Activity 4 (Part two of two): Noticing the current season

Activity 4 (Part two of two): Noticing the current season

NOTE: Because this resource is used Australia wide, teachers need to select the local Indigenous calendar for their school and adapt some of the activity including the walk to fit.

Focus: Noticing local signs (plants, animals, weather) that show which Indigenous season we are in.

Possible overarching question: What clues does Country give us to tell us which season it is?

Step by step guide

• Step 1: Connecting to students’ prior learning

• Step 2: Shared text and discussion

• Step 3: Mini lesson – Western calendars and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander seasonal calendars

• Step 4: Season spotter walk

• Step 5: Reflection and sharing

Required Resources

• Teacher Support Material

• “Did You Know?” Resource from Activity 4 (Part one)

• Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons by Ebony Froome; illustrated by Leanne Zilm

• Four Western season props (e.g. Hat (Summer), red paper leaf (Autumn), Scarf (Winter), Flower (Spring))

• Local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander seasonal calendar

• Season spotter scaffolds (choose one that fits any calendar – ideas below)

• Clipboards

• Devices or cameras for photos

• Seasons wheel

Step 1: Connecting to students’ prior learning

Using the “Did you know?” resource move through the examples to reconnect students with the senses and caring actions.

Step 2: Shared text and discussion

Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons. Ebony Froome. Illustrator Leanne Zilm. Fremantle Press. © Ebony Froome and Leanne Zilm. Used with permission.

Let students know that you will now be reading Djinang Bonar: Seeing Seasons by Ebony Froome; illustrated by Leanne Zilm. This story highlights the six seasons of the Noongar calendar. Return to the “Did you know?” example from Noongar Country and let students know, “We are going to learn more about Noongar seasons”.

Pause at each Noongar season page so students can call out “I spy” details in the illustrations (warm wind blowing, eucalyptus leaves, gum trees with white flowers, salmon, etc.). Highlight the Noongar words for those signs. You may wish to model the “I spy” and pronunciation for the first season.

Step 3: Mini lesson – Western calendars and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander seasonal calendars

Invite four students to the front of the room. Hand out the Western season props (hat, red paper leaf, Scarf, Flower) and ask the class:

• “What are our volunteers representing?”

• “What order should they be in?”

Explain that these seasons always stay in this order, follow the calendar months and never change. Provide an example, “Summer always starts on 1 December; Winter always ends on 31 August.”

Thank the volunteers and reconnect students with your local Indigenous seasonal calendar. Say “Let’s look closely at this calendar and see what makes it special.” Unpack the features with your students tailoring this to the local calendar:

• Number of seasons: “How many slices/sections can we see? Is it the same four, or different?”

• Season names in language: Practise saying each name.

• Indicator artwork or images: Ask, “What living things do we see? I spy a wattle bush in one season and a baby turtle in another.” Note plants, animals, weather cues and sky signs. Emphasise that each picture is an indicator showing the season is changing.

• Season length: “Do all the sections look the same size? Some are skinny, some wide. That tells us some seasons last longer; others might come and go quickly if the signs change fast.”

• Senses: “If we are looking for that yellow wattle flower, which sense do we need? Eyes. If we are waiting for frogs to call, which sense? Ears.”

• Caring actions: Point to one icon (e.g., a flowering grass tree) and ask, “When this grass tree flowers, what might the (refer to the Traditional Custodians) people do? They could gather nectar carefully or leave space for birds to feed. The calendar links noticing to caring.”

Finish with a quick recap:

“This calendar is different from the four season calendar of Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. It listens to Country, plants, animals, weather, even the stars, to decide when one season ends and the next begins. We are going to head outside to see which of these signs we can find right here at school or in our local neighbourhood.”

Step 4: Season spotter walk

Explain that the class will search the school grounds (or local community area) for clues that match today’s Indigenous season. Provide printed mini calendars if helpful and handout clipboards. Students document observations with sketches, notes or photos.

At the first location, repeat the grounding pause from Activity 2: thirty silent seconds with eyes closed, focusing on one sound, smell or feeling. Remind students to keep their senses switched on as they explore.

As students spread out, float between them, asking, “What seasonal clue have you found? What sense helped you?”.

Step 5: Reflection and sharing

Facilitate a short discussion linking observations back to the seasonal calendar. Explain that not every indicator will appear during one walk, but each cue belongs to this season.

Give students the season wheel (circle divided into three). They draw one plant, one animal and one weather sign they saw, then share in small groups.