Resource 9 Indigenous Peoples- Aboriginal Australians

Title	Author /Illustrator
Indigenous Peoples:Aboriginal Australians	Diana Marshall
Publisher	Date of publication
Weigl Publishers	2004
Overview of text This is an information text about Australia and its people. It provides information on the makeup of Australia and also gives specific details about Aboriginal culture. The contents page provides an overview of the topics covered in the book. There are plenty of pictures depicting Aboriginals and Australian animals. The book details some history about the formation of Australia and provides information about  aboriginal dreamtime stories.
Language features: The text follows a logical sequence of events, making it easy to read and understand for young readers. Keywords are highlighted, so that students could use these to create a list of useful text. The language may be difficult for some lower readers, but the text could be used for whole class lessons or guided reading groups.
Other textual features (e.g. format, illustrations) The format is an easy to follow illustrated (picture) text.  It provides clear colour photographs depicting traditional aboriginals. The book also uses timelines to specify relevant information. This would enable readers to access knowledge easily, and would aid in remembering specific details. Modifications would need to be made for lower primary students
Audience	Genre
Grades, 2, 3, 4 and 5	Non fiction- information text

Title of text Indigenous Peoples: Aboriginal Australians
Before reading activities	Justification*
1.Look at the title and predict what the text will contain 2.Open the first page and examine the contents section 3.Make note of the glossary and index 4.Ask students to describe how they would find information in this book 5.Look at the pictures, discuss aboriginal culture and activate prior knowledge	1.CB -predict likely text and sentence structures 2.TP -relate the text to their personal and cultural experiences and knowledge, including their experiences with other texts 3.TP -relate the text to their personal and cultural experiences and knowledge, including their experiences with other texts 4.TA -understand how a text's structure and features contribute to the way the text portrays ideas or issues 5.CB - use and integrate knowledge about images
During reading activities	Justification*
1.Ask students to identify the bold text- why is this highlighted? 2.Write down the highlighted words to make a word wall 3.Students would use this book as a reference and may read out loud to other class members, or it could be used in guided reading. 4.In group situations for reading, students take notes on specific areas which could be used to reproduce a compact text/minibook for others	1.TP -be able to understand how illustrations, diagrams, graphs and other pictorial features present meaning in the text 2.TP -be able to understand how illustrations, diagrams, graphs and other pictorial features present meaning in the text 3.TU -know about the different social and cultural functions that texts perform 4.TA -   explain why people might interpret texts differently
After reading activities	Justification*
1.Write a timeline of events related to aboriginal settlement, with illustrations to match 2.Write your interpretation of a chosen section of the book. 3.Write your own dreamtime story based upon an Australian animal 4.Write a list of food that aboriginals may eat 5.Design an aboriginal boomerang and paint it 6.Design a front cover for an Aboriginal Dreaming story. Include a title and a picture showing either a rule for living, information about the environment or spiritual world.	1.explain why people might interpret texts differently 2.explain why people might interpret texts differently 3.know about the different social and cultural functions that texts perform 4.relate the text to their personal and cultural experiences and knowledge, including their experiences with other texts 5.be able to understand how illustrations, diagrams, graphs and other pictorial features present meaning in the text 6.use texts as part of social action
Questions from Bloom’s (revised) Taxonomy Remembering Understanding Applying Analysing Evaluating Creating Remembering Describe the life of  traditional aboriginal people Make a timeline of events pre colonisation Understanding Discuss why aboriginals may have been resistant to white settlement- what impact did this have on their culture and beliefs? Explain what is special about aboriginal art?  Applying Design a poster showing how aboriginals have changed over the past 100 years Design your own minibook which could be used to explain the types of food that traditional aboriginals select and explain why?  Analysing Show how the british and aboriginal people could learn from each other- draw a picture, act out or write and example Evaluating Compare the similarities and differences between aboriginals and western culture Find a tradtional aboriginal painting and copy it onto paper- use paints to recreate Creating Create a board game depicting aboriginals over time Make your own aboriginal song and dance as a class Imagine you are an aboriginal, write a letter explaining how you feel about the cultural changes over time