AN ABORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE IN GEOGRAPHY

BY TRUPTI DEVARKONDA AND ALEXANDRA RIVETT

Lesson Plan

1. Geography Syllabus 3. Aboriginal Perspective 5. Summary 7. References 2. Geographical Perspective 4. Activity 6. Other syllabus connections

"Kira Kira Trading Aboriginal Snake" Photo. kirakirawholesale.com 6th Sept. 2012 < http://www.kirakirawholesale.com/asp_pages/products.a

sp?ID=45 > Whalley K. (2004) Science Focus. Pearson Education Australia pp 120-131

Geography Syllabus

Stage 5: Australian Geography Focus Area 5A1: Investigating Australia’s Physical Environments

Origins of the Continent: Geographical Perspective

• Continental drift is the tendency of landmasses to move around the Earth.

• Provides an explanation of how Pangaea was able to break up and turn into the seven continents that exist today.

Elizabeth Morales "Pangaea" Map. yourdictionary.com 7th Sept 2012 < http://images.yourdictionary.com/pangaea > "Continental drift" Map.

www.geography-site.co.uk

6th Sept. 2012 < http://www.geography-site.co.uk/pages/physical/earth/tect.html

>

Origins of the Continent: Geographical Perspective

• The liquid like layer under the crust, called the asthenosphere, causes the plates to shift and separate into the continents we have today. • Some evidence for the theory of continental drift comes from volcanic activity, earthquakes, mountain building and oceanic trench formation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_IY QdKkWsU (0:0:43 – 0:0:1.42) "The Ring of Fire" Map. nowpublic.com 8th Sept. 2012

• • • •

Origins of the Continent: Aboriginal Perspective

The stories of the Dreaming tell of how the world was created.

Dreaming stories have been passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation.

Ancestral beings created all the landforms and life forms.

They returned to where they came from or merged into the features they created. This is where they exist today.

Origins of the Continent: Aboriginal Perspective

Norbett Lynch ‘Dreamtime painting’ aboriginalart.com 9 mtime2.html

th Sept 2012 http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/drea • • • Dreaming stories are preserved in traditional Aboriginal paintings and artefacts.

Form a map depicting the landscape and events of the Dreaming.

Hidden meaning only known by those who understand the Dreaming story.

Activity

Every group has an Australian landform and animal.

1. Create a possible creation story to explain how your animal could have created your landform.

2. Create an illustration to depict your story.

3. Discuss a possible moral. 4. Present to the class.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y3Ta5xcKV4&feature=plcp

Summary

• • • • • Clear outline for lesson and activity.

Use of images and symbols during explanations to engage the audience.

Story telling was a key element of the activity.

Local examples were used to enhance community and land links.

Humour was used in the videos and could have been incorporated into the activity.

• • • • • • •

Other Syllabus connections

Aboriginal perspectives in all KLAs (NSW Board of Studies, 2009) Holistic approach to learning (Harrison, 2011, p124) Geography • Stage 4: the nature of geography, global environments, community interactions.

• Stage 5: Australian environments, geographical issues.

Science: Plate tectonics, ecosystems.

History: Australia 1788-1900.

PDHPE: A sense of self, connectedness.

English, Visual Art, Drama: Aboriginal artists and texts.

Reference List

- Aboriginal Australia Art & Culture Centre – Alice Springs. (n.d.). Aboriginal Art. Retrieved 30/9/2011, from http://aboriginalart.com.au/ - Harrison, N. (2011). Quality teaching practices for Aboriginal children. In Teaching and Learning in Indigenous Education. (pp.59-86). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

-New South Wales Board of Studies. (2003). Geography 7-10 Syllabus. Sydney: Board of Studies NSW.

- New South Wales Board of Studies. (2009). Mapping Aboriginal Perspectives and Cross-curriculum Content K-10. (pp. 23-31). Sydney: Author.

-Paine, J., & Bliss, S. (2005). Geoactive 2: Stage 5 Australian Geography (2 nd ed.). Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons Australia.

- Whalley K. (2004) Science Focus (3 rd pp. 120-131 Edition). Pearson Education Australia