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Learning Through Story: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia

2. Exploring Literary Representation of Culture

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Suggested Learning Intentions

  • To build understanding of the interconnectedness of Country and Place, People, Identity and Culture in texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors
  • To explore representations of culture in literary texts
  • To examine how personal values and beliefs might differ between individuals and communities

Sample Success Criteria

  • I can reflect on the way that place, Country, people, identity and culture are represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors
  • I can discuss the purpose and effect of different representations of cultural groups
  • I can compare my views with those of my classmates and identify differences in values and beliefs
  • Before you use this sequence: guidance: docx PDF
  • ‘Growing up Aboriginal in Australia’ (2018) edited by Anita Heiss
  • Ways Things Can Be Complex (optional)
  • Written, visual or social media text stimulus (optional)
  • Historical texts relevant to Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia (suggestions below)
  • Word Chart
  • Sticking Points thinking routine
  • +1 Routine
  • Headline thinking routine
  • Comparison texts reflecting the key themes and ideas of ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia’ (suggestions below)
  • Cluster web
  • ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia’ teaching notes
  • Written, visual or social media text stimulus (optional)

This stage of the sequence focuses on building the context or field in order to support students to develop their understanding of the way in which texts can reflect or challenge individual and community understandings. It is also intended to build on students’ understanding of the concepts of Country, Place, People, Identity and Culture in texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors.

It is strongly recommended that teachers view all suggested stimulus texts prior to their use to ensure their cultural appropriateness and to enable rich, respectful discussion. For guidance on text selection refer to the Teaching and Learning Resources — Selecting Appropriate Materials policy

In addition, it is suggested that teachers refer to the guidelines around establishing a safe & culturally respectful classroom in the ‘Before you use this sequence’ section of the resource.

Consider creating a modified Ways Things Can Be Complex concept map for your class before commencing this stage or sequence, which can be revisited as appropriate. The map encourages the consolidation of critical thinking as students’ knowledge of a topic develops.

Reflect and challenge 

Have students form small groups. Allocate each group two copies of a Word Chart. Explain to students that you would like them to collaborate to complete one chart that defines the word ‘reflect’ and another that defines the word ‘challenge’. Each group will also create or source an illustration to accompany their definition.

Invite each group to share their conclusions, discussions and drawings/images with the class as part of a gallery walk.

Facilitate a class discussion following the gallery walk. Once students have provided feedback, focus the conversation on how ideas and viewpoints in texts can ‘reflect or challenge our own and our community’s understandings of an issue’. Offer students the opportunity to consider which definitions from their Word Charts might apply most accurately to this scenario.  For example: a reflection in a mirror versus the reflection of a belief.

Encourage students to think of some examples from their own lives in which a written text, a visual text or social media post has reflected or challenged their own beliefs. Consider providing a provocation to elicit responses, such as an image of Nicky Winmar’s (and Adam Goodes’) symbolic protests, Cathy Wilcox’s  ‘Un-Australian’ or Fiona Katauskas' ‘Eureka Street’.  James Tylor’s ‘(Erased Scenes) From an Untouched Landscape’ could also be used to extend student’s critical thinking skills. 

Introduce a range of texts that address key moments in Australian history, such as the 1967 Referendum, the Mabo decision or The National Apology, and/or texts that address the causes of struggle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, such as those that discuss the Aborigines Protection Act. Reconciliation Australia provides an interactive timeline of key events in the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the National Museum of Australia and ABC Australia provide useful starting points for source material.

Allocate a text to each group and ask students to consider how the text they are considering might reflect or challenge their own or their community’s understandings of an issue. Provide students with a thinking routine like Sticking Points to prompt responses. Remind students of the class protocols around respectful conversation and offer support with facilitating discussions as required. 

Invite groups to share their thoughts with the class, probing further after each group’s contribution to explore the idea that students’ personal beliefs may be different or similar to others in the class or community. Carefully explore what some of the reasons for differing opinions might be. For example: personal experience; family history; exposure to media; political viewpoints; education.

Monitor class discussions for evidence of students’ thinking and collect graphic organisers for assessment. 

Enable students who require further support to engage with the task by inviting them to work in strategically constructed groups or pairs. Scaffolds such as a cluster web help students organise the key ideas and themes of their allocated text. Facilitate small group conversations about how a text might reflect or challenge students’ opinions, revisiting students’ Word Charts to clarify understanding. 

Extend students by asking them to compare two to three different texts on the same topic from different historical periods, investigating each text’s viewpoint and considering the ways that representation of an issue may have changed.

If students are not familiar with the history and legacy of The Stolen Generations, including Australia’s assimilation policy, it is strongly advised that time is spent exploring this aspect of Australian history before proceeding with this stage. There are many resources available to support this work. The Common Ground and Healing Foundation websites provide a rich starting point, with FUSE and ABC Education (search for Stolen Generation) also offering a wide array of resources. The ‘Intergenerational Trauma Animation’ available on several of these sites is recommended viewing.

Reading and reflecting

Provide students with the opportunity to read an essay from ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia’ that addresses Australian history, including The Stolen Generations. What It’s Like by Keira Jenkins, White Bread Dreaming by Shannon Foster or My Childhood by Aileen Walsh would all work well. Consider allocating individual pages of an essay to small groups to share as a jigsaw, reading an essay together as a class or allowing time for independent reading.

It is strongly recommended that teachers read selected essays before introducing them to students. Please note that ‘My Childhood’ contains some sensitive material. . For guidance on text selection refer to the Teaching and Learning Resources — Selecting Appropriate Materials policy.

The ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia’ teaching notes provides a table that organises the essays in the anthology by theme.  

Allow time for reflection on the chosen essays by asking students to use a +1 Routine to identify the key ideas and themes in the text. Discuss students’ findings and then revisit the key questions outlined in Stage One of this sequence which prompt students to reflect on the key concept of the interconnectedness of Country, Place, People, Identity and Culture:

  • What do you think the authors or participants in the text might mean by the term ‘Country’? Give some examples of how the ideas of ‘Country’ and/or ‘place’ are talked about in this text.
  • How is the importance of family or community represented in this text?
  • What does the word ‘identity’ mean to you? What sorts of values and beliefs might be important to the author or participant’s sense of identity?
  • How might the participants’ beliefs about Country and kinship be connected or intertwined?

Comparing perspectives

Offer students a text for comparison with ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia’ that addresses some of the key themes and ideas identified in selected essays. For example, the 10th Anniversary of Stolen Generation Apology (available on ClickView, sign in using your Department credentials) or a contemporary newspaper article or video that discusses the removal of Aboriginal children.

It is strongly suggested that teachers view stimulus texts before using them in the classroom. The video suggested above should be shown only if it is culturally safe and respectful do so within your classroom.

Using a stimulus text like those suggested, model how to unpack a text to identify how its author represents particular cultural groups. For example:

  • Which cultural groups are being represented in this text?
  • What are the key ideas being presented about the cultural groups in this text? Can you identify any generalisations or stereotypes?
  • Who is the author of the text? Does the author identify as a member of a group they are writing about? Why might this be of interest to the reader?
  • What do you think the purpose of this text might be? 
  • What is the effect of this author’s representation of a particular cultural group?
  • Would this representation affect all readers in the same way? 

Allocate a new comparison text to pairs or small groups and ask them to respond to the same prompts discussed by the class above. Provide students with a graphic organiser like a Cluster Web to support groups to unpack their text and record their ideas. 

Discuss student responses, focusing on the language that is used to represent different cultural groups.

Elaboration activity: Consider carefully removing, rewriting, replacing or changing racial identifiers in a text, reflecting with students on the ways that representations or stereotypes can be challenged. For example:

Original Text Altered Text

The 1915 amendments to the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 gave the New South Wales (NSW) Aborigines Protection Board the power to remove any Indigenous child at any time and for any reason.

The phrasing of one amendment was so broad as to enable any interpretation by the Board’s inspectors, and led to thousands of Indigenous children being taken from their parents on the basis of race alone.

The rationale for the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their parents was part of a broader policy framework known as assimilation.

Non-Indigenous Australians had convinced themselves that Aboriginal people were a ‘dying race’, and that those remaining, especially those of mixed parentage, would be better off assimilated into ‘white’ society.

The 1915 amendments to the Anglo-Saxon Protection Act 1909 gave the New South Wales (NSW) Anglo-Saxon Protection Board the power to remove any white child at any time and for any reason.

The phrasing of one amendment was so broad as to enable any interpretation by the Board’s inspectors, and led to thousands of white children being taken from their parents on the basis of race alone.

The rationale for the forced removal of white children from their parents was part of a broader policy framework known as assimilation.

Indigenous Australians had convinced themselves that white people were a ‘dying race’, and that those remaining, especially those of mixed parentage, would be better off assimilated into Aboriginal society.

Excerpt taken from ‘Defining Moments: Aborigines Protection Act’, National Museum of Australia.

Care must be taken to ensure that texts selected for this activity do not contain (or invite) culturally inappropriate or offensive language or terminology. For guidance on text selection refer to the Teaching and Learning Resources — Selecting Appropriate Materials policy.

Thinking Socratically 

Socratic discussions allow students to build on their speaking and listening skills whilst thinking critically about their understanding of a topic. The purpose of this discussion should be to revisit the key concepts explored in this stage (and in Stage One of this sequence if appropriate). For example: 

  • interconnectedness of Country and Place, People, Identity and Culture in texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors
  • the ways that ideas and viewpoints in literary texts may reflect or challenge the values of individuals and groups
  • the representation of various cultural groups, whom they are represented by, and the possible purpose and effect of those representations.

Before engaging in a Socratic discussion, students should be provided with time to reflect on a selection of open-ended questions that will be used during the discussion to inspire critical thinking and reflection.  Offer students the opportunity to revisit texts that have been examined as a whole class or in groups, taking notes with the open-ended question/s in mind. For example:

The stories in ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia’ challenge ideas about the history of Australia. How do these stories challenge that history? Why might it be important to challenge the historical representation of cultural groups?

It is important to support students’ participation in the discussion by providing a range of sentence starters to guide the conversation. A useful list can be found in the Literacy Teaching Toolkit, along with further guidance around the protocols of Socratic discussions.

Teachers should recognise and respect the potential for an anxious pause at the start of a discussion and resist intervening. The role of the teacher is that of an observer.

Enable participation in the Socratic discussion by working one-on-one with students to ensure they have made adequate notes and pre-prepared comments before beginning. Ensure space is made for less confident students to contribute by allocating ‘talk tokens’ to enthusiastic contributors where necessary.

Information about scaffolding Socratic discussions for EAL learners can be found here.

Extend students by offering them the option of becoming a ‘discussion monitor’. A Socratic discussion monitor sits outside the circle and notes the discussion points that move the dialogue forward, presenting this information as a reflection to the group afterwards. A list of prompts for discussion monitors can be found in the Literacy Teaching Toolkit.

Invite students to consider their participation in the Socratic discussion, encouraging them to reflect on, clarify and evaluate the opinions and arguments they offered, as well as those they disagreed with. You may wish to provide prompts to support students’ reflections.

Students should also consider whether any of their viewpoints have changed, and why. Where possible, ask students to link at least one of their ideas back to an essay from ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia’. 

Once reflections are complete, ask students to create a Headline that they think best summarises their position on the key question/s from the Socratic discussion. For example: ‘History should never repeat: schools commit to revising the way they teach children about the past.’ 

Ask students to share their headline with a partner. Once done, encourage students to add their thoughts about the differences or similarities in their opinions to their reflection, considering whether they’d make any changes to their headline as a result.

If relevant, consider using feedback from your class’s Socratic monitor to inform future Socratic discussions, including the setting of goals and differentiated expectations for students. It is important to involve the whole class in a discussion of the monitor’s findings.

Areas for further exploration:

Invite students to investigate the effects of the methods used to achieve change by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Briggs’ song ‘The Children Came Back’ ft. Gurrumul & Dewayne Everettsmith would be a useful stimulus for research, and the National Museum of Australia a useful starting point for sourcing information on key moments of protest.

Consider using a graphic organiser like a hierarchy chart to enable students to investigate the causes of struggle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. For example, Aborigines Protection Amending Act, No.2 of 1915.

Investigate the Aboriginal English used by authors in ‘Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia’ to explore how conventions of speech influence the identities of people in a community. Marcia Langton and Stan Grant Snr’s reflections on experiencing racism provide an interesting stimulus for a discussion about language use and code-switching. 

Please note that is important to view all stimulus material before utilising it in a classroom. For example, the code-switching video suggested above could be stopped at 2:58 to avoid potentially sensitive material.

Explore the importance of Kinship to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and its interconnectedness to Country and Identity. Useful resources for this investigation could include Common Ground’s information on Kinship systems and Share our Pride’s video about ‘Family and Kinship’ (scroll to the bottom of the page to view).

ABC Australia, 2020. Right Wrongs. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/rightwrongs/
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

ABC Education, 2017. Marcia Langton on racism. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/education/counted-marcia-langton-on-racism/13603780
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

ABC Education, 2019. Classroom resources to help schools promote a broader understanding of the Stolen Generations. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-02/new-school-program-teaches-history-of-stolen-generations/10947660
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

ABC News, 2019. Indigenous AFL players call out Adam Goodes's treatment ahead of The Final Quarter documentary release. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-06/indigenous-afl-footballers-angry-at-how-adam-goodes-was-treated/11185732
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, n.d. Explore. [Online]
Available at: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Common Ground, n.d. Kinship Systems. [Online]
Available at: https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/first-nations-systems-thinking
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Common Ground, n.d. Sharing First Nations cultures, histories and lived experiences. [Online]
Available at: https://www.commonground.org.au/
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Common Ground, n.d. The Stolen Generations. [Online]
Available at: https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/the-stolen-generations
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Creately, n.d. Cluster-Word Web. [Online]
Available at: https://creately.com/diagram/example/AEhw9hK5Hw1/cluster-word-web
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Creately, n.d. Visualize Hierarchy of Concepts. [Online]
Available at: https://creately.com/usage/hierarchy-charts-maker/
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2019. Project Zero: +1 Routine. [Online]
Available at: http://pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/%2B1%20Routine.pdf
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2019. Project Zero: Sticking Points. [Online]
Available at: http://pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Sticking%20Points%20-%20Exploring%20Complexity.pdf
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Healing Foundation, 2018. Intergenerational Trauma. [Online]
Available at: https://healingfoundation.org.au/intergenerational-trauma/
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Healing Foundation, 2020. Stolen Generations Resource Kit for Teachers and Students. [Online]
Available at: https://healingfoundation.org.au/schools/
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

HuffPost, 2018. YouTube: What Is Code-Switching? | Between The Lines. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNbdn0yuUw8
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Katauskas, F., 2018. Behind the Line: The Apologies. [Online]
Available at: https://behindthelines.moadoph.gov.au/2018/the-pool-of-tears/the-apologies
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Mitchell, G., 2020. Sunrise to be sued for racial discrimination over Stolen Generations broadcast. [Online]
Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sunrise-to-be-sued-for-racial-discrimination-over-stolen-generations-broadcast-20200611-p551mx.html
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

National Museum Australia, 2001. Collection Explorer. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nma.gov.au/
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

National Museum of Australia, 2020. DEFINING MOMENTS: Aborigines Protection Act. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aborigines-protection-act
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

National Museum of Australia, n.d. DEFINING MOMENTS: Nicky Winmar's stand. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/nicky-winmars-stand
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Reading Rockets, n.d. Word Maps. [Online]
Available at: https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/word_maps
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Reconciliation Australia, 2017. Share Our Pride: Our Shared History. [Online]
Available at: http://www.shareourpride.org.au/sections/our-shared-history/index.html
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Reconciliation Australia, n.d. Share Our Pride: Understanding Culture. [Online]
Available at: http://shareourpride.org.au/sections/our-culture
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Shay, M., n.d. Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia: Teaching Notes. [Online]
Available at: https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/sites/default/files/Growing%20Up%20Aboriginal_Teaching%20Notes.pdf
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

State Government of Victoria, (Department of Education and Training), 2018. Literacy Teaching Toolkit: Classroom talk techniques - Jigsaw expert groups. [Online]
Available at: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/speakinglistening/Pages/exampleclasstalk.aspx
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

State Government of Victoria, (Department of Education and Training), 2019. Literacy Teaching Toolkit: Scaffolding Socratic discussions for EAL/D learners. [Online]
Available at: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/speakinglistening/Pages/scaffolding-socratic-discussions-for-EALD-learners.aspx
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

TeachHub.com, 2019. Randomized Group Work. [Online]
Available at: https://www.teachhub.com/classroom-management/2019/09/30-ways-to-arrange-students-for-group-work/#:~:text=Pass%20out%20cards%20and%20group,and%20randomly%20pass%20them%20out
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Tylor, J., 2015. (Erased Scenes) From an Untouched Landscape. [Online]
Available at: https://www.jamestylor.com/erased-scenes-from-an-untouched-landscape.html
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

Wilcox, C., n.d. Un-Australian. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cathywilcox.com.au/cartoons/2020/7/24/un-australian
[Accessed 15 March 2022].

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Last updated: July 7th 2022