Local Aboriginal History – Victorian Essential Learning Standards – Level 5 Sample Unit © VCAA 2012 Page 1

Local Aboriginal History Pathway 2 Level 5 - Languages Other Than English: Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Reclamation in Victorian Schools

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2

Establishing the Learning Environment ...................................................................................... 2

Victorian Essential Learning Standards ...................................................................................... 4

Teaching, Learning and Assessment Activities ......................................................................... 5

Activity 1: 60,000 years of Aboriginal Society................................................................................................ 5

Activity 2: Before European Colonisation ...................................................................................................... 6

Activity 3: The Impact of European Colonisation on Aboriginal Language and Culture ................................ 9

Activity 4: Language Reclamation ............................................................................................................... 10

Unit Resources............................................................................................................................ 13

Websites ...................................................................................................................................................... 13

Teacher resources ....................................................................................................................................... 13

Student resources ........................................................................................................................................ 13

Assessment ................................................................................................................................. 14

Local Aboriginal History – Victorian Essential Learning Standards – Level 5 Sample Unit © VCAA 2012 Page 2

Introduction

Note: This unit has been developed specifically for students learning an Aboriginal Language, and should be taught in line with the protocols in the VELS Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Reclamation in Victorian Schools: Standards P-10 and Protocols. Aboriginal members of the Language team should play a central role in the delivery of these classes. In Local Aboriginal History students: learn about the great depth of Aboriginal history; how to greet and farewell people in Language; understand the connection between Language and culture are introduced to the impact of European colonisation; become acquainted with the Language and culture of kinship through a Victorian Aboriginal Language; and discover their role in the Language reclamation process. This unit also includes simple classroom instructions in Language. Reclamation Languages will be at different stages of revival and the availability of particular words will vary from Language to Language. Assessment This unit provides opportunities for students to demonstrate achievement of elements of Level 5 standards in Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Reclamation in Victorian Schools. Students are assessed on their ability to work with Languages Other Than English. For further information see the Assessment section.

Establishing the Learning Environment

The Language being reclaimed, rather than English, should be used wherever and whenever possible.

A Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country, whichever is appropriate, should be made at the beginning of class.

It is strongly recommended that each student have their own portfolio and online file for this subject.

Cards/posters with Language words can be put around the room, with an appropriate picture/drawing. Laminated cards, both small and large, can be utilised in many activities.

Free teaching resources can be borrowed from the Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC). Pictures could be sourced from the Koori Mail or similar Aboriginal publications.

Schools can invite parents and community members to participate in the lesson, and students could take their portfolio of work home to share with others, to aid the reclamation process in the community.

Victorian Aboriginal Language materials can be obtained by contacting the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages, or by going to www.vaclang.org.au.

Each student could take home a sheet of paper with the new words from each lesson to share. Alternatively, a sound file containing the new words could be emailed to parents and community members, or given to each student on an MP3 player/recorder to take home.

Where available, an interactive whiteboard can store lessons for revision purposes.

Sharing information and resources with other schools teaching the same Language is encouraged. In cases where this involves a primary school and a secondary school, a mentoring program could be undertaken.

Information about Victorian Aboriginal Languages in school programs can be found on the Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Reclamation in Schools website.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural events should be celebrated throughout the

Local Aboriginal History – Victorian Essential Learning Standards – Level 5 Sample Unit © VCAA 2012 Page 3

year. It would be valuable for the entire school to be involved in these celebrations.

It is suggested that the Language team liaise with the history teacher when delivering this unit to ensure a whole school approach.

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Victorian Essential Learning Standards

Local Aboriginal History provides opportunities to observe students against the Standards (p55) as detailed below:

Strand Domain Dimension Standards at Pathway 2 Level 5

Discipline-based learning

Languages Other Than English

Communicating in a language other than English

At Pathway 2 Level 5, students:

Participate in greetings

Respond to instructions and visual clues

Begin to explain the issues for translation between languages

Demonstrate reclamation skills through various strategies including direct learning from the Language team and investigation of dictionaries and wordlists

Research and document the Language being studied through personal interview and other strategies including the use of ICT

Discipline-based learning

Languages Other Than English

Intercultural knowledge and language awareness

At Pathway 2 Level 5, students:

Identify Aboriginal Languages in their region

Appreciate the roles of language in maintaining culture, identity and knowledge

Explain how the Language and culture help promote the sustainable care of the environment

Develop knowledge of protocols and skills of working ethically with each other and with Aboriginal communities

Demonstrate knowledge of the richness of vocabulary concerned with family ties and country in Aboriginal Languages

Understand the importance of maintaining the cultural values, beliefs and knowledge associated with the chosen Language by comparing and contrasting various ways of life including their own

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the impact on and involvement of Aboriginal peoples in the history of Australia from the time of colonisation onwards

Demonstrate an awareness of Language revival and maintenance efforts and can discuss the importance of this process

Demonstrate understanding of local stories contained in oral passages … by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the production of responses in oral, artistic and literary forms

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Teaching, Learning and Assessment Activities

Note: This unit has been developed specifically for students learning an Aboriginal Language, and should be taught in line with the protocols in the VELS document. This unit focuses on the longevity of Aboriginal Culture and life prior to European colonisation, the use of appropriate greetings and farewells, and the ability to follow classroom instructions in Language. The sample Language used in this unit is Wergaia, with words in standardised spelling from the Aboriginal Languages of Victoria Resource Portal. Communities will have their own spelling system for their Language, and this should be used in the Language program. Available words will vary from Language to Language. The activities below are suggestions only. Teachers should choose those activities that are suitable for their students.

Activity 1: 60,000 years of Aboriginal Society

Overview Activities Sample Language (Wergaia)

Comments

Welcome to Country

Invite a senior Traditional Owner, as appropriate, to give a Welcome to Country and to speak about the history of Aboriginal people in the area. Alternatively, ask a community member to make an Acknowledgement of Country, and to speak about the history of Aboriginal people in the area.

It is important to motivate students to see their link with the past and the oral Language tradition. Only Traditional Owners can give a Welcome to Country. All other people make an Acknowledgement of Country.

Greetings

Practise greetings:

Greet the students in Language

Students return the teacher’s greeting

Students greet any guests in Language

Students greet each other in Language

Greeting (formal): Dalkaiangarr? Greeting (informal): Dalk

This greeting routine should be used every day.

The oldest civilisation on Earth

Discuss why Aboriginal society is the oldest civilisation on earth.

Students try to visualise the long history of Aboriginal culture in relation to their prospective lifetimes. For example, students could create a

The timeline can be created online or manually.

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timeline, allowing about 2cms per thousand years, and place themselves as a dot in the 21st century.

Investigate some ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians and Romans and compare their longevity to that of Aboriginal culture.

Egyptians = approximately 5000 years Romans = approximately 2000 years

Survival techniques Discuss the types of community knowledge and wisdom that allowed survival in the different environments found in Australia, particularly in the local area.

For example, the use of fire to maintain the environment, ways of finding water, cultivation of yams, and reading the environment for sustainability

Farewells

Practise farewells:

Farewell the students in Language

Students return the teacher’s farewell

Students farewell any guests in Language

Students farewell each other in Language

Formal farewell: Nyakinyanuna Informal farewell: Nyakiny’

This farewell routine should be used every day.

Activity 2: Before European Colonisation

Overview Activities Sample Language (Wergaia)

Comments

Greeting routine as in Activity 1.

Revise instructional words in Language

These words should be used in the classroom on a daily basis.

Teach commands using the imperative form of the verb.

This approach

Quiet!:Gurrungaiwat! (plural), Gurrungai! (singular)

Sit!: Ngengakaty! (plural), Ngengak! (singular)

Stand!:Dyarrikiwat! (plural), Dyarriki! (singular)

Verbs in Aboriginal Languages typically have different endings for tense, eg, past, present and future; and for person, eg, I, you, we (including you), we (not including you), two of us, we all. Click the links below for more

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utilises total physical response (TPR).(See page 11.)

Say! (transitive)Giyakaty! (plural), Giyak! (singular)

Speak! (intransitive): Wurrekiwat! (plural), Wurreki! (singular)

Come on!:Wartiwat! (plural), Warti! (singular)

information on number; and/or inclusivity. Choose the most appropriate forms for the classroom. Extension: Work with the PE teacher to allow students to practise using these terms in a game situation.

Aboriginal kinship as an enduring social system

Discuss kinship terms

Invite a community member to talk about Aboriginal kinship systems as a means of survival.

Students take notes on maintaining Aboriginal cultural practices

Students create a

diagram showing how Aboriginal kinship systems work, labeling each person with the appropriate Language word.

Father: Mam Mother: Bap Older brother: Wawi Younger brother: Guti Older sister: Dyatyi Younger sister: Gutu Mother’s mother: Mim Father’s mother: Gukwan Mother’s father: Ngapa Father’s father: Gugurn Mother’s sister: Bap Father’s sister: Ngaluk Mother’s brother: Dyarrmbap Father’s brother: Mam Cousin: Merrp

Some links for background material:

Indigenous Australia

Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and their Communities

Aboriginal Kinship

Kinship with diagram

Record ideas

Students create a presentation outlining how Aboriginal people survived for such a long time in the local area. They should incorporate images with appropriate labels.

Students create their own online dictionary of Language words learned, which

Vegetable food: Banyim Meat food: Yauwirr To cook: Baka or Bawa To hunt: Wamunga To collect (Gather): Marta Camp: Laarr My camp: Larrek To sleep: Gumba or Durra or Wepa I sleep: gumban To eat: Dyaka or Dunga I eat: Dyakan Water: Gadyin To drink: Gupa I drink: Gupan

Students’ personal dictionaries can be a simple spreadsheet, or a multimedia dictionary database such as Miromaa.

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should be regularly revised.

Using images, the teacher asks the class to name items featured in their presentations.

What is this: Nyanya? This is: Ginga…. Here is: Gimba…

Aboriginal stories and their role in sustaining Aboriginal culture.

Find a local Creation or Dreaming story that illustrates how the stories are used for social cohesion. Invite a community member to tell a story.

Each group will have their own Creation and Dreaming stories that may be suitable for this activity. Click here for some virtual story books from Aboriginal communities to give you some ideas.

Aboriginal community leaders

Discuss an Aboriginal leader of historical importance, eg, Barak, William Cooper, Sir Douglas Nicholls, and their contribution to contemporary Australia.

Students research an Aboriginal leader and produce an electronic presentation to be used as a resource

Famous Indigenous Australians See the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll

Farewell routine as in Activity 1.

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Activity 3: The Impact of European Colonisation on Aboriginal Language and Culture

Overview Activities Sample Language

Comments

Greeting routine as in Activity 1.

Language use

Students add new words to their personal dictionary.

Choose an appropriate verb and teach the class a simple conjugation illustrating tense.

Ask students to create new sentences using this verb with other nouns.

Dance, Corroboree: Warripa To dance: Wirrwa To sing: Gikila or warrung-warrungila Aboriginal man: wutyu or guli or bang White man: Ngumadyik Aboriginal woman: Laiurruk White woman: Wadyim-gurrk The man sang: Gikilin wutyu The man sings: Gikila wutyu The man will sing: Gikiliny wutyu The woman sang: Gikilin laiurruk The woman sings: Gikila laiurruk The woman will sing: Gikiliny laiurruk

Language and Culture

Discuss the inherent relationship between Language and culture

Students make a list of differences between early Aboriginal and European cultures

Discuss how these cultural differences can affect communication

Australia Day Council of NSW Student Resources British-Aboriginal Relations 1788-1820 See Interviews with Aboriginal Community Leaders

Contact between Aboriginal and European people

Students research the attitudes of the early European settlers to Aboriginal people, and the attitudes of Aboriginal people to the European settlers and record their

See 1869 Aboriginal Protection Act and 1886 ‘Half-Caste’ Act See Little Red Yellow Black Site from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres

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findings

Look at the places where Europeans settled both locally and around Australia, and the effect this had on Aboriginal Languages and cultures:

o compare the

number of Languages from pre- and post- European colonisation

o ask where Languages are strong

Show a video depicting the treatment of Aboriginal people, eg, Rabbit Proof Fence, Lousy Little Sixpence

Students create an electronic presentation showing the impact of European colonisation on Aboriginal Languages and cultures, to be used as a resource

Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) See European Discovery and the Colonisation of Australia from the Australian Government For some historical European records of Aboriginal Languages and cultural practices, see the electronic publications listed at http://alv.vcaa.vic.edu.au/historical-books Rabbit-Proof Fence Lousy Little Sixpence

Farewell routine as in Activity 1.

Activity 4: Language Reclamation

Overview Activities Sample Language

Comments

Greeting routine as in Activity 1.

Language activity

Adapt or create terminology for use when talking to or about various class participants. For example, one group uses guli ‘people’ when referring to students.

Class sit down!: Ngengakaty guli!

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These words can be used when giving classroom instructions.

Ask students to address participants using these words.

What is Language Reclamation

Invite a community member or Language worker to discuss Language reclamation and the roles of the various people in the Language Team, and that of the students in the reclamation program

Make a recording of the discussion for use later in the program

You could invite Language team members, VACL, etc to participate in the discussion

See the Aboriginal Language and Cultures Language revival tab

See the VACL website

See Indigenous Languages and Emotions

Language Revitalisation

Protocols for Language Reclamation

Students brainstorm ideas to support the reclamation of the Language they are studying and prepare a presentation of their ideas for the community.

Students make their presentation to members of the Community, allowing the community to sanction or reject the various tasks presented. Use Language where possible

At the end of the year, students return to members of the Community and present a report and their resources

Language Maintenance strategies and resources

Local community’s protocols for Language reclamation

Understanding that this is a

Students research online for Language

See the Hans Rausing

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global phenomenon

reclamation and revitalisation in other parts of Australia and in other countries

Endangered Languages Project

See the Foundation for Endangered Languages

Farewell routine as in Activity 1.

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Unit Resources

Websites

At the time of publication the URLs (website addresses) cited were checked for accuracy and appropriateness of content. However, due to the transient nature of material placed on the Internet, their continuing accuracy cannot be verified. Teachers are strongly advised to prepare their own indexes of sites that are suitable and applicable to this unit of work, and to check these addresses prior to allowing student access. For information on the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Principles of Learning and Teaching (PoLT) follow this link.

Teacher resources

A comprehensive list of teacher resources is available under the resources tab on the Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Reclamation in Victorian Schools website. This site provides links to other states’ Language programs, and to a wide range of resources.

Student resources

A comprehensive list of student resources is available under the resources tab on the Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Reclamation in Victorian Schools website. This site provides links to other states’ Language programs, and to a wide range of resources.

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Assessment

The Victorian Essential Learning Standards support a combination of assessment practices:

Assessment of learning (summative)

Assessment for learning (formative)

Assessment as learning (ongoing) Further information on these can be found at: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/assessment/preptoyear10/ Additional information is provided on the Languages Other Than English domain page. Although Aboriginal Languages are included in the Roman alphabetical languages category, the standards specific to Aboriginal Languages can be found in the VELS Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Reclamation in Victorian Schools: standards P-10 and protocols. When assessing student achievement, assessment criteria can be developed from relevant standards and associated tasks or activities. The table below shows a range of assessment criteria, tools and strategies applicable to this unit. Teachers could choose to use some or all of these or use the unit to assess other standards.

Standards Standards Evidence

Aboriginal Languages, Cultures and Reclamation in Victorian Schools

At Pathway 2 Level 5, students:

Participate in greetings

Respond to instructions and visual clues

Begin to explain the issues for translation between languages

Demonstrate reclamation skills through various strategies including direct learning from the Language team

Research and document the Language being studied through personal interview and other strategies including the use of ICT

Identify Aboriginal Languages in their region

Appreciate the roles of language in maintaining culture, identity and knowledge

Explain how the Language and culture help promote the sustainable care of the

Teacher observations and records of students’ skills in:

Using greetings and farewells (all activities)

Instructional words (activity 2)

Cultural differences (activity 3)

Reclamation ideas (activity 4)

Aboriginal kinship (activity 1), survival (activity 2), recording words learned (activity 2)

History of the area (activity 1), Kinship (activity 2)

Kinship (activity 2), Aboriginal community leaders (activity 2), Language and culture (activity 3)

Survival techniques (activity 1)

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environment

Develop knowledge of protocols and skills of working ethically with each other and with Aboriginal communities

Demonstrate knowledge of the richness of vocabulary concerned with family ties and country in Aboriginal Languages

Understand the importance of maintaining the cultural values, beliefs and knowledge associated with the chosen Language by comparing and contrasting various ways of life

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the impact on and involvement of Aboriginal peoples in the history of Australia from the time of colonisation onwards

Demonstrate an awareness of Language revival and maintenance efforts and discuss the importance of this process

Demonstrate understanding of local stories contained in oral passages … by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the production of responses in oral, artistic and literary forms

Protocols for Language reclamation (activity 4)

Aboriginal kinship as an enduring social system (activity 2)

Survival techniques (activity 1), Aboriginal kinship (activity 2), Language and culture (activity 3), Contact between Aboriginal and European people (activity 3)

Aboriginal community leaders (activity 2), Contact between Aboriginal and European people (activity 3)

Language reclamation (activity 4)

Aboriginal stories and their role in sustaining Aboriginal culture (activity 2)

Total Physical Response (TPR): In second language teaching, total physical response is based on listening and linking a word or phrase to a particular physical action. This reinforces comprehension of basic items.