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Balancing Mobiles

In this teaching activity, students will apply mathematical, science, and engineering concepts to experiment with balancing levers. They classify types of levers to design and build a simplified mobile and explore suspended and standing mobiles by sculptor Alexander Calder.

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Understanding and respecting cultural narratives

Teachers guide students to explore cultural narratives through a film that highlights the rich traditions, morals, and storytelling techniques of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.

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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.

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The Lost Thing: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support The Lost Thing, a quirky picture story book about finding your place in the world. It explores themes of belonging, bureaucracy, conformity, dystopia and friendship. This unit provides practical teaching ideas, an assessment task and an essay by Gary Crew.

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Tell Me I’m Here: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support the memoir Tell Me I’m Here. The book is a moving account by writer, broadcaster and filmmaker Anne Deveson of her son’s losing battle with schizophrenia. This unit provides practical teaching ideas, an assessment task and an essay by Stephanie Dowrick. Teaching activities explore ...

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Mirror: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support Mirror, a picture story book set in Morocco. It explores themes of family, identity, and cultural interactions. This unit provides practical teaching ideas, an assessment task and an essay by Robin Morrow.

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The Boat: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support the short story collection The Boat. Identity is a significant theme along with definitions of place, concepts of home, emotional and geographical dislocation, and trust. This unit provides practical teaching ideas, an assessment task and an essay by Catherine Cole

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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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While The Billy Boils: Unit of work

Fifty-two of Henry Lawson’s stories and sketches, first published in newspapers and magazines from 1888 onwards, were gathered in the collection While The Billy Boils. This unit focuses on that collection of writing and provides practical teaching ideas, an assessment task and an essay by Peter Craven.

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Landscape Painting

This teaching activity explores the ways that artists render foreground, middle ground, and background in a landscape painting. Students will then create a landscape painting using various techniques to portray illusions of depth and reflection.

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Fire in song

Explore the deep cultural importance of fire ('Gurtha') in Yolngu culture, that links to ancestral traditions, land, and water, shaping laws and knowledge through rich songs, dances, and designs. Fire embodies a connection to the past and sacred landscapes.

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Biosecurity surveillance at school

This activity outlines the process to undertake a biosecurity surveillance of a school environment. The teacher guide, slides and student sheets identify some invasive pests that represent a threat to NSW agriculture including cane toads, fire ants and exotic bees. The activity could be adapted for other locations.

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Creating a food garden: harvesting

This learning activity is part of a sequence of 5 individual learning activities focused on creating a food garden. The order of these learning activities are: vision, site assessment, installing a no dig garden bed, planting and harvesting. OUTCOMES of the activity are for children to: understand the steps in successful ...

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Creating an Indigenous plant-use garden: harvesting

The satisfaction of eating straight from the garden is one of life’s best learning experiences, however we need to be respectful and mindful to only harvest what we need to allow the plant to continue to thrive for generations to come. This activity involves the assessment and mapping of local environments to create a successful ...

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Creating a yarning circle: yarning and wellbeing

This learning activity will help you make connections between yarning and wellbeing programs, and how you can use yarning circles to support respectful, honest and open communication to promote connectedness among students, particularly using the morning circle routine. It is part of a sequence of 8 individual learning ...

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Creating a yarning circle: yarning circle activities

Yarning circles provide opportunities for all to be heard, for discussions to be had and for understandings to be reached. This learning activity provides activity ideas for use in a yarning circle and will support students to develop a calendar for the yarning circle; be empowered to utilise the space regularly and meaningfully; ...

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Creating a wildlife habitat: design

Creating a wildlife habitat can provide a home for a variety of local wildlife from the smallest insects and spiders to birds, reptiles, mammals and frogs. These habitats can provide a sanctuary for species that have been displaced through urbanisation, as built structures replace natural areas. The Vision activity determined ...

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Creating a wildlife habitat: research

This learning activity is the first part of a sequence of 5 individual learning activities focused on creating a wildlife habitat. The order of these learning activities are: research, vision, design, planting and monitoring and care. The OUTCOMES are for children to: undertake research to determine what their local ecosystems ...

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How the Enlightenment came to Australia

This video (14:20) examines the origins and emergence of the Enlightenment and its principles and ideas that shaped society including its institutions, freedoms, the exercise of law, education and wealth. The video discusses the impact of the writings of the philosophers of the period and the impact they had on Australia's ...

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Focus on China: Cross Curriculum Connections in Secondary Schools

Ideas and resources that connect the learning of Chinese language with other learning areas.