Students use cards to revise new words, then create a song in Language with actions, using mime and weather sentences, e.g. “today is cold” and students shiver, etc. Video the class performance for revision purposes and/or to show others. Assessment: observation, quizzes, role-play, contribution to discussions, written work, oral presentation, display of artwork (delete those not applicable) Topic 2: Plants and Animals Overview Suggested Student Activities Insert words and grammar in target Language Comments/resources for the Language Team and Aboriginal Teacher Greeting routine See Topic 1 Farewell routine See 1 Revision Create a wordfinder using seasonal words for the class to complete. Plants Ask a knowledgeable community member to show the students examples of local plants on which Aboriginal people rely. Ask them to tell students when they can be found. Students make notes, including the word in Language. Lead by an appropriate community member, examine the different plants used in cooking, and discuss how diets would vary with the seasons. Make notes and discuss in class. Role-play – a friend and ask if they know where to find some lemon myrtle, pepperberry, old man weed or similar. Hi my friend: Where is old man weed?: Plants, algae and fungi of Victoria Australian Plants Society Yarra Yarra Animals Examine the different animals local Aboriginal people hunt and in which season, since there are certain times when hunting is not allowed. Students find out when this is and why. He and I went hunting. We saw a big red kangaroo. I threw a long spear. I killed the red kangaroo with the spear. My mother cooked the red kangaroo. We all ate the cooked red
Students write a short story about searching for food, using as much Language as possible. They might make this into a Claymation, a short movie or store as a resource. kangaroo. Ergative marker Using a wordlist and other resources, students make up pairs of sentences using seasons / animal / plant words and verbs, to reinforce the use of the ergative marker and tense. of sentences with the ergative – Sentence 1 with ‘the man’ as the (the person or that does the action): ‘The man is biting the yam.’ Sentence 2 with ‘the man’ as the object (the person or the action is done to) and the dog as the subject: ‘The dog is biting the man.’ Assessment: observation, quizzes, role-play, contribution to class discussions, written work, oral presentation, display of artwork (delete those not applicable) Topic 3: Seasonal Human Activities Overview Suggested Student Activities Insert words and grammar in target Language Comments/resources for the Language Team and Aboriginal Teacher Greeting routine See Topic 1. Farewell routine See Topic 1. Revision Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? Print out a list of known words in Language. The teacher divides the class into two teams seated opposite each other. S/he calls out a Language word and the first student to answer with the correct translation and category gains a point for their side. It is helpful to have one or two students acting as judge and scorekeeper. Language practice Conversation – students write a role play where they ask a friend to go on a seasonal activity. Students act out their conversations. ‘Hi my friend.’ ‘Let’s (you and me) hunt grey kangaroo!’ Seasonal activities of Aboriginal people General class discussion Invite a senior community member to talk to the class about the seasonal events most Aboriginal people depended on in the past. Swim, float, to: Shivering: Get, to: Gather, to: Hunt, to: Hit, beat, to: Kill, to: Cook, to: See sample unit Aboriginal People and the Environment