the bin
2. The second time around, students hold up remaining
post it notes (without showing the teacher what is
written) the teacher will randomly take one and call
out what it is to the rest of the class and place it in the
bin.
3. The third time the teacher comes around again and
takes the post it note, reads what is on it and places it
in the bin.
o By now students are reacting about giving certain
things up, which will lead to a discussion about loosing
important things in their lives.
o This activity is powerful in creating empathy in
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o Large open space for

students to sit in a
comfortable spacious
circle

o Post it notes and Pen

o Rubbish bin

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students to give them an understanding of what the

Indigenous people experienced with European
colonisation.
o Important to stress that although this is an activity and
you still get to go home to your loving families and
keep your precious possessions. The Indigenous
people had absolutely no choice and were subject to
the consequences of families torn apart and identity
and culture taken from them.
Time

Conclusion

Teaching
Resources

Summarising Phase
10 minutes
10 mins

o Allow open forum to express feelings about how

students felt about giving up precious things. How
would Indigenous people have felt about loosing
important things from their lives and their identity (i.e.
family, land, culture)?
o Make connections with modern day Australia, have
things changed? Yes? No? Plant the seed for further
investigation, for extension work (see below).

Resources
o Open forum for
discussion, within
Yarning Circle

Differentiation of learning

o
o

Deweys, Constructivist Theory Inquiry Approach: - (Tomkins, Campbell & Green, 2012)
Garners Multiple Intelligences: (Slavin, 2012).
Meta-Cognitive, Higher order thinking skills Blooms Taxonomy: (Perterson, 2004)
Scaffold learning within small groups with mixed group abilities (Vygotsky: - Peterson, 2004)
Provide step-by-step guidance and prompting where needed. If possible have a teacher aid
available (who has been briefed prior to lesson) to sit with the students and provide some
guidance.
o Narrow down questioning for individual students to provide a focused approach to answers.
For example less open-ended questions such as: Name something you would not want taken from you?
How would you feel if you didnt have this thing in your life anymore? (Caution to be
taken with students with certain needs such as ASD etc., where literal interpretation is
often experienced)
N.B.

o Important to ensure that students do not take on a blame attitude (in particular, because
there will be many migrant students). Reassure that learning about these happenings is to
educate to ensure that we learn from these events to avoid similar occurrences in the future.
o Further, this activity may also cause some stress on students due to the nature of the historical
happenings regarding indigenous people, stolen generation etc., allow for students to express
feelings if necessary and provide further support if needed (discuss any concerns with school
counsellor etc.)
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Extended Activities: 1) Debate or presentation for a future activity: o Students can choose to work on an extension activity, a debate for or against regarding
treatment of indigenous cultures today. Have we progressed today? Alternatively a report
based on information found to support argument, which could be presented to class via poster
or PowerPoint.

2) Students can visit Wordle (http://www.wordle.net/create )

or Tagxedo (http://www.tagxedo.com)
o Create a word wall to keep in the classroom focusing on important key words. Including:
integration, colonisation, invasion, assimilation, stolen generation, cultural identity, connection
to land, spirituality, kinship etc.

Evaluation
o Based on observations and student answers were learning outcomes achieved?
o Were students able to understand the difficulties faced by Indigenous cultures due to
colonisation?
o What elements of the lesson worked well? Why?
o What parts could be improved to support student learning?

Resources
Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (2014). (DVD) Bringing them home: separation of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl82VMuuKI0
Dudgeon, P., Milroy, H., & Walker, R. (2014). Working together: aboriginal and torres strait islander
mental health and wellbeing principles and practice: ACT, Commonwealth of Australia.
Heiss, A. (2013). OnexSameness: Dr Anita Heiss at TEDxBrisbane. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f8ew23tLl0
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). (2010) Dialogue circles: Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander perspectives resources. Retrieved from
https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/approach/indigenous_res_dialogue_circ.pdf
English - Australian Curriculum (2015) P -10, Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting
Authority (ACARA). Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/english/curriculum/f-10?layout=1
Peterson, C. (2004). Looking Forward Through Childhood and Adolescence, Developmental
Psychology. NSW: Pearson Education Australia.
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Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational Psychology, Theory and Practice. Boston, USA: Pearson Education.
Tompkins, G.E., Campbell, D, & Green, D. (2012). Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced
Approach (5th Edition). Frenchs Forrest: Pearson

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