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Talkback Classroom, 2007: Yirrkala bark petition

In this clip Franchesca Cubillo (senior curator at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory) talks to secondary students about the significance of Aboriginal artwork and the Yirrkala bark petition of 1963. She says that when a bauxite mine was proposed on the Gove Pensinsula, the Yolngu people at Yirrkala had ...

Video

John Curtin's Australian Journalists Association badge, 2007

Prime Minister John Curtin's journalistic instincts came in handy during World War II when he kept the media onside with secret press briefings. He wore his AJA badge every day he was in office. 'John Curtin's Australian Journalists Association badge' is an episode from the series 'The prime ministers' national treasures', ...

Video

Immigration: fill it or lose it, 1992

This video clip looks at the political forces and propaganda campaigns that tried to fill Australia with 'pure white' immigrants. 'Immigration: fill it or lose it' is an excerpt from the documentary 'Admission impossible' (54 min), produced in 1992. For much of the 20th century, successive Australian governments pursued ...

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'The claim disputed', c1852

This is a watercolour, measuring 19.4 cm x 25.4 cm, by Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-80), a famous colonial artist. It shows a well-dressed man - presumably the Gold Commissioner - arbitrating a dispute over a claim involving three diggers, probably on the Victorian gold fields. Two of the diggers are in animated discussion ...

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Concert room at Ballarat, 1855

This is a watercolour, measuring 22.8 cm x 31.9 cm, by Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-80), a famous colonial artist. It shows Charles Thatcher (1831-78), a comic singer well known on the gold fields, performing popular songs on stage at the Charlie Napier Hotel in Ballarat with a female accompanist. The painting has the artist's ...

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'Gold digging in Australia 1852: bad results'

This is the first of a pair of oval watercolours, measuring 20.2 cm x 26.4 cm, painted by Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-80), a famous colonial artist. It shows two gold miners sitting dejectedly beside their mine, probably on the Victorian gold fields. Behind the men is a windlass, as well as their wheelbarrow, pick and spade. ...

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Film it! Screenwriting

Screenwriting is the act of writing what's known as a script or screenplay for film, television and web series. It involves a special set of rules that makes it different from a book or play. This module of Film It covers formatting, scene writing, script structure, themes, and character. Writing the script is part of ...

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I am an inventor lesson

In this lesson, students explore the life, work and times of Rube Goldberg. The lesson uses Rube Goldberg’s work to teach students about simple machines, how they function and their design principles. Working in groups, the students then design and create a Rube Goldberg machine that can complete a simple task. Students ...

Online

Creating an Indigenous plant-use garden: vision

Planning for an Indigenous plant-use garden is a good way to develop a connection with and respect for First Nations people's perspectives. Use this learning activity to explore exciting ideas, create goals and understand more about successful Indigenous plant-use garden projects. Outcomes of this learning activity are ...

Video

Brain break bops

Brain break bops are interoception activities(mindful body awareness activities) for pre-school and early primary school students. Building interoceptive awareness (feeling more connected with your body and your bodily signals) requires students to actively notice changes in their body state. This series of two-minute animated ...

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Albert Namatjira: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support the book Albert Namatjira in which award-winning artist Vincent Namatjira tells the life story of his great-grandfather, Albert Namatjira, one of Australia’s best-known artists. This unit includes practical ideas for using this book in your classroom.

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Spinifex Mouse: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support the book Spinifex Mouse. Set in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, this is a story about the nature of a little mouse and the very important lesson that he learns. This unit includes practical ideas for using this book in your classroom.

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Creation Myth Play Scripts

In this lesson, students will explore different cultures’ supernatural explanations for human existence. Templates such as a Cultural Creation Myth Comparison Organizer are provided. Students will make comparisons between creation myths then write an original creation myth play script to perform for an audience.

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Writing Fables

How do the events in a fable relate to the moral of the story? In this lesson, students will engage in the writing process to create original fables and perform a skit. They will review the elements of a fable and develop an understanding of how to create a centralized focus in a narrative.

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Character Sketches

What techniques do storytellers use to create characters? In this lesson, students will analyse how a character's personality traits, actions and motives influence the plot of a story. They will use their senses to create character sketches, then dramatize the character for an audience.

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Living off our waters

Teachers can enrich their curriculum by teaching students about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sustainable resource management, highlighting the profound link between Indigenous cultures and the environment. Different land areas need to be managed differently, in this resource students will investigate a range of ...

Video

The Swamp

This resource features the Yolngu-made film The Swamp. Students are provided with the opportunity to watch it and engage in a discussion exploring its genre, deviations from traditional documentary format, its impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytelling, challenges faced by the Yolngu people, and the film's ...

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Art and Poetry

How are surrealist techniques applied in art and poetry? In this lesson, students will analyse poetic devices in the poems and images of the surrealist movement. They will learn about artists including André Breton, Robert Desnos, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró. Students will write original poems using surrealist techniques.

Downloadable

Movie magic

This resource provides eight lessons about the process of movie making in Australia through the various production steps from writing, shooting and editing the film to promotion of the finished film. It considers the legal rights of the creators and the responsibilities of consumers. The lesson plans are accompanied by ...

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The Arrival: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support the textless graphic novel The Arrival. The book draws its inspiration from tales of migrants in past and recent times. Find themes related to the Australian landscape, colonisation, connection to place, fear, identity, isolation, marginalisation and the migrant experience. ...