This website reflects on human rights in Australia and the long struggle of Australia's indigenous peoples. It contains images of artwork commissioned by the Indigenous Electoral Participation Program (IEPP) used to encourage Indigenous people to enrol to vote for the 50th anniversary of the indigenous vote (2012). A link is also provided to the Australian Electoral Commission's Louder Than One Voice video. 

Commemorating 50 years since indigenous Australians were given the right to vote at federal elections (1962 - 2012), Louder Than One Voice documents through interviews the struggle of Australia's indigenous peoples to be recognised by the government. Targeted at Indigenous Australians, it stresses the importance of having indigenous voices heard through the vote and how voting will make changes for future generations and benefit Australia as a nation. 

View 'Louder Than One Voice' on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4Xu207eC70&nbsp

These sources are appropriate and "sensitive and adequate" in their treatment of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders and their relation and role in the electoral process and governmental issues (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2007, p. 1.). ATSI perspectives are clearly evident, a cross-curriculum priority of the Australian National Curriculum (ACARA, 2015), which enables students to investigate electoral issues from an indigenous viewpoint and draws attention to governmental issues ATSI peoples still face (Kleeman, 2012, pp. 24-28).

These perspectives allow students to "learn about, acknowledge and value the cultures of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders" (NCB, 2009, p.15 in Stevens and McDonald, 201, p. 387). By embedding indigenous perspectives, the sources are also striving towards reconciliation and "recognising, acknowledging and redressing existing racism...for the benefit of all Australians" (Stevens & McDonald, 2011, pp. 387-388).

A literacy activity  could include:

- Students write a hypothetical letter from the viewpoint of an Australian Indigenous person to their local government representative, highlighting issues they face such as poverty and a lack of education. This could show how citizen participation can contribute to the wider community and the importance of citizens having their voices heard at a governmental level.

References:

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2015), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, Retrieved 29 March 2015 from  

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/CrossCurriculumPriorities/Aboriginal-and-Torres-Strait-Islander-histories-and-cultures

Australian Electoral Commission, (2012), Louder than One Voice, Retrieved 28 March 2015 from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4Xu207eC70&nbsp

Kleeman, G (2012). Towards a more inclusive curriculum: The perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples in geography curriculum documents. Geographical Education, 25(1), pp. 24-28.

Stevens, V & McDonald, H, (2011), Incorporating Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in SOSE. In Gilbert, R & Hoepper, B (Eds) Teaching Society and Environment (pp. 324-347), Melbourne: CENGAGE Learning

 
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, (2007), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives: Selecting and evaluating resources. Retrieved 28 March 2015 from https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/approach/indigenous_g008_0712.pdf

Right Now Inc. (2012), Louder than One Voice – 50 years for Indigenous vote, Retrieved 28 March 2015 from http://rightnow.org.au/artwork/louder-than-one-voice-50-years-for-indigenous-vote/

 This is an excellent webquest that aligns closely with ideas of heritage, identity and migration explored by Stage 2 HSIE students in NSW. The objective of this webquest is to ‘explore the journey undertaken by migrant families and come to understand their contributions to Australia.’ (http://jesselda-webquest.wikispaces.com/Introduction)

WEBQUESTS

A webquest often takes the form of a mystery or problem for students to solve online. It generally features a task for students to complete using pre-provided links to information.

Lamb (2004, p. 38) has described a webquest as ‘a particular type of inquiry-based activity that asks students to use Web-based resources and tools to transform what they are learning into meaningful understandings and real-world projects.’

Webquests also have the following benefits:

- most or all of the information is found on pre-selected websites

- learners do not have to spend substantial time using search tools

- web-based information is used to address high-level questions.

(Lamb, 2004, p. 38)

OVERVIEW

The webquest sets five tasks for completion under the following headings:

- The history of immigration in Australia

- Why did/do people migrate to Australia?

- What are the contributions/impacts of immigration in Australia?

- Preparation for the interview [with someone who has migrated to Australia from another country]

- The interview

In completing these tasks, students hear narratives told by migrants to Australia, and identify occupations, skills and culinary traditions migrants have brought with them.

Students carry out the following exercises in their journey through the webquest:

- define terms

- create a timeline, survey, graph and mindmap

- collaborate with classmates

- conduct an interview.

MODIFICATION

This webquest has been developed for Victorian primary school students in year 4, and makes excellent use of local resources from  Museum Victoria. The content is relevant to Stage 2 (year 3 and 4) students in NSW, however some of the activities may need to be modified for younger students – for instance, tasks 4 and 5 might be changed to ask students to formulate interview questions, rather than conduct the interview itself. 

ASSESSMENT

The five tasks in the webquest are designed to stand as assessment tasks, and an evaluation rubric is provided: http://jesselda-webquest.wikispaces.com/Evaluation

RESOURCES

The webquest author (unfortunately uncredited) has created a comprehensive resources and links page

http://jesselda-webquest.wikispaces.com/Credits

The Teacher’s Page (http://jesselda-webquest.wikispaces.com/Teachers+Page) features teacher resources and outlines links to the Victorian curriculum.

REFERENCES

Lamb, A. (2004). WebQuests. School Library Media Activities Monthly 21 (2), p. 38

Description of what is on this site:

This fascinating resource includes pictures and documents originating from the days of the First Fleet. These give students an idea of the British community who were settling in Sydney as well as the environment they inhabited. By extension, this also gives the students insight into the great changes in community and environment which have occurred since then.

A teaching idea and idea for an assessment task:

After some instruction on the forms of newspaper writing, children can be encouraged to consider all the aspects of Australia Day as they write their own articles, newspaper style, for their summative assessment task. The resource at this link  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/newspaper/ could help students understand about newspaper writing styles. Perhaps these can be published in the school newsletter. Students should be encouraged to report on the changes in community and family life and the effects of these on individuals, groups and the environment from 'the first Australia Day', January 26, 1788, until now. 

A literacy or numeracy strategy:

The above activity would cover outcome EN2-2A from the English Syllabus, 'plans, composes and reviews' 'texts that are more demanding'.

References:

Enchanted Learning (2015) Make a Classroom Newspaper. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/newspaper/

State Library of NSW (2015). The First Australia Day. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/education/australia_day/index.html

World Vision Australia has a range of school resources linked to its magazine 'Get Connected'. The resources related to migration and asylum seekers are notable for their global perspective.

The migration lesson plan is a series of six lessons designed to accompany the issue of 'Get Connected' focusing on migration. The lesson plan covers the following aspects of migration:

- Australia’s immigration story

- Push and pull factors

- Types of migration

- Asylum seekers and refugees

- The migrant experience

- The role of government and NGOs.

The magazine itself  includes a number of personal narratives in the form of written case studies, and the lesson plan links to digital migration stories, part of acmi’s digital storytelling project: http://generator.acmi.net.au/education-themes

MODIFICATION

The migration lesson plan does not specify a target stage or age group, and seem to be geared towards upper primary and lower secondary students.

This means that some of the content and activities would need to be modified for Stage 2 students. This could be done by:

- limiting the amount of independent research that students are expected to complete for activities

- supplying the information instead, either as printouts or links to websites.

Lesson 6, ‘the role of government and NGOs’, may be more suitable for Stage 3 students, who look at ‘structures, roles, responsibilities and decision-making processes of State and federal governments’ (SSS3.8)

However, many of the activities in the lesson plan are already suitable for Stage 2 students. These include:

- creating a class graph or chart showing the regions that families come from

- making a poster of push-pull factors

- examining and interpreting maps.

RESOURCES

Although the lesson plan is free to download, the magazine itself is not available to download. It can be ordered from World Vision for $9.90 per copy.

http://www.worldvision.com.au/Libraries/School_Resources/Get_Connected_Order_Form_2012.pdf

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS 

Asylum seekers fact sheet

http://www.worldvision.com.au/Libraries/School_Resources/Asylum_seekers.pdf

The refugee journey

http://www.worldvision.com.au/Libraries/School_Resources/The_refugee_journey.pdf

LINKS TO OTHER SYLLABUS OUTCOMES

Stage 2 teachers could consider using texts with personal narratives to link this global perspective on migration to the English syllabus. Suggested texts include:

The Little Refugee, by Anh Do and Suzanne Do, illustrated by Bruce Whatley

- Anh Do's story about his family's escape from war-torn Vietnam and his childhood in Australia, told especially for children

http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781742378329

http://www.allenandunwin.com/_uploads/BookPdf/TeachersNotes/9781742378329.pdf

Harmony and understanding

http://www.blake.com.au/Harmony-and-Understanding-s/773.htm

A nonfiction series that fosters understanding, inclusion, tolerance and respect for the multicultural experience. Created in partnership with the Australian Multicultural Foundation

World Vision Australia and the Primary English Teaching Association Australia have also developed a unit of work called ‘Global people’

http://www.globalwords.edu.au/units/Refugees_UPY6_html/documents/GlobalWords_Refugees_UPY6print.pdf

The ‘Global people’ unit of work is based on the following texts:

‘Ziba Came on a Boat’, by Liz Lofthouse, illustrated by Robert Ingpen

‘Mahtab’s Story, by Libby Gleeson

‘Parvana’, by Deborah Ellis

‘Boy Overboard’, by Morris Gleitzman