LEVEL 4: TERM 3 2005
OVERVIEW – ABORIGINES, ASIA/PACIFIC STUDIES
ESSENTIAL LEARNINGS
Strand
Physical, Personal
and Social
Learning
Discipline Based
Learning
Domain
Interpersonal
Development
Learning Focus
 Students work in small groups on an aspect of an Asia/Pacific nation’s cultural heritage.
- Working in teams
 Brainstorming using cooperative learning tasks eg ‘Think, pair, Share’, ‘Affinity Chart’
 Students complete self-reflection task at end of unit.
Personal
Learning
- The individual learner
- Managing personal learning
The Humanities
History
- Historical knowledge and
understanding
 Each year 5/6 class undertakes an in depth study of an Asia/pacific country
eg. Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, India , Vietnam, New Zealand, Fiji.
- Historical reasoning and interpretation
 Reflecting on cultural differences between that of country studied and our own western culture.
- Geographical knowledge and
understanding
 Developing mapping skills and understanding of compass points, scale, grid references and legends.
The Humanities
Geography
- Geospatial skills
 Using atlases to locate countries and to accurately describe distance, direction and geographic
features.
Mathematics
- Space
 Mapping skills – as above
English
- Reading
 Reading and interpretation of information texts and narratives related to theme.
 Identifying cultural stereotypes and generalisations in text.
- Speaking and Listening
 Oral presentation of group project
- Creating and making
 Creating art work that reflects the artistic heritage of an Asia/pacific country eg, batik, origami
- Exploring and responding
 Listening and responding to the music of Aboriginal, Asian or Pacific origin
-
 Students watch and comment on ABC programs/videos featuring with Aboriginal/Asian content
The Arts
Interdisciplinary
Learning
Dimension
- Building social relationships
Communication
I.C.T.
Thinking
Processes
Listening, viewing and responding
Visual thinking
Creating
Communicating
Reasoning, processing and inquiry
Creativity
Reflection, evaluation, and
metacognition.
 Inspiration – mind mapping
 PowerPoint presentations
 Integration of Thinking Skills activities throughout the theme: 6 Thinking hats, Affinity chart –
brainstorming, Venn Diagram, concept diagram, Thinkers Key – What if? S.W.O.T. analysis.
Level 4:
ABORIGINES AND ASIA/PACIFIC STUDIES
GLOBAL STATEMENTS:
HISTORY:
Developing an understanding of the history and culture of other races helps us to understand our own origins and culture and the influences of colonisation and
immigration on Australian society today.
GEOGRAPHY:
Studying basic geographical features of the globe, and our own region in particular, helps us understand and recognise our own global position, landforms and
population and provides us with information for comparison.
FOCUS QUESTIONS:
HISTORY:
What is meant by the term ‘culture’?
What are some of the important aspects of the culture of ………….(the Aborigines plus an Asian/Pacific nation)?
How does the culture of ……………..(as above) compare to our own?
How has colonisation affected the indigenous people of Australia?
How has immigration impacted on life in Australia today?
What is a multicultural society?
GEOGRAPHY:
What are the continents?
What are the main countries within the Asia/ Pacific region and what are their capital cities?
What are some of the major landforms within our country? our region? Eg lakes, mountain ranges, major rivers.
What are some of the skills we can use when using the atlas as a reference tool? Eg reading longitude/latitude, understanding concept of scale, reading legends, using
the compass, identifying time zones.
Why do some countries in our region have a dense population, whilst others do not? Where do most Aboriginal people live within Australia?
WEEKLY PLANNER – ABORIGINES
WEEK
1
TOPIC



What are aborigines?
When did they arrive in
Australia and where did they
come from?
The Dreamtime
Remembering
 On a map show where the Aborigines came from and indicate the time period.
Understanding
 Read a dreamtime story from the dreaming and answer a series of questions about it. (see
‘Dreaming 2’ worksheet).

Daily Life
Synthesising
 In pairs, present a written and/or oral summary for the grade on an aspect of Aboriginal
life. Use information provided by the teacher as a basis for the summary.
Topics: housing, foods, gathering and hunting, ceremonies, art – colours, artsymbols, music, weapons, language, dreamtime history, dreamtime stories,
the Aboriginal flag.


The British Invasion
Aborigines today
Remembering:
 List the good and bad points about European settlement.
YELLOW HAT, BLACK HAT
Applying:
 What if you were setting up a colony? How would you treat the indigenous population?
How could you be fair to them?
WHAT IF? KEY
Justifying
 Discuss problems associated with colonisation. Put forward arguments from both points
of view. Choose your own viewpoint and justify it.
 Discussion on current issues eg decline in population, Aboriginal rights, issues relating to
education, employment, languages, housing, health and isolation followed by a swot
analysis on Aborigines.
S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS ( strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
2
3
LEARNING FOCUS – ACTIVITIES AND THINKING SKILLS
Applying:
* Work on an Aboriginal style dot painting or drawing as the theme progresses.
WEEKLY PLANNER – ASIA STUDIES
WEEK
TOPIC

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

GEOGRAPHY OF OUR REGION
6/7/8

STUDY OF AN ASIA/PACIFIC
COUNTRY
- Each grade selects a
country to study as a
class eg Indonesia,
Japan, Vietnam,
Thailand, New
Zealand, Fiji
9.

ASIA STUDIES DISPLAY
10.

‘VISITING’ OTHER
COUNTRIES
4/5
LEARNING FOCUS – ACTIVITIES AND THINKING SKILLS
Remembering:
 Following study and discussion of the world map and the Asia-Pacific region particularly, list the
continents and the main countries within the Asia/Pacific region.
 Quiz – capital cities and countries match up.
WHITE HAT
Understanding:
 Geography of our region – use your mapping skills to explain and show your understanding of compass
points, scale, grid references, legends.
Application:
 Apply mapping, atlas and geospatial skills to plan an itinerary for a holiday overseas. Show the route on a
map and accurately describe distance travelled by land, sea or air, direction, and geographical features
that you likely to observe on
the trip.
Analysing:
 What is culture? Brainstorm what this means as a class and decide on some main headings eg. history,
customs, celebrations, music, dance, art, food, dress etc.
Work as individuals and in groups to build affinity charts.
(see notes)
AFFINITY CHART
 Compare our own western culture with that of an Asian country as individuals and as a class. Investigate
aspects of:
- Daily life
- Geographical features, landforms, size,
- Traditions and beliefs
population
- Customs
- Economics – industry, tourism
- Governance
- Wars and invasions
VENN DIAGRAM
N/B Any students that have a cultural background in one of the countries studied to be called upon fore
assistance in the various grade
Synthesising
 In groups, choose an aspect of the given country’s culture. Plan and create a visual display. Become an
expert on the information you have researched and displayed and be prepared to answer questions on it.
CONCEPT DIAGRAM
Year 5 and 6 students rotate around the different ‘countries’ with a ‘passport’, viewing displays and are
encouraged to ask their peers questions about the ‘countries’ they visit.