Ngan'gi seasons calendar

Educational value

• This is a valuable information resource for early childhood teachers planning the implementation of the geography and history curriculums. It is particularly relevant to the year 1 content description in geography about the seasons of places and the ways Aboriginal peoples describe them. It is also of some relevance to the year 1 history content description that refers to how the present, past and future are signified by changes such as the seasons. With considerable teacher scaffolding, the image of the Ngan'gi seasonal calendar may perhaps be suitable for year 1 children to work with.
• The resource is especially valuable for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum priority. It is particularly supportive of the priority's central theme of identity, linked to, among other things, Aboriginal peoples' deep knowledge traditions; in this case Ngan'gi knowledge of the seasons, key plants and animals, environmental indicators and the importance of rivers, tides and wetlands.
• The seasonal calendar and the rich information it contains are of value for the science curriculum in year 4, particularly for content descriptions about the life cycles of living things, and about how science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships. The life cycle of wurr panangalan (speargrass) is described across seven seasons and is reflected in their names. Aboriginal use of environmental indicators is well documented in northern Australia and is based on sustained observation to identify patterns and relationships.
• The background information, images and the related link to the Indigenous socioeconomic values and river flows study (2008-10) may also be of use for content descriptions in year 7 geography and science. In geography it supports the content description about the environmental, economic, cultural, spiritual and aesthetic value of water for Aboriginal people in the unit of study Water and the world. In science the relevant content description refers to the way science knowledge can develop through collaboration and connecting ideas.

Year level

1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7

Topics Calendars Growth (Animals) Habitats Animal reproduction Living things Asia Australia Seasons Rivers Ecosystems Plant reproduction Data analysis Water resources Breeding cycles Cooperation Symbiosis Natural heritage Curiosity Tides Scientific inquiry Observations (Data) Food webs Environmental impact Plant growth Predictions (Science) Wetlands Lifestyles Patterns Similarity (Classification) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Interdisciplinary research Sense of place