Year 7/8
Civics and Citizenship
Suggested duration: two lessons
Summary
In this task, students will use creative journaling to represent the Australian ethos of ‘a fair go for everyone’ in the field of employment and business. They will investigate these topics by reading material presented in The Little Red Yellow Black Book, and will make a creative journal page or pages as part of an empathetic response task. This task addresses outcomes in the subject of Civics and Citizenship, which forms part of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) learning area.
Depending on where we live, we have worked in dual economies: in natural resources, via hunting and gathering, and in the waged economy. Our people have been the labour backbone of the pastoral and pearling industries, particularly in northern Australia, although forced removals, dislocation, truncated education, racism, and so on have erected significant barriers to our employment (The Little Red Yellow Black Book, p. 71).
Learning outcomes
- Students will be able to demonstrate the Australian ethos of a `fair go` in journaling pages they create with information from The Little Red Yellow Black Book.
- Students will be able to demonstrate and discuss what it means to be Australian including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.
| General capabilities | Cross-curriculum priorities |
|---|---|
| Literacy | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures |
| Critical and creative thinking | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures organising ideas: 5, 6, 9 |
| Intercultural understanding |
Australian Curriculum content descriptions
Year 7 Civics and Citizenship
- How values, including freedom, respect, inclusion, civility, responsibility, compassion, equality and a ‘fair go’, can promote cohesion within Australian society (ACHCK052).
- How groups, such as religious and cultural groups, express their particular identities; and how this influences their perceptions of others and vice versa (ACHCK053).
- Appreciate multiple perspectives and use strategies to mediate differences (ACHCS057).
- Reflect on their role as a citizen in Australia’s democracy (ACHCS060).
Year 8 Civics and Citizenship
- Different perspectives about Australia’s national identity, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, and what it means to be Australian (ACHCK066).
- How national identity can shape a sense of belonging in Australia’s multicultural society (ACHCK067).
- Appreciate multiple perspectives and use strategies to mediate differences (ACHCS071).
- Reflect on their role as a citizen in Australia’s democracy (ACHCS074).
Provisions for differentiation
Learning support
Students with special learning needs may work more successfully if they follow a template to create a journaling page. A Design template is included in this kit.
Extension
Students could expand their journal into a personal record of their thoughts and ideas about other topics important to them.
Resources
- Copies of the Design template (PDF) - one per student
- The Little Red Yellow Black Book - An introduction to Indigenous Australia (4th edition), Aboriginal Studies Press, ` How we live`, AIATSIS, Canberra, 2018, pp 71-78
- A3 paper - one sheet per student (heavier paper is ideal if specialty items are to be glued on, but 80gsm will suffice)
- Pens, pencils and textas
- Journaling / Scrapbooking supplies
Please note: there are many inexpensive scrapbooking supplies available in bargain stores. Encourage students to take a personal interest in this task by selecting and purchasing their own unique range of supplies. These may include items such as:- colouring materials such as pastels, crayons, chalk and watercolour paints
- stickers
- photographs or printed images
- pictures cut from magazines or newspapers
- washi tape (a thin, low-adhesive paper decorative tape used in journaling)
- paper tags
- wrapping paper, paper napkins, coloured papers, envelopes
- pre-cut out paper shapes
- fabric ribbons
- glitter and glitter glue, scrapbooking supplies such as paper cut-outs
- rubber stamps and stamp pad
For teachers
Ensure that the guidance notes included in The Little Red Yellow Black Book teacher resource have been considered.
Vocabulary
- Journaling
- Enterprise
- Inclusion
- Compassion
Preparation: Make copies of the Design template. Ensure that students have access to pages 71-78 of The Little Red Yellow Black Book. Prepare A3 paper and journaling supplies. Give students some advance notice of the need to gather their own journaling supplies.
Lesson one- Planning phase
Step 1.
Explain that students need to create a Journal Page (A3 size) which illustrates the achievements of Indigenous Australians in small business and employment, and how they demonstrate the values of Australian society. Model a completed example of a journal page.
Step 2.
Begin the activity by directing students’ attention to the Design template in this kit.
Step 3.
Begin a brief discussion of the Australian ethos of ‘a fair go for everyone’. Discuss how certain shared values promote cohesion within our society. Then make a heading VALUES and sub-headings, as follows:
- responsibility
- compassion
- equality
- a 'fair go' (fairness for all people)
- freedom
- respect
- inclusion
- civility (politeness)
These notes should be written down by students in their class notebooks.
Explain that students are to design a way of representing these values in graphic and textual form on their journal page. They could use pictures, photos, lettering, colours, shapes, mind mapping or other methods to feature these ideas on their page. Ask students to sketch out a plan in their regular classroom notebooks. The template shows one idea for illustrating these eight values.
Step 4.
Direct students’ attention to pages 71-78 of The Little Red Yellow Black Book. In their reading, they will be inspired by the stories of people and groups who have been highly successful in employment and business.
Step 5.
Write these points up on the whiteboard and ask students to design a plan for addressing each one in their journaling page. Emphasise the need to include a combination of text and graphics, colour, line, shape and images to properly address each one.
- What the ‘fair go’ ideal looks like in small business and employment among people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
- The importance of all people having the freedom to express their identity.
- The need to appreciate multiple perspectives on what it means to be Australian.
- The need to work together to overcome barriers that exist because of perceived differences.
- Ways in which I, as a citizen in a democracy, can take action to ensure a fair go for everyone.
These notes should be written down by students in their regular classroom notebooks.
Lesson two - Journaling phase
Step 1.
Revise the notes students took down in the previous lesson. Ask them to look and check the design ideas they have developed.
Step 2.
Set the remainder of the lesson for students to complete their journaling page.
Assessment ideas
- Journal pages marked for information included under each heading.