Activity 2: Understanding perspectives of Country/Place

Activity 2: Understanding perspectives of Country/Place

Focus: Deepen understanding of what connection to Country/Place means to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by exploring various perspectives through quotes and engaging discussions.

Possible overarching question: What does connection to Country/Place mean for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and how can these perspectives develop our understanding of this concept?

Step by step guide

• Step 1: Connecting to students' prior learning

• Step 2: Exploring connection to Country/Place through video clip, anchor chart and class discussion

• Step 3: Deepening understanding of connection to Country/Place through exploring quotes

• Step 4: Analysis and interpreting quotes

• Step 5: Reflection and sharing

Required Resources:

• Teacher Support Material

• Access to the video clip The beautiful connection between people and Country | Back To Nature ABC iview

• What does Country mean poster

• Quotes

• Discussion prompts for exploring quotes

• Guiding questions for small group analysis of quotes

Step 1: Connecting to students' prior learning

Refer back to the 'What does Country mean' poster from the previous lesson

"The word Country is used to describe a connection to the land, as if it is a living being that you are related to. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, there is no separation between people, animals, plants, land, sea and sky. It is all Country. It is all family." ⁰

Use the visual representation students created as a stimulus to support students with making connections to prior learning. What aspects of their visual are represented in the quote, e.g. I drew a creek that my family likes to spend time at and in the quote it references waterways.

Co-construct a visual display or anchor chart (words, phrases, images, etc.) with students about the concept of Country that can be added to throughout the learning sequence. You may give students small cards/shapes of paper for them to document each idea and stick these on the display. You can also undertake a process of sorting and classifying these if desired.

Let students know that this will continue to be revisited. Highlight that this understanding will grow and evolve, emphasising the collaborative and iterative nature of learning.

Step 2: Exploring what connection to Country/Place means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Let students know you are going to learn more about what connection to Country/Place means to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by exploring various perspectives. The clip will start to help with this. The beautiful connection between people and Country | Back To Nature ABC iview.

For the initial viewing have students take note of the aspects of country from the quote that are visible in the clip e.g. people, animals, leaves.

After the initial viewing, facilitate a discussion, encouraging students to share their thoughts. Use this discussion to continue populating the anchor chart/wall display with keywords, phrases, and students' illustrations that capture key concepts.

View the clip a second time, pausing at predetermined or significant moments to delve deeper into the content. The Teacher Support Material has outlined key moments to pause and possible questions to ask. You could also encourage students to suggest when to pause based on their curiosity or need for clarification.

As students contribute ideas and observations, collaboratively add these to the anchor chart/wall display. Guide them to make connections between their notes and the broader concept of connection to Country/Place.

Explain that the clip offers insights into the lives and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, inviting students to consider the uniqueness of the different examples they will encounter. If it has not surfaced, have a discussion with students about the concept of perspective so that all students understand what this means as this sets the foundations for future learning when exploring perspectives and diversity.

Step 3: Deepening understanding of what connection to Country/Place means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

A variety of quotes about the diverse views of what Country means are provided. You can place these around your classroom for students to explore.

Divide students into small groups and assign each group a quote to start at. Encourage students to read each quote several times and spend time discussing the words that are used to describe Country/Place.

Additional discussion prompts are provided in the Teacher Support Material that you may wish to use. You can pause students at key points to share before having them move to the next quote.

Students could at this point, consider how these relate to their own explorations of their special place within Activity 1.

Step 4: Analysing and interpreting what connection to Country/Place means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

For this part of the activity, students will focus on one quote to delve deeper into the individual's perspective of Country/Place.

Decide how you want your students to engage with the quotes. This could be done as a whole class, in small groups, in pairs, or individually. Consider your students’ needs, abilities, and cultural backgrounds when selecting quotes to analyse and interpret.

The Teacher Support Material resources provide supporting material to facilitate this part of the activity.

Step 5: Reflection and Sharing

Have students share back to the class a summary of the quote they explored. You may like to use some of the questions from the Teacher Support Material to support students with this.

Collaboratively update the anchor chart/wall display with new insights and visual representations from the groups, highlighting the range of perspectives of connection to Country/Place.

Invite students to write a brief reflection of what they learned and how it might change or deepen their perspective on their own connection to place through an exit ticket.