Task

For this unit, you will be required to work in groups of four for some tasks and for others you will work individually. For each task, there will be four roles that must be employed. There will be a reporter, a recorder, a motivator and a creative designer. For each task, students must take on a different role. Each task will be presented to the class on a Friday afternoon and students will have the opportunity to work through the tasks during class time. The following tasks will be completed throughout the unit.

Celebrate a culture

 In your groups of 4 your task is to research a festival, celebration, dance, song, game, food, sport, or custom of a culture and present it to the class. Your country/culture must be one of the following: These countries have been selected because these are the most common backgrounds of Australians. Teach us how and why to celebrate a part of their culture. Let us all work together to better understand our fellow Australians!
 *  New Zealand
 *  China
 *  Vietnam
 *  England
 *  India
 *  Italy
 *  Philippines
 *  Ireland

Family Recipe

 As Australia is made up of people from a wide variety of cultures, it is safe to say that we all date back to countries both far and near to the land we now call home. For some of us, this could be your great-great-great grandparents who emigrated here on one of the first ships from Britain; for others it could be your parents who came on general skilled visas; and for others it could even be yourself that has recently arrived here. We all originate from somewhere else and this is something we share in common and must try to not forget. Each and every cultural background in Australia offers a fascinating heritage full of tales, cultures, customs, foods and traditions. We should embrace where we and our fellow Australians come from as it contributes to our nation becoming more accepting and considerate to everyone around us.

 This task requires you to work individually to research your family or close friend’s cultural background before they arrived to Australia. This will give you the opportunity to identify with another culture that can be and should be part of who you are. You will interview these people using whatever medium you prefer and then present it to the class along with your own personal reflection of what you have discovered about yourself through this exercise.

Indigenous Studies

Before European settlement, Australia was a group of nations comprising of more than 400 tribes. These tribes each had their own type of clothing, tools, traditions, hunting techniques, art types and even languages. Indigenous people are the original inhabitants of Australia; they are either referred to as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. After British settlement the traditions of Indigenous people were threatened and only some of these remain in use today. As indigenous people are the original inhabitants of the land, we should try to celebrate some of the aspects of their culture that they were forced to stop using.

In groups of four, you are to choose an Indigenous tribe and research the language they once spoke. Less than 150 languages are still spoken in remote indigenous areas. Only some of these languages have been recorded. You are to choose a topic to present and teach to the class in this language such as ‘The family’, ‘School’, ‘Emotion Words’ or any topic you can find some basic information on.

Immigration History of Australia

Australia has a magnificently colourful history. From the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who originally inhabited the land to the European settlers who later came and settled here. The country boasts a somewhat dark and intriguing history of immigration that has contributed to the nation it is today. Many pivotal periods over the last four centuries have helped shape Australia to be the multicultural nation it has become.

For this task, you will complete a newspaper headline highlighting the key facts from this era. In your groups of four, you will decide on a topic, research it, chose an appropriate headline and photo to accompany the article as well as present your finished piece to the group. Sample newspaper templates will be provided and one of which must be used. Each group member will have a specific role for this task.

If Australia were a village of 100 people...

In groups of 4, create a presentation on the computer representing Australia if it were a village of 100 people. You will present a statistic in this presentation showing religion, language, ancestry or country of origin of different Australians. You could use PowerPoint, stick figure animator, movie maker software, voice threads, etc. Use your imagination.

<span style="color: #e36c0a; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 24pt; text-align: center;">Racism: It's no comical affair!

Racism is a serious issue in Australia. Individually you will read two online comics about racism. Think about what kind of things you think are racist acts. From what you have read and what you have thought about, create your own comic regarding racism. It could be about someone being treated unfairly, or it could be about raising awareness for racism. The comic can be created online or hand drawn. Once you have created the comic you will also create an anti-racism poster or banner to hang up in your classroom.