Home/Curriculum resources/Communicating traditional Indigenous Knowledge/Activity 2 – The story of how Ngadju got fire
Learning Area:
English
Year level:
Level 6
Suggested timing:
30 minutes, including whole class discussion
Required resources:
Electronic or print version of the Ngadju kala document
Activity 2 – The story of how Ngadju got fire
This activity is a part of the Communicating traditional Indigenous Knowledge resource.
Uluru from Above. Photographer: NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0
In this activity, students will engage with the Ngadju kala document by reading and discussing the story of how fire was given to the Ngadju people, focusing on its unique language and cultural significance.
Step by Step guide
Step 1: Read the story
Students will read the story inset ‘How fire was given to the people’ (p. 3) from the Ngadju kala document. They can read aloud in small groups or pairs to get a sense of the different sounds and cadences in this example of Aboriginal English.
Step 2: Discuss the story
They will then discuss how this is different from the surrounding text in the document, what the story communicates, and why it is important to write the story in the way that it was spoken. Students can also discuss the reasons why this and other quotations are attributed to the author using their name and where they are from.
Related activities within this resources:
Inquiry-based learning questions
These inquiry-based questions are provided for flexible classroom use, allowing teachers to tailor discussion and reflections specific to their classroom needs.
Activity 1 – Different uses of fire
In this activity, students will compare their own experiences with fire usage to that of the Ngadju people as documented in the Ngadju kala publication, fostering a cross-cultural understanding of fire's diverse roles. They'll brainstorm, document, and explore specific examples, enhancing their appreciation of the multifaceted nature of fire in different cultures.
Suggested timing:
One lesson divided into two 20 minute blocks, with 10 minutes for whole class report back
Required resources:
Electronic or print version of the Ngadju kala document
Activity 3 – Communicating traditional knowledge with images and diagrams
In this activity, students will explore the multifaceted uses of fire in Ngadju culture, as portrayed in the Ngadju kala document.
Required resources:
Electronic or printed version of the Ngadju kala document, optional extension activity requires using the Ngadju seasonal calendar document