EDFGC 2031 Indigenous Perspectives On Teaching and Learning

Assessment Task 1 A lesson Plan and Rationale

Ashleigh Christian 30126487

Contextual Statement
The following lesson plan will be based on Australian Indigenous History, of the local
Gunai/Kurnai tribe founded in Gippsland.
This lesson plan is an introductory lesson into the unit, which will run for approximately 60
minutes. To begin the unit off I will be discussing how there are numerous indigenous tribes
throughout Victoria, although being from Gippsland we will focus our attention on the local tribe
the Gunai/Kurnai and their language.
As this lesson is aimed at a class of year 3 students tasks will be simple and creativity to keep
them engaged and motivated throughout the unit.
This Unit and lesson reflects AusVELS level 3 History, Community and Remembrance

The importance of Country and Place to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples
who belong to a local area. (This is intended to be a local area study with a focus on one
Language group). Identifying the language groups of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples who belong to the local area and explaining the relationship between language,
country, place and spirituality listening to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Elders,
grandparents and older community members tell stories associated with the local
language groups and the land they belong to.

Throughout the course of this Unit we will also be discussing the history of their land and their
spiritual connections they have with the land using the 8 ways of Aboriginal learning.

Lesson Plan SUBJECT: AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

(INDIGENOUS TRIBE: THE GUNAI/KURNAI LANGUAGE)
GRADE LEVEL: 3

LOCATION: CLASSROOM

CLASS SIZE: 10Female/15Male

Learning Intention:
-What skill are the students learning
in this session?
E.g.
-Students will be developing their
understanding of.
-Students will be revising the skill
of.
-Students will further develop their
ability to .

In this lesson students will be developing their

understanding of Australian History, and the
Indigenous culture and their people.
(This lesson will be focused on level 3 on Ausvels
history)
The importance of Country and Place to Aboriginal
and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples who belong to a
local area.
(This is intended to be a local area study with a focus
on one Language group; however, if information or
sources are not readily available, another

representative area may be studied)

Success Criteria:
What do the students have to do
during this session to demonstrate
that they have achieved the intended
learning (learning intention)?
Eg. For students to be successful by
the end of the session/unit, they
must be able to
(Try to focus on how they will show
the learning and NOT on just
completing a task)

Tune in/Crafting:
-Check what they already
know/revise prior learning.
-Make sure you include WHY the
students are learning this skill How
will they use it in real life?
-What new skill/learning are you
going to introduce and how are you
going to introduce this? (Anchor
chart to hang up in the room, Turn
and talk with a partner, interesting
video or picture)
-Is there any way to make it more
interesting for the students?

Student activity:
-What activity are the students going
to do to practice the learning that
you have just taught? (This needs to
like to the Learning intention and
Success Criteria)
-How are you going to accommodate
for ALL learners? (some students are
learning at a grade 1 level and some
are working at a year 7 level They
cant do the exact same activity)
-Is there any way that you can make
it more interesting for the students
engaging them?

For students to be successful at the end of this unit

they should be able to give a description of the
indigenous culture and know about the Aboriginal
and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples who belong in
their local area, being the Gunaikurnai as the
traditional owners of Gippsland.

Sit students down the floor

- Ask each student to give one different piece of
information they already know about the
indigenous people. (Write each fact up on the
board)
- Following this, explain to students how in each
area of Victoria there is a different group of
indigenous tribes who are the traditional owners.
- Introduce the Gunaikurnai group as the
traditional owners of Gippsland region.
- Explain that its important for students to know
the early history of Australia as it plays a huge
contribution to our lives. And thats why we are
learning about it.
- Start talking about the language of the
Gunai/kurnai tribe and how they say hello and
goodbye differently to us.
The activity that will be taking place in todays lesson is
a simple one to help them ease into the topic, which
comes from the strategy 8 ways pedagogy non-verbal
Students will trace their hand on to a colored piece of
paper then in the middle
of their hand they will
write Wunman Njinde
hello and Yarrabee
goodbye
(Half the class will have
Wunman Njinde as a
Wunman
group, and the other half
Njinde
will have Yarrabee as a
group)
(Hello)
Then colour in their hand
(after completion of this
activity hands will be placed

YARRABEE
(Goodbye)

on the window for people walking by to see).

As this is only a simple task, students will then move
on to colour in a blank copy of the original flag to go up
on the display along side their hand.

Reflection:
-What method of reflection would you
like to use? (Group discussion, Turn
and Talk, Written reflection in book,
Feedback sheet?)
What are you going to focus on in the
reflection?
(Think about a question you are
going to ask This needs to link in to
the success criteria or Success
Criteria)
Try not to focus just on sharing work
try to focus on the learning that has
occurred.

Assessment:
-What assessment method are you
going to use to check the
understanding of students?
(roving around the room, collecting
work books, Written notes,
Questioning students)

To wrap up this activity I will bring students on to the

floor in a circle.
We will practice our pronunciations of Wunman
Njinde and Yarrabee.
And take down suggestions from students if there is
anything in particular they would like to discuss in
future classes.
(Due to this being the first lesson of the unit, there will
be not as much to reflect on, until students get deeper
into the unit).

To check that students understand the task throughout

this lesson I will be
- Wondering around the room, checking up on
students progress (checking the see if spelling is
correct and letter formation is also correct)
- Asking them questions
- Collecting their work at the end of the lesson

-What can you do with this

information?
(Identify target students, Group
students, change follow up lesson
etc.)

Resources:
-What do you need for this lesson?

Colored paper
Blank copy of Aboriginal flag
Whiteboard and whiteboard markers
Black markers for students to trace their hands

Rationale
CULTURAL AWARENESS
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priority provides opportunities for all learners to deepen
their knowledge of Australia by engaging with the worlds oldest continuous living cultures. This
knowledge and understanding will enrich their ability to participate positively in the ongoing
development of Australia. Australian Curriculum (n.d)
Throughout this lesson plan, and mainly at the beginning it displays great cultural awareness
between the different tribes, as mentioned in the tune in/crafting section at the beginning of the
lesson, also known as the introduction to the lesson. Discussion will take place about all the
different tribes throughout Victoria, and how there will be a particular focus on the Gunai/Kurnai
tribe being the local tribe to Gippsland. The differences between each group will be discussed
further throughout the unit. However the main focus for this lesson will be the Gunai/Kurnai
language and how they have their way of communicating compared to the other tribes
throughout Victoria. Shemshadsara (2012) states that Culture awareness has become an
important focus of modern language education, a shift that reflects a greater awareness of the
inseparability of language and culture, and the need to prepare students for intercultural
communication. According to Australian Curriculum (n.d) students in grade 3 are expected to be
introduced to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as it states, This history curriculum seeks
to target the distinct nature of learners in Years 36 by including content about Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander societies.

HOW IT BENEFITS ALL STUDENTS

The above lesson plan will benefit all students in numerous ways, the entire lesson overall is
engaging and creative which will capture the attention of majority of students. This lesson plan
has the 8 Aboriginal ways of learning incorporated into it and each lesson students will focus on a
different way learning. For this first lesson the main focus will be on the tribes language through
a non-verbal activity and throughout each lesson plan students will use a different focus, for
example the following lesson students will turn their attention to Symbols and Images and
looking at the Gunai/Kurnai symbols they used. This learning strategy is beneficial to all students
as it allows for every student to be creative and get involved. Due to each lesson looking at new
focus based on the 8 ways it keeps the Unit as a whole refreshing and will really get them into
the indigenous spirit by completing tasks the way the indigenous have done so. AusVELS (n.d)
suggests students at a level 3 know The importance of Country and Place to Aboriginal and/or
Torres Strait Islander peoples who belong to a local area. The above lesson plans works within
the AusVELS curriculum as it is educating students about the Aboriginal people and their local
area, and because the school is in the Gippsland region its important they know about the local
Gunai/kurnai community.

HOW IT BENEFITS INDIGENOUS STUDENTS

Korffs (2015) implies that Aboriginal students are more used to working for the collective good
rather than focusing on individual achievement. It is foreign for them to be tested as individuals
for their knowledge, when their usual context is seeing what the group can achieve collectively.
The above lesson plans will bring indigenous students to comfort as it involves group work, and
as mentioned above by Korffs (2015) Aboriginals rather to work in a collective group, as that is
how they are use working.
By the Indigenous students working together with their peers in a group task completing

something that is close to home for them, it can allow for them to feel accepted among their
peers especially if they to are gaining enjoyment out of the task at hand.
By educating students about some of their fellow peers cultural tribe, it is making those
indigenous students feel accepted as their culture is still recognized in the local community and
the school.
Westaway (2014) states that Australias Aboriginal history is a story over 50,000 years in the
making but one that has generally been excluded from the schools education system. Not only
do non-indigenous benefit from this, its important the indigenous students are also aware of
their own stories, especially when there is 50,000 years worth.
This is why this lesson plan, the overall unit is beneficial to them also, as it may give them a
great insight in their culture and they may find out information that is relatively new to them,
especially being at such a young age. The information they learn from this Unit can stay with
them for many years and is a vital piece of history that can be passed down the future
generations of indigenous students.

REFRENCES
AusVELS. (n.d). History / Level 3 / Historical Knowledge and Understanding / Community and
Remembrance. Retrieved September 16, 2015, from http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Level3
Australian Curriculum. (n.d). History. Retrieved September 17, 2015, from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-social-sciences/history/history-acrossfoundation-to-year-12
Australian Curriculum. (n.d) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. Retrieved
September 17, 2015, from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/crosscurriculumpriorities/Aboriginal-and-Torres-StraitIslander-histories-and-cultures
Shemshadara, Z (2012). Developing Cultural Awareness in Foreign Language Teaching. English
Language Teaching, 5(3). Retrieved from
http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/viewFile/15270/10334
Westaway, M. (2014) Why our kids should learn Aboriginal history. Retrieved September 17,
2015, from http://theconversation.com/why-our-kids-should-learn-aboriginal-history-24196
8 Ways Wiki Spaces. (2013). 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning. Retrieved September 17, 2015, from
http://8ways.wikispaces.com