NAIDOC Week

My blog has had a lot of foot traffic lately and I've noticed that most people have been interested in my NAIDOC Week posts. I love NAIDOC week. It's a great opportunity for us to teach students (and ourselves) about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture. But I also know that it can be a stressful time, when you want to do the occasion justice but you're stuck for ideas.

So today I thought I'd share with you what my school has done around this week/ day.

Earlier this week we celebrated NAIDOC day. We began our day with a whole-school assembly that was run by our Kulcha Club (ATSI students). We had a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by a local Dharug man and then our Kulcha Club performed the beautiful lullaby, 'Inanay' (you can hear a version of the song HERE). Our Kulcha Club met one lunchtime a week, every week, for the whole of Term 2 in preparation for NAIDOC day. The students wore red, yellow or black shirts for the assembly, which they had painted with handprints prior to the day.

Kulcha Club running the K-6 Assembly on the basketball court

After our assembly, students participated in either rotational activities or they watched a performance. And then after recess classes swapped. If they were watching the performance they were then participated in rotational activities and vice versa.

Each grade ran their own rotational activities. For my grade (Year 4) one teacher ran a dancing activity, another read Dreamtime stories, the third teacher had students create artworks and finally I ran a language activity. Other grades ran different activities chosen by the teachers, however, all staff members were given a list of ideas in the lead up to the day.

Notebook file with a variety of Darug words and greetings

Pretend fire that was the centre of our yarning circle

The performances we had, introduced students to dancing and the didgeridoo. There was also story telling and information about Aboriginal culture and history from Elders.

Elder Big Al telling the Stage 2 students a story

In the afternoon, classes had time to participate in activities within their own rooms or they could play games found in the Yulunga document (you can download a copy HERE). This PDF is filled with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games and activities for all ages and group sizes.

Prior to our NAIDOC day, classes also participated in our Doorways Project. Originally the idea was that classes would create a collaborative artwork, along with a story, and then this artwork would be hung outside of the classroom (hence "doorways project"). However in the end, we hung them up in the School Hall as we didn't want them to get weathered.

My class' collaborative painting based on the story 'The Legend of the Seven Sisters'

Artworks made by Stage 2 and 3 classes ready to be hung up in the hall

Like any whole-school event, there are always hiccups along the way. Despite a few little mishaps, I believe our NAIDOC day was a huge success. 

Thank you to the Aboriginal Education Team at RPS for putting the day together!

I would love to hear about what your school does for NAIDOC week. 
Please post your comments below… 

National Reconciliation Week 2017

Today, on National Sorry Day, 
I add my personal apology to the families of the Stolen Generations.
I am sorry for how our country treated you, 
and commit to standing with you towards reconciliation and justice.

Sorry Day - 26th May
Reconciliation Week - 27th May to 3rd June
Mabo Day - 3rd June

Yesterday was National Sorry Day and the beginning of Reconciliation Week for 2017. So I thought I'd share a couple of AMAZING resources that I have found that could help explain this very important week to you children/ students.

But before we get started, let's talk about WHY this year in particular is so important!

This year is a HUGE year as it is the 50 Year Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum where we saw the removal of the words ‘… other than the aboriginal people' from our constitution.

It is also the 25 Year Anniversary of the Mabo Decision which involved Eddie Mabo challenging the Australian legal system in recognising the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Owners of their land.

And the 20 Year Anniversary of the 'Bringing them Home' Report, which was a National inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.​

There's a lot of stuff in there. There's a lot to remember and a lot of pain to dig up. That's why I was completely blown away after reading Jennifer Castles' 'Say Yes'. Not only are the illustrations absolutely beautiful (thank you Paul Seden) but it explains the importance behind the 1967 Referendum clearly. Castles uses a number of examples to delicately show how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were treated prior to the Referendum. 

While Castles respectfully recognises that some people believe that the Referendum was a waste of time as not a lot had changed, she states that if we look back we can see that slowly ("very slowly") some positive changes have happened.

This book is a must-read. I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy!


While searching around the internet, I also stumbled across a number of resources that have been put together by Twinkl. There's lots of resources that can be used and adapted. I particularly like their PowerPoint presentations on Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day.

Screenshot from the Twinkl website.

Don't forget to check out BTN (Behind the News) as well. They tend to cover lots and lots of topics and present the information in a kid-friendly format. They have an episode that covers Reconciliation Week, another that covers Mabo Day and finally one that was released just this week about the 1967 Referendum.

Also remember that the National Reconciliation Week website has lots and lots of ideas. You can download their teaching and learning resources HERE.

NAIDOC Week 2017: Our Languages Matter

Worimi!

I would firstly like to acknowledge the Darug people, the traditional custodians of the land in which I live and work. I would like to pay my respect to Elders both past and present and extend that respect to other Aboriginal people visiting my blog and reading this post.

This year the theme for NAIDOC week is 'Our Languages Matter'. 

And they most definitely do!

What does our census say about Aboriginal languages?

In the 2011 Census, 83% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported speaking only English at home, similar to the proportion of non-Indigenous people (80%).  

About one in 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (11%) reported speaking an Australian Indigenous language at home. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25 to 44 years were most likely to speak an Indigenous language at home (13%), followed closely by those aged 15 to 24 years and those aged 45 years and over (both 11%). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 14 years and under were least likely to speak an Indigenous language (10%) and most likely to speak only English at home (85%).  

Of the Australian Indigenous languages spoken at home, languages in the Arnhem Land and Daly River Region Languages and Western Desert Languages groups were the most widely spoken (18% and 14% respectively). The next most prominent language groups spoken at home were Yolngu Matha and Torres Strait Island Languages (11% each).

Image from ABC Aboriginal Language Map

Here are some helpful resources that can be used to help teach your students about the Dharug people and their language:

1. Campfire Stories
This is an interactive website with short videos of elders speaking in their language. The interviews are presented in sections and include questions to guide students thinking as their watching.

2. Learn Darug
I'm a little addicted to this blog! It contains so many wonderful teaching resources, including notebook files and PDF's. The resources cover topics such as language, sacred sites, "Survival Day", etc. This site was developed for teachers working on Darug country.

3. Splash
Jacinta Tobin… where have you been all my life??? Splash have put together a number of videos with Jacinta speaking language. She explains how to greet people and use manners in Dharug. It's absolutely stunning. Click on the 'What to view next' side bar on the right to view more of her videos (after clicking on the 'Splash' link that is).

4. ABC Aboriginal Language Map
A great interactive tool to help show the different language groups/ countries. Use the magnifying tool to zoom in and have a closer look at the countries and where they are.

5. Dharug Dalang
This website is virtually a dictionary of Dharug words and phrases. Click on the 'Word Lists' tab to search for English words and find the Dharug translation (and vice versa).

Want to see some of my other posts? Click on the following links:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the Classroom

NAIDOC Week 2016: Songlines

Aboriginal-inspired Artworks

10 ATSI Online Resources

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the Classroom

Before I get started writing today's post… 

Happy NAIDOC week! 
And can I just say how excited I am for Linda Burney, being the FIRST Aboriginal woman to be elected into the House of Reps. :)

Now with saying that, I've been doing a fair bit of research lately about the ATSI Perspective in my teaching. As I was searching the net I found this amazing article which really got me thinking. I'll attach it HERE for you to read. It's entitled 'Bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the classroom: Why and how?' and it's written by Cara Shipp from Wanniassa School, ACT. It's not for the faint hearted. Shipp is pretty ruthless actually. She encourages teachers to get rid of the term tokenism and to stop making excuses for why they aren't teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives… ‘Oh, I’d like to incorporate Indigenous perspectives but I’m scared of doing it in a tokenistic way [so I just don’t do it].’

I felt so inspired after reading this article that it got me thinking about our curriculum. The new NSW syllabus' have now included  'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures' in their cross-curriculum priorities. That means that they've already outlined HOW to incorporate the ATSI perspective in all Key Learning Areas.

When you read through any NSW syllabus, you may see a little hand print () pictured next to a content descriptor within an outcome. This symbol means that the content listed includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and or cultures. 

I decided that I'd check out the English and Mathematics syllabus' in particular, and see exactly what is covered within the content. I then created the following documents which I've attached for you to download (see below).

In these documents, I have recorded every outcome that has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content for ES1 through to Stage 3. You can download the English document HERE and the Mathematics document HERE. I thought it was a great way to see what exactly is covered. I must admit… I'm a little shocked. I'm impressed at how much is in Early Stage 1 but slightly disappointed at how much it drops off by Stage 3.

Regardless, there is content and we (as teachers) need to cover it.

While I was at it, I checked out the 'Australian Professional Standard for Teachers'. There were two main standards that addressed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and histories-  Standard 1 (Know students and how they learn) and Standard 2 (Know content and how to teach it). I thought it was interesting how it makes it clear that we teach the ATSI perspective not only to the benefit of the Indigenous students present in our classes, but for all of our students.

So now what?

I thought it would be cool to share some of the amazing lessons we've all been doing in our classes! Feel free to comment below about what you've been doing… or email me at rach.sellen@gmail.com

I'd love to feature some of your amazing ideas/ lessons and celebrate what you've been doing with you classes. No need to be shy people… SHARING IS CARING! 

NAIDOC week 2016: Songlines

The theme for NAIDOC week 2016 is Songlines: The Living Narrative of our Nation.

But what exactly are "Songlines"?

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Dreamtime describes a time when the earth, people and animals were created by our ancestral spiritual beings. They created the rivers, lakes, plants, land formations and living creatures.

Dreaming tracks crisscross Australia and trace the journeys of our ancestral spirits as they created the land, animals and lores. These dreaming tracks are sometimes called ‘Songlines’ as they record the travels of these ancestral spirits who 'sung' the land into life.

These Songlines are recorded in traditional songs, stories, dance and art. They carry significant spiritual and cultural connection to knowledge, customs, ceremony and Lore of many Aboriginal nations and Torres Strait Islander language groups.

Songlines are intricate maps of land, sea and country. They describe travel and trade routes, the location of waterholes and the presence of food. In many cases, Songlines on the earth are mirrored by sky Songlines, which allowed people to navigate vast distances of this nation and its waters.

This information and more can be found on the NAIDOC website.

This theme is perfect for making a small unit of work around! I think it's really important to incorporate the ATSI perspective throughout all teaching… however, it can be very tokenistic if not done authentically. NAIDOC week is a great opportunity for ALL teachers to spend quality time teaching about Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander histories and culture.

I have searched the internet and I have found four brilliant units of work that I'd like to share with you. I also have a few ideas of my own around the theme of Songlines.

I found this on Pinterest- no direct link to anywhere -
but I thought it would be a cute addition to
'The Rainbow Serpent' unit.

Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2):
Reading Australia have created an impressive unit of work around Dick Roughsey's 'The Rainbow Serpent'. I'm in love with this book and this unit has a collection of lessons that help students to develop a deeper understanding of Songlines. You can find a copy of the unit of work HERE.

Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4):

The Australian Curriculum Lessons website have published a fantastic unit entitled 'Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories'. You can find it HERE.

Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6):

The National Literacy and Numeracy week have published and project that they had conducted called 'Dhurri Birrilii-gal Burruguu' (Children Write Dreamtime Stories). Following the project results, is a copy of a simple yet very effective program aimed primarily at Year 5 students. You can find it HERE.

The Western Australian Department of Education have created a program entitled 'Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories'. The program is quite detailed and is an excellent resource for Years 5 through to 7. You can find it HERE.

Finally… I thought I'd share with you what I will be doing with my class.

I have decided to spend some quality time studying 'The Legend of the Seven Sisters' by Mary L O'Brien and Sue Wyatt. This beautiful picture book explains a Sky Path that the Aboriginal people would use to help them navigate longer journeys.

I will start by explaining what the 2016 theme means. I have found a couple of youtube videos that I will show my students to help explain the theme Songlines. 

Video 1: What are Songlines?
Video 2: NAIDOC Week 2016

Alma Nungarrayl Granites - Seven Sisters

Once I am confident that students understand the theme, I thought that it would then be a great time to introduce 'The Legend of the Seven Sisters' and read it aloud to the class.

The plan is to then show students a variety of artworks about the Seven Sisters. The Japingka Gallery have a wide selection of beautiful artworks, including the one pictured right. I've actually fallen in love with them and that's why I thought it would be a great idea for students to paint their own version.

As we live in the Sydney area, I thought it would be a good idea to study some of the constellations in our night sky and paint them using dots. Students will use dotting techniques to portray important constellations, such as The Southern Cross and The Big Dipper. 

We will be celebrating NAIDOC week during Week 5 of Term 3. I will update you all with how my lesson went and what the artworks look like, once we're complete. 

So stay tuned for more! Feel free to join my Mailing List so that you can be updated about future posts!

I have a Poll <--

Hi there everyone,

I've just created a poll (to the left) and it would be greatly appreciated if you could read it and click on all of the options that are appropriate for you.

Just wanted to know what you're all interested in and what you'd like to read in the future.

The poll will close the 31st of July 2016.

Thanks in advance! :)

Aboriginal-Inspired Artworks

Artwork One: Nature Installation Artworks

I taught this lesson a couple of years ago now, but it has left an imprint on my memory. It was such a fun unit to teach and the students LOVED IT.

We actually started off by studying Andy Goldsworthy the installation artist, while studying Aboriginal culture and history. Goldsworthy's artworks are stunning. He uses only things found in nature to create his artworks and then he films/photographs them as "nature itself" destroys the artwork. 

Students were encouraged to explain their own message through a nature installation. This could be easily adapted so that students are explaining a Dreamtime story or a moral. Students are given a certain amount of time and can only use things found laying around the playground. They could not pull anything off trees or destroy bushes and plants.

Like Goldsworthy, we photographed the artworks being destroyed by nature over time.

Artwork Two: Vivid Opera House Design

This is another fun art lesson and is very appropriate as Vivid Lights are currently on in Sydney's CBD.

For those who haven't heard of Vivid, it's a light show in Sydney that projects images on some of our iconic buildings and structures. It's absolutely beautiful. Every year, the Opera House gets covered in lights and there's usually an Aboriginal design in amongst other designs.

For this lesson, I merged the Vivid lights show with NAIDOC week. Students were encouraged to paint an Aboriginal design onto an Opera House template. We then cut it out and glued it onto a piece of paper that was coloured in oil pastels and then painted over in black paint. Students then etched fireworks into the background.

I can't take credit for this lesson idea... It actually came from my Brother and Sister-in-Law but I can highly recommend it. It's such an easy lesson that looks very impressive in the end.

Artwork Three: Bark Paintings

I actually organised this lesson for Years 3-6 to complete when celebrating NAIDOC week at my school.

Students were given brown paper which they ripped around the edges to give a bark-effect. Students then chose a Darug Totem (Aboriginal Countries have different totems which are special to them) and sketched it out on the brown paper. Using a cu-tip, students dot painted their animal and the surrounding. They were also given oil pastels to draw designs on their animals.

The final results are impressive.

For more Aboriginal-Inspired artworks, games and activities... Check out my Pinterest Board: http://pin.it/KUjMPe-

Artwork Four: Aboriginal-inspired Stencil Handprints

I have been teaching this lesson to the whole of Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4) in our CAPA rotations time. It's been such a great lesson! I started by informing students about WHY Aboriginal people use stencil handprints and we looked at a variety of artworks that include stencil handprints. We then discussed different totems, symbols and traditions of the Darug people (we had an excursion only weeks before to Muru Mittigar which was perfect). Students already had knowledge about this, so they felt like experts. And then we got straight into making and creating.

I bought some spray bottles from a $2 Store in the 'Hair' section. I mixed paint with water so that we had a watery mixture and that's what students sprayed over their hand template.

A very quick and easy lesson that produces an effective piece of art.

I'm so happy that they're hung up and ready for NAIDOC week 2016.

Well I hope you found these ideas helpful and/or inspiring. I'd love to hear about any of your ATSI CAPA lessons and/or teaching ideas. Feel free to comment below or email me at rach.sellen@gmail.com

10 ATSI Online Resources!

I love being able to incorporate the ATSI perspective into most areas of my teaching. Now there are HEAPS of resources out there… the problem is sometimes trying to find them!

While on Maternity Leave, I dedicated a fair amount of time to finding these resources and creating a database of them. I had to search far and wide for some gems which were hidden in the abyss that is the internet.

With NAIDOC week fast-approaching I thought that tonight I'd share TEN of these amazing resources and websites with you, that are perfect for the Primary Classroom.

Image taken of one of my students artworks (2014).

1. YULUNGA- This is a PDF that you can download/print and it is filled with games and activities from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities from around the country. This is an excellent resource for PD/H/PE and for those moments when you need to fill-in some time.

2. Dust Echoes- This is a favourite of mine. Dust Echoes is a series of twelve beautifully animated dreamtime stories from Central Arnhem Land, telling stories of love, loyalty, duty to country and aboriginal custom and law.

3. Global Words- The fifteen units of work in Global Words have been produced by World Vision Australia and the Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) to integrate the teaching and learning of English with global citizenship education.

4. Move It Mob Style-  Move it Mob Style is a 20 episode x 30 minute dance-based fitness program for television broadcast and online. Showcasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander hip hop and popular music, Move it Mob Style is all about good beats: using dance to stay healthy. Another great resource for PD/H/PE.

5. Deadly Vibe- Our vision is to support all Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people in reaching their full potential by providing positive imagery, identifiable role models and quality information to improve community and quality of life. Deadly Vibe is Australia’s only national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, sport, entertainment, health and education magazine. This is a great resource for Literacy Groups.

6. Be Deadly Online-  Deadly Online is an animation and poster campaign about big issues online, like bullying, reputation and respect for others. Developed with deadly Indigenous writers and voice actors, all Australians can enjoy these short, fun animations and learn about how we want to behave together online.

7. Dreaming Stories Online- A collection of Dreamtime stories in video format, and useful information for students.

8. Gummingurru- There are a variety of resources and units of work on this website, available to the general public. These learning activities are seen by the Gummingurru Aboriginal Corporation (GAC) as an important reconciliation activity to be shared by Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal people.

9. Darug Country- The blog is designed to promote Learning from Aboriginal Country in Sydney. This site provides you with videos, lessons for the IWB, texts, and ideas for teaching about Darug on Darug Country. This resource is brilliant… make sure you check it out!

10. Education Dreaming (Crackerjack)- Education Dreaming is a non-Profit, For Purpose, Social Enterprise set up to share and educate to the world (using positive and innovative methodologies) and revive for our own people, the incredible and precious ancient culture and knowledge of this country’s Ancient Australians.

And there you have it… 

Ten AMAZING websites/resources that you should definitely check out RIGHT NOW!

EDIT: I have created a database with these and other websites/resources that I've found. You can download it for FREE right HERE. 

Please note that this is a work in progress. If you find any other ATSI websites/ resources please feel free to comment below and I'll add them in :)