Getting Things Done: Freedom Rides
Topic: Aboriginal Protest Movements 1940s–1972
Stage: Five
STUDENT
LEARNING
OUTCOMES
M5.1 –
chronology
M5.2 –
sequencing
M5.9 – recounts
some major
events in
Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal
relations
M5.13 – uses
historical terms
and concepts
M5.9 – recounts
some major
events in
Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal
relations
M5.10 –
accounts for
how and why
the nature of
Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal
relations has
changed
M5.14 –
explains
Duration: 12 hours
CONTENT
AND
INQUIRY
QUESTIONS
What was
assimilation and
how was it
applied to
Aboriginal
people?
TEACHING AND LEARNING
STRATEGIES
RESOURCES
1 Introduction
TIME
(LESSONS)
1
(a) Aliens role-play. Aliens
have landed and taken over.
Class creates a mind map of
'your rights'. To begin they
take some of your rights
and you get to choose what
to keep. What is your
response as they take more?
(b) Video: Babakiueria. From
this brainstorm 'Aboriginal
experiences since invasion'.
Students copy experiences
and responses. Highlight
the diversity of possible
responses.
– Video:
Babakiueria
(c) Homework. Students define
protection, assimilation,
integration, selfdetermination and
reconciliation.
2 Assimilation
(a) Source study. Students are
divided into groups to
analyse a selected source on
assimilation. Each group is
to answer basic source
analysis questions on a
sheet of cardboard and
present it to the class. From
this a more comprehensive
definition of assimilation
will be created.
(b) Homework: empathy task.
You are an Aboriginal
person in the 1950s. Write
about your experiences
NSW Dept of
Education &
Training,
Aboriginal
Education
Policy T&D
Resource, pp
35–50
Source analysis:
McCallum, A,
Evidence of
War, p 10
1
meaning,
purpose and
context of
sources
under the policy of
assimilation.
M5.19 – creates
well-structured
texts
M5.1 –
chronology
M5.9 – recounts
some major
events in
Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal
relations
M5.10 –
accounts for
how and why
the nature of
Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal
relations has
changed
M5.18 – selects
and uses
appropriate
written, oral and
graphic forms
for
communication
M5.4 – explains
and evaluates
international
events and
What did
Aboriginal
people achieve
as a result of the
protest
movements
from the 1940s
to 1972?
3 History of Aboriginal resistance
(a) Timeline. Students analyse
timeline of resistance.
Newbury, P,
Aboriginal
Heroes of the
Resistance, p 34
1
Newbury, P, pp
12–16
(b) Groupwork. Students divide
into groups. Each person in
the group is given
information about one of
the following people. They
then have to form a second
group with the people who
have the same topic. They
have to learn about the
person with the new group
before returning to their
original group to teach
about their topic. Topics
include Pemulwuy,
Windradyne, Jandamarra,
William Ferguson, Pearl
Gibbs and Sir Douglas
Nichols.
Discovering
Democracy
Lower
Secondary
Units, pp 131–3
(Gibbs), pp
133–4 (Nichols)
Discovering
Democracy
Stories of
Democracy CDROM, Middle
Secondary
(Gibbs &
Ferguson)
(c) Homework: Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander flags.
Research who designed
each of the flags and when,
and what the colours
represent, and draw a
picture of each.
4 Case study: the Freedom Rides
(a) Context. Analysis of the
Civil Rights movement in
the USA – comparison with
Darlington et
al., History:
Australia in the
Twentieth
Century, pp
138–9
1
Australia's role
M5.8 –
compares and
contrasts
M5.11 –
identifies
marginalised
groups who
have struggled
for rights and
freedoms
M5.12 –
accounts for
how and why
rights and
freedoms have
changed
M5.7 –
describes social
and cultural life
M5.16 – locates,
selects and
organises
information
M5.19 – creates
well-structured
texts
M5.2 –
sequencing
M5.5 – recounts
some of the key
events and
developments in
Australian
Aboriginal protest.
Discovering
Democracy
Middle
(b) Human rights. Students
Secondary
complete source analysis on Units, pp 55–7,
Aboriginal people and
68–70
human rights.
Australian
Readers
Discovering
Democracy
Middle
Secondary
Units, pp 38–9
1
Discovering
Democracy
Middle
Secondary
Units
Assessment
Resources, pp
40–2
Video: The
Freedom Rides
(c) Video: The Freedom Rides.
Students compile notes
about the Freedom Rides.
(d) The Freedom Rides
introduction: Students use
Discovering Democracy
Stories of Democracy CDROM to compile
information about the
Freedom Rides.
(e) Activity. Students write a
front page newspaper
article about the Freedom
Rides (at the time) based on
the CD-ROM and video.
1
Discovering
Democracy
Stories of
Democracy CDROM (eg Upper
Primary 'People
Power'; Lower
Secondary
'Charles
Perkins')
1
1
political history
Berwick et al,
Protests,
5 1972 Tent Embassy
Aboriginal
(a) Comprehension activity
Issues series, pp
about the Tent Embassy and 42 ff
its survival today.
M5.8 –
compares and
contrasts
M5.1 –
chronology
M5.6 – explains
political events
and evaluates
impact on civic
life
What issues did
the 1967
referendum
address?
Discovering
Democracy
Lower
Secondary
Units, pp 95–8
(b) Source analysis about the
1967 referendum.
(c) Timeline of Aboriginal
people's achievement of the
right to vote.
M5.13 – uses
1
NSW Dept of
Education &
Training,
Aboriginal
Education
Policy T&D
Resource, pp 63
ff
Discovering
Democracy
Lower
Secondary
Units, pp 97–8
(d) Homework. Formulate
questions and interview a
parent or community
member about the 1967
referendum.
M5.18 – selects
and uses
appropriate
written, oral and
graphic forms
for
communication
How did the
1
6 Rights and the referendum
(a) Brainstorm. Return to
original brainstorm, What
rights do we have as
Australian citizens? What
rights should we have?
M5.17 - -defines
the purpose of
an historical
investigation
and plans and
conducts
independent
research
1
Eshuys et al,
1
historical terms
and concepts
M5.10 –
accounts for
how and why
the nature of
Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal
relations has
changed
policy of
assimilation
change to
integration in
relation to
Aboriginal
people?
7 Integration
(a) Definition
(b) Analysis of connection
between protests and
movement to integration.
Future problems?
Discovering
Australian
History, pp
201–4
1