History, Country and Place within our Community

Welcome back to our Y3 blogspot and thank you for joining in learning with us. 

We are asking the question: Who lived here first and how do we know?

We are exploring our community history and learning about the importance of 'Country' and 'Place' in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture.

This learning is part of the Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum in Australia, and is aimed at developing student understandings of Australian and local history whilst also developing student understandings of cultures and citizenship. 

Our class will explore how Tasmania contains 'Places' and 'Country' that are important to the traditional land owners. Our class will learn about the Leterremairrener people, who occupied the land along the Tamar River, where our school is now located. We will work together to investigate what life was like - examining sources, discussing perspectives and learning about the cultural significance of the Leterremairrener people. 

Below is a clip that paints a picture of these connections to Country and Place.

The two learning areas of History and Civics and Citizenship are closely aligned - as we investigate the cultural history of the Aboriginal people in our area, we are becoming more informed and empathetic citizens of our current community. The image below demonstrates how our learning in this unit aligns with the conceptual framework of learning surrounding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, which is a priority within the Australian Curriculum. 

We will be learning and sharing using the 8-ways learning framework, which is an approach to teaching and learning through traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's ways of knowing, being, doing, valuing and learning. 

One example of how these methods will be used is in 'Story Sharing' as we learn from an Aboriginal spokesperson from the local Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre within our community of Launceston. Children will hear stories from the past and about connection to Country whilst being spatially surrounded by the 'Land Links' they are learning about along the Tamar River boundary of our school. These are methods of sharing knowledge that have been utilised by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for generations.

Students will also share their understanding using the 'Symbols and Images' approach, creating visual art pieces in response to the history they have been exploring.

In responding to these authentic learning experiences, we will also be investigating 'Acknowledgement of Country' and working to construct our own version to pay respects to the Leterremairrener people at the beginning of class events or group meetings. Below is an example:

We are not only applying our learning about cultural history but also putting our citizenship learning into action in our community as students will take turns in presenting our 'Acknowledgement of Country' throughout the year.

I understand that this content can be sensitive or unfamiliar to many, but I do encourage you to question and engage with your children about this topic, as we can all learn from each other and those that have gone before us, as we move forward together in community.

Word count: 495

References

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (2016). Australian Curriculum: Foundation to year 10  curriculum:HASS, Year 3 (Version 8.3). Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/f10 

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016). Cross curriculum priorities Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures overview. Retrieved from https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-histories-and-cultures/

Marsh, C., Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh’s becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW:  Pearson.

Reynolds, R. (2009). Teaching Studies of Society & Environment in the Primary School. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford.

Ryan, L. (2012). Tasmanian Aborigines: A history since 1803. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

SmallTownCulture (2017, August 23). Our Connection to the Land [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av3SeQpn37o

Thompson, J. (2016, June 16). acknowledgement of country animated [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCxe1M5SYjE

Yunkaporta, T. (2009). Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface (Doctoral dissertation, James Cook University). Retrieved from https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/10974/4/04Bookchapter.pdf 

Learning about democracy

Civics and Citizenship: Learning about Democracy.

In accordance with the Australian Curriculum for Year 3, students are learning about democracy and specifically, the importance of making decisions democratically. We will be investigating the history of this concept in Australia, as well as how democracy works in our current community. We will also be learning about places and situations where decisions are made democratically, and how we can have a voice. The video (linked below) is an entertaining introduction to the history of voting in Australia.

In response to the above video, we will be asking the questions: 

Should everyone be allowed to vote on issues that affect them? and

 Should everyone have to vote on issues that affect them?

As children investigate, discuss and act out these concepts and ideas surrounding democracy, voting and having a say, they will be learning to become involved and active citizens within the democratic society in which we live in Australia. This learning is linked closely to the Civics and Citizenship curriculum content which includes:

As a method of achieving learning in the above areas, students will engage in class-voting and discussion - witnessing how their vote and their voice counts! Most of these polls will involve the whole class voting on selected relevant activities (such as Daily PE activities or books for class reading), whilst sometimes only a portion of the class will be selected to vote. Students will reflect on how it feels to have their vote included or excluded, and at the end of our unit students will design an informative poster sharing their developed opinions on why/why not everyone should be allowed or should have to vote.

As we explore and investigate democracy in this way, your child is developing key skills in relation to:

Empathy, or the ability to view situations from other perspectives in support of those around us, is a key concept relating to Civics and Citizenship, and students will be building empathy throughout this unit (for example, in the inclusion/exclusion of class voting), again linking closely with the Australian Curriculum and Ethical Understanding. Your child is not only learning to share their voice, but also hear and understand the voices of others. 

This is an example of an authentic learning, where students are involved in active learning within a real-world context. This approach is an effective way for students to engage personally with the learning, applying it within our class democracy and reflecting individually on their own experiences and gained understandings on democracy.

These conversations and experiences in class may spill over into your home and are valuable opportunities to encourage your child's active engagement with topics that mean something to them by asking questions and finding out more from them. You may even have simple scenarios at home where their learning on democracy could be practiced. 

Thank you for sharing this learning journey with us surrounding Civics and Citizenship and Democracy. 

Word Count: 482

References

Australian Broadcasting Association (2016, May 24) History of Voting [Video File] Retrieved 

from http://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/history-of-voting/10524754

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2016). Australian Curriculum: Foundation
to year 10 curriculum: Year 3 (Version 8.3). Retrieved
from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/f10 [(on 12 March 2019)].

LeCompte, K., & Blevins, B. (2015). Building Civic Bridges: Community Centred Action Civics. Social Studies,
106(5), 209-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2015.1059792

Livingstone, K. (Ed.). (2004). The intersection of inquiry, values and civics and citizenship education within SOSE.
Curriculum Matters, 3(1). Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/login
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsaed&AN=rmitplus133846&site=eds-live

Marsh, C., Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh’s becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW:
Pearson.

Noah Couser (2014, May 4) Empathy Can Change the World [Video File] Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU3QfyqvHk8

Reynolds, R. (2009) Teaching Studies of Society & Environment in the Primary School. South Melbourne, VIC:
Oxford.