Year 4

English

Understand that Standard Australian English is one of many social dialects used in Australia, and that while it originated in England it has been influenced by many other languages (ACELA1487)

  • Identifying words used in Standard Australian English that are derived from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. For example: words like dillibag, yakka, kangaroo, jackaroo.

  • Use the languages map to research what languages these words may have originated and if the original meaning is reflected in the way it is used in English. e.g. place names such as Yerongpilly, Toowong, Nundah.

Humanities and Social Sciences – History

The diversity of Australia's first peoples and the long and continuous connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to Country/Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) (ACHASSK083)

  • Use the languages map to show the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups in Australia, with particular emphasis on your local area and your state or territory.

  • Research and examine early archaeological sites and language sources for example Nauwalabila, Malakunanja, Devil’s Lair, Lake Mungo, Preminghana that show the long and continuous connection of Aboriginal Peoples to Country.

  • Invite local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, groups and community to share they understanding of custodianship and stewardship of land and the strong connections between land, language, culture and spirituality.

The nature of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others, for example, the Macassans and the Europeans, and the effects of these interactions on, for example, people and environments (ACHASSK086)

  • Investigate contact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experienced before 1788 (e.g. trade between the Macassans of Indonesia and the Yolngu people of North East Arnhem Land) Explore the sharing of language that took place between these groups and where it is still evident today e.g. the Macassan word Balanda (white people) used across Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

  • Explore the effects interactions between Europeans and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had (positive or negative) and the challenges faced due to language difference.

  • Compare the European concept of land ownership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' relationship with the land and sea and language; discuss how this affected relationships between different groups.

Humanities and Social Sciences- Geography

The custodial responsibility Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have for Country/Place, and how this influences views about sustainability (ACHASSK089)

  • Use the languages map to reflect on the distribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and cultures. For example the concentration of language groups in the coastal and riverine areas of Australia.

  • Investigate how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ways of living were adapted to the resources of their Country/Place, for example, the desert country of the Arrernte People; the savannah country of the Jawoyn People; the riverine plains of the Wiradjuri People.

  • Explore how this may be reflected through their language/s.

  • Investigate how knowledge, language and practices shared among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are linked to sustainable use of resources and environments. For example the rotational use and harvesting of resources, mutton bird harvesting in Tasmania, and the collection of bush food from semi-arid rangelands)

Humanities and Social Sciences- Civics and Citizenship

The different cultural, religious and/or social groups to which they and others in the community belong (ACHASSK093)    

  • Recognise that the identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australia is shaped by Country/Place, language and knowledge traditions.

  • Encourage students to share their family and community experiences, for example religious celebrations and other groups they are involved in to identify similarities and differences.

  • Share and explore stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, community and language groups including the importance of spiritual connections to land and language.

  • Celebrate similarities and differences.

Science

Science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships (ACSHE061)

  • Consider how scientific practices such as sorting, classification and estimation are used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in everyday life in the past and the present.

  • Explore how these are expressed through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.

Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE062)

  • Identify knowledge and expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and language groups such as their use of science in the intricate understandings of the environment. For example fire stick farming still used in Arnhem Land to ensure sustainability of the environment across large areas of country and the identification and selection of appropriate natural materials for tools, utensils and materials for clothing, shelter and so on.

  • Research how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People worked to make plants and animals so abundant, predictable and convenient across the many different languages groups of Australia over tens of thousands of years.