Thinking Themes: First Contacts Ages 8-10

Samantha Frappell

Activities to switch on thinking skills!Activities to switch on thinking skills!

45 photocopiable pages

ages

8-10

www.macmillan.com.au

Thinking Themes is a practical series packed with exciting, ready-to-use activities for popular Curriculum topics. Every activity is cross-referenced to Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and to Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking skills.

Use the activities as a learning centre, or add them to an inquiry unit. However you use the series, it will enable you to:• consciouslyandsystematicallyincorporate

thinking skills into your program• ensurethatyourstudentsworkacrossthe

intelligences as active investigators• covertheskillsoftheAustralianCurriculum.

About the cover . . .

About the author

Dr Samantha Frappell is an author, historian and teacher with a PhD in AustralianHistory.Shehaswrittennumeroushistorybooksforstudents,ranging from primary to senior secondary school level.

Macassan prau, Indonesia

Vaulted shelter with

triple ridge-pole, ArnhemLand

Wooden spearhead,

Pilbara region

Stone spearhead, Kimberley region

Returning boomerang, south-eastern

Australia

Fire, used in all parts of

Australia

Colonial ship, Europe

Basket for carrying food or catching small

fish, Queensland rainforest

Double outrigger canoe, northern Queensland

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For review purposes only

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Samantha Frappell

ages

8-10

Activities to switch on thinking skills!

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First published in 2012 by

MACMILLAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA PTY LTD15–19 Claremont Street, South Yarra, Vic 3141

Visit our website at www.macmillan.com.au

Associated companies and representatives throughout the world.

Copyright © Samantha Frappell/Macmillan Education Australia 2012Thinking Themes: First Contacts Ages 8–10

ISBN 978 1 4202 9919 9Publisher: Sharon DalgleishManaging editor: Janne GalbraithEditor: Sarah PayneProduction controller: Janine BidermanDesign and illustrations: Nice Stuff

Printed in Australia by BIGPRINT TYPO, South Melbourne

Copying of this work by educational institutions or teachersYou may reproduce pages within this book in accordance with the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) and provided the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions, contact:Copyright Agency LimitedLevel 15, 233 Castlereagh StreetSydney NSW 2000Telephone: (02) 9394 7600Facsimile: (02) 9394 7601Email: [email protected]

Reproduction and communication for other purposesExcept as permitted under the Act (for example, any fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher.

AcknowledgementsPage 34 Based on extract from Endeavour Journal, Sir Joseph Banks. Mitchell Library, State Library of

NSW. ML Safe 1 /13Page 42 First quote: Based on extract from Watkin Tench, Journal, 1793: 61, quoting Maugoran, a

Burramattagal elder speaking through his daughter BoorongPage 42 Second quote: Based on extract from John Hunter, Journal, 1793: 468–9, quoting Gov. Arthur

Phillip.Page 46 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1994, “Statistics on the Indigenous People of Australia”

in 1994 Year Book Australia cat. no. 1301.0, ABS, Canberra; Australian Bureau of Statistic, 2008, Australian Historical Population Statistics cat. no. 3105.0.65.001, ABS, Canberra

TT_First_Contacts_text.indd 2 11/07/12 12:38 PM

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Australia’s first 4 peoples

Daily lives 11

Connection to place 18and country

Contacts before 28 1788

European contacts 35

Impacts 41

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4 Thinking Themes: First Contacts Ages 8–10 © Samantha Frappell/Macmillan Education Australia. ISBN 978 1 4202 9919 9

Name DateTask 1

Use the internet or your school library to find out how many different nations there were in Australia in 1788.

Number of nations _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Write the names of 10 Aboriginal nations.

IntelligenceLogical-mathematical

Thinking skillRemembering

Australia’s first peoples

Use the internet or your school library to find out how many different Aboriginal languages were spoken in Australia in 1788.

Number of languages _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Write the names of 10 Aboriginal languages.

Find a map of Australia that shows all of the Aboriginal nations. Print out or photocopy the map and glue it on to the back of this page.

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5Thinking Themes: First Contacts Ages 8–10 © Samantha Frappell/Macmillan Education Australia. ISBN 978 1 4202 9919 9

Name Date Task 2

Australia’s first peoplesWhere is your school?

Write the name of the suburb or town and state.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, write the name of the Aboriginal nation where your school is located.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What main language or language groups are associated with this nation?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are some of the native animals found in this country?

IntelligenceIntrapersonal


What are some of the native plants found in this country?

On the back of this page, draw a picture of one of the native animals found in this nation.

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Name Date

Where is the site located?

What items were found there?

When were the items made?

Who made the items?

How were the items made?

Devil’s Lair is an important Aboriginal site in Western Australia.

Use the internet or your school library to find out about Devil’s Lair and complete the following information.

IntelligenceVerbal-linguistic

Thinking skillUnderstanding

Task 3


Now, imagine you are one of the archaeologists working on the original Devil’s Lair excavation in 1973. Write a report about what you find. Draw a picture of one of the artefacts to illustrate your report.

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Name Date

Site

Malakunanja

Carpenter’s Gap rock shelter

Devil’s Lair

Beginners Luck cave

Ngarrabullgan cave

Lake Mungo

Koonalda Cave

Cloggs Cave

State or territory Date of site

Did you know? An artefact is an object made

by humans in the past.

Did you know? An archaeologist is a person who studies ancient cultures.

Archaeologists have discovered a lot of evidence that Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for a long, long time. This evidence includes rock art, tools, camp fires, footprints and skeletons that date back tens of thousands of years.



Task 4


Choose one of the sites. Draw and label pictures of some of the artefacts found at that site.

Use the internet or your school library to complete the table of evidence of Aboriginal occupation.

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Where Lake Mungo is located

What you can see

What you can learn about Aboriginal Australia

Why the Lake Mungo site is important

Title page Page 1 Page 2 Page 3


Thinking skillApplying

Task 5


Create a brochure to encourage people to visit Lake Mungo.

Your brochure should consist of a single piece of A4 paper folded in half to make a booklet. The front page will be the title page. Your information and pictures will go on the other pages. Use the boxes to plan the information for your brochure.

Make your brochure. Include pictures to illustrate the information.

Now, plan your brochure.©

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Dated to

Found at

Who made the footprints

How the footprints were made

IntelligenceBodily-kinaesthetic


In 2003, archaeologists discovered a set of footprints made by Aboriginal people at Willandra Lakes in New South Wales that dated to 20 000 bce. They are the oldest footprints ever found in Australia.

Use the internet or your school library to help you complete the descriptive card.

Task 6


Now, cut out your descriptive card. Display the footprint with its descriptive label in the classroom.

Now, make a replica ice age footprint.

You will need• air-hardening

modelling clay or modelling dough

• water• paint

What to do1 Knead the clay to make a flat slab

20 to 25 centimetres long and 2 centimetres thick.2 Put your foot onto the clay and press it down to

make an impression.3 Carefully remove your foot.4 Leave the clay to dry overnight.5 Paint the clay to match the colour of the desert

sands of Willandra Lakes.

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Name Date

Find a modern song that contains words in an Aboriginal language.

Song _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who is the singer? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What Aboriginal language do the words come from? _____________________________________________________

In which Aboriginal nation is this language spoken? _______________________________________________________

Write the Aboriginal words from the song.

IntelligenceMusical-rhythmic

Thinking skillAnalysing

Task 7


What is the song about? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why do you think the song was written? _____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, play or sing the song for the class.

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Now try this . . . Find a recording of one of the instruments being played. Share the recording with the class.

Used for:

Made from:

Used for:

Made from:

Used for:

Made from:

Used for:

Made from:

Used for:

Made from:



Task 8

Rhythmical music played an important role in traditional Aboriginal ceremonies. It was usually performed in connection with events that were important to the clan and their land, such as the start of the wet season, a successful hunt, the end of a battle, or the recovery of a sick person.

Use the internet or your school library to complete the following fact cards. Draw a picture of each instrument.

Daily lives

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Task 9

Clapsticks were important instruments for Aboriginal music. A clapstick musician held a clapstick in each hand. One stick was held in the middle and the other was held at one end. The musician beat the sticks together to make a rhythm.

Draw a design for a pair of clapsticks. You could use a combination of dots and lines or your favourite Australian animal.

Daily lives

Now, find two pieces of wood or two sticks that are about 20 centimetres long. Paint your design on to the clapsticks and allow them to dry.

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Name Date

IntelligenceNaturalistic


Task 10

A totem is an animal or plant that is taken as a symbol for a family or clan. Each Aboriginal clan has its own animal symbol. The animal or plant chosen as the clan’s symbol is one that is found in their local area. Some clans forbid their members from eating the animal that is their totem, because the animal is seen to be a protector of the clan.

Choose an animal totem for your family or your class at school.

Daily lives

Write a paragraph to explain why you have chosen this animal as your totem.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Animal totem

Totems were also important in Torres Strait Islander culture. Torres Strait Islander people carved their totems out of wood, shell or bone and wore them as pendants.

Make your totem into a pendant. You could use clay, cardboard or other craft materials.

Draw your totem

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Name Date


Thinking skillCreating

Task 11

In Indigenous culture, a totem is an animal that becomes a special symbol for a family or individual. Dances are often about totem animals.

Choose an animal for a totem dance.Research how your chosen animal moves.

Daily lives

Perform the dance for the class.

Make up a dance about your totem animal. Your dance should be based on how the animal moves. Use the spaces to sketch your ideas.©


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Introduction (introduce the topic)

Reason 1

Reason 2

Reason 3

Conclusion (sum up your arguments)

What is the music about? What instruments can you hear?


Thinking skillEvaluating

Task 12

Find a recording of traditional ceremonial Aboriginal music.

What is the name of the ceremony where it is performed? _____________________________________________

What Aboriginal language group does it come from? _____________________________________________________

Daily lives

Music was often played for dancing. Do you think traditional Aboriginal music would be easy to dance to or hard to dance to? Write an argument to persuade others to agree with your opinion.

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Title

Complication

Orientation (characters and setting)

Series of events



Task 13

Imagine you are an Aboriginal person living a traditional life with your clan. What do you do during the day? What do you eat? What can you hear and see? What happens at night? Use the scaffold to plan a narrative about a day in your life.

Daily lives

Now, write your narrative on a separate sheet of paper.

Resolution

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Name Date



Task 14

‘Songlines’ are songs that tell a person the route to take if they want to travel from their country into another clan’s country. The songs describe where the traveller can expect to find water, forest, grasslands, mountains and other natural features on their journey.

What do you see on your journey from your home to your school? Place a tick next to the features you see. Add any other things you see.

tree beach rock forest

river path mountain creek

lake bush grass road

shop tall building traffic light house

__________________________ __________________________ __________________________ __________________________

Draw a diagram to show your path from home to school.

Daily lives

Now, write a songline that describes how to travel from your school to your home.

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Name Date

Ancestral beings who created the land

Responsibility to honour the ancestral beings

Responsibility to care for the land, animals and plants

IntelligenceInterpersonal


Task 15

Work in a group of three. Brainstorm the different ways Aboriginal people are connected to their land. You should think about:• theancestralbeingswhocreatedtheland• theresponsibilityofAboriginalpeopletohonourtheancestralbeings• theresponsibilityofAboriginalpeopletocarefortheland,animalsandplants.

Write your ideas in the table.

Sketch some ideas about how Aboriginal peoples’ connection to their land could be explained in a diagram.

Now, work as a group to create a mural to show the relationship between Aboriginal people and the land. You could create your mural on a large piece of cardboard.

Connection to place and country

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Name Date

Now try this . . . Draw a story map to illustrate one of the Dreaming Stories you found out about.

Type of feature

Water

Hill

Rock

Plant

Sky

Language group

Name of feature

Sacred animal or being

How the feature was created



Task 16

In many Aboriginal Dreaming Stories, animal spirits and beings created the natural world: the waters, the hills, the rocks, the plants and the sky.

Use the internet or your school library to find Aboriginal Dreaming Stories about how different parts of the natural world were created. Fill in the information for each story.


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Name Date

Key

Now try this . . . See what objects you can find to help you create the sounds. Experiment, and then perform your sound scape for the class.

me

camp fire



Task 17


Use the internet or your school library to find a map showing the Aboriginal nations of Australia. Choose one Aboriginal nation. Write your choice on the line.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Where is your chosen nation located? Is it on the coast, in the desert, in the mountains, in a river country or somewhere else?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Imagine that you are an Aboriginal person living in this nation. What sounds might you hear at your camp site? Think about animal sounds, sounds in the landscape and sounds of other people.

Then, think of a symbol for each sound and add it to the key.

Now, draw the symbols on the sound map where they would be in relation to the camp fire.

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Name Date



Task 18

Write a song or poem about an Aboriginal clan’s connection to their country.


Now, write your song or poem.

Animals found here

Plants found here

Land features found here (for example, desert, grasslands, mountains,

bush, sea)

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Name Date

Element What I will need to make it

IntelligenceVisual-spatial


Task 19

Aboriginal people did not keep farm animals in fenced paddocks. Instead, they used fire to manage animals on their land. They set bushland alight to force animals to come out of their hiding places in the bush and run onto the open grasslands, so that they could be hunted more easily.

Make a diorama to show how Aboriginal people managed animals on their land. First, plan your diorama. Draw all the elements that you will include, for example figures, animals, trees or fire.

Now, make your diorama.


Now, complete the table to plan how you will make each element in your diorama.

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Name Date

Now try this . . . On a separate sheet of paper, draw two scenes to show the difference between Aboriginal firestick farming and European farming.



Task 20

Look at the list of words. Which words remind you of an Aboriginal firestick farming scene? Which words remind you of a European farming scene? Write each word in the correct space in the Venn diagram. Add some words of your own to the diagram.


fencesfarmhouse

gatekangaroos

spearshorses

firebush

grasslandssheep

wallabiesgum trees

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Task 21

Aboriginal people have been using small-scale burning off for thousands of years. This is known as firestick farming. It brought many benefits to Australia’s plants and animals, and to the Aboriginal people too.

Use the internet or your school library to find out about these benefits.


By studying charcoal deposits in the soil, scientists have noticed that there have been more large bushfires in Australia since the arrival of Europeans.

Think of some reasons why this might be the case.

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Name Date



Task 22

Traditional dot paintings are made up of hundreds of tiny dots. Dot paintings contain deep spiritual meanings about Aboriginal peoples’ connection with the land. Often, the real meanings of dot paintings are only known to the artist and the people of his or her country.

Find a map of Australia that shows all the Aboriginal nations. Choose an Aboriginal nation that is in the desert.


Usefelt-tippensorcolouredpencils to create a dot painting that shows the relationship between your chosen Aboriginal nation and the desert. You might like to include animals native to your chosen nation.

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Task 23

In Aboriginal society, the people belong to the land and have a duty to care for it. In return, the land provides everything the people need, such as food, clothing and materials for tools and houses.

In European society, individuals can own land. They try to make it more suitable for farming by removing bushland and adding dams for water. They grow crops or animals on the land, which they can sell to earn money to buy everything they need, such as food, clothing, tools and a house.

Work in a group of four. Discuss the different concepts of land ownership. Write the benefits of each in the boxes.


How do Aboriginal people know where the boundaries of their land are?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How do European people know where the boundaries of their farms are?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why did these different ideas about land ownership cause conflict between Europeans and Aboriginal people?Explorethisconflictinarole-play,wheretwoAboriginal people find a fence being built across their land by two European farmers.Performtherole-playfortheclass.

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Name Date

Path Water Important place or camp site

Man Group of men

Woman Group of women Animal tracks Human footprints Rainbow

Star Waterhole Fire



Task 24

Aboriginal people often draw their country from a bird’s-eye view, as if they were looking down on it from above. Some Aboriginal people use different symbols in their artwork to show paths, people, water and important places.

Use the internet or your school library to find symbols sometimes used in Aboriginal art for the following features. Add any others that you find.


On a separate sheet of paper, use some of these symbols to draw a bird’s-eyeviewof your town or school.

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Name Date

Items traded by the Macassans Items traded by the Yolngu people



Task 25

The Macassan people of Indonesia traded and fished the waters right across northern Australia from about 1640. One group they traded with was the Yolngu Aboriginal people of Arnhem Land.

Contacts before 1788

3 If possible, present your findings as a slide show for your class. Plan your slide show on the back of this page.

1 On the map, colour the country of the Macassans. Then, colour the country of the Yolngu people.

2 In the table, make a list of items traded by the Macassans and by the Yolngu people.

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(characters and setting)

First person means that a character tells the story from

their own point of view.

Imagine you are a Yolngu boy or girl living in northern Australia. Write a narrative account of a visit from the Macassan traders. What do they want to trade? What do they bring to trade with your community? Do you trust them or are you suspicious of them? What do you think of the Macassan goods? What did your people trade in return? Write the narrative in first person, from the point of view of a Yolngu boy or girl.

Use the scaffold to plan your narrative.



Task 26


Now, write the narrative.

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Name Date

Now try this . . . Design a box and packaging for the board game.

Name Responsible for making . . .

10 penalty cards. For example:The boat has capsized. Go back four spaces.

40 sea cucumber tokens.

10 bonus cards. For example:The winds are favourable. Go forward two spaces.

20 Macassan tokens. For example: knife, canoe, cloth, rice.

12 trade cards. For example:You trade two Macassan goods for two sea cucumbers.

Four player tokens.

A game board on a large piece of cardboard. The game board should have a sea route from Sulawesi to Australia and a circular trade route on land in Australia that connects to the sea route. Divide the routes into segments for players to move along, with segments marked to pick up penalty, bonus or trade cards. Remember to make a ‘HOME’ square on the game board.



Task 27

Work in a group of four. Create a board game for four players.

Each player starts the game with five Macassan goods. The object of the game is to sail your Macassan prau (boat) from Sulawesi to the Yolngu’s country in northern Australia, conduct a successful trade of Macassan goods for sea cucumbers, and return home to Sulawesi. All Macassan goods must be traded before players can return home. The winner is the person who reaches home with the most sea cucumbers.

Players roll a die to move along the route. Penalty cards slow players’ progress. Bonus cards boost players’ progress. Trade cards allow players to swap Macassan goods for sea cucumbers.

Each group member is responsible for making different parts of the game.


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Name of ship ________________________________________________

Name of captain _________________________________________

Country of origin ________________________________________

Did they meet Aboriginal people? _______________

Where? ______________________________________________________

Name of ship _______________________________________________

Name of captain __________________________________________

Country of origin __________________________________________

Did they meet Aboriginal people? ________________

Where? _______________________________________________________

Name of ship _____________________________________________

Name of captain _________________________________________



Where? ______________________________________________________

Name of ship ______________________________________________

Name of captain _________________________________________



Where? ______________________________________________________

Name of ship ________________________________________________

Name of captain _________________________________________

Country of origin _________________________________________

Did they meet Aboriginal people? _________________

Where? ________________________________________________________

Name of ship ________________________________________________Name of captain _________________________________________ Country of origin ________________________________________ Did they meet Aboriginal people? _______________ Where? ______________________________________________________



Task 28

Use library books or the internet to research European visits to Australia before 1788. Then, complete the facts on the sails.


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The word ‘Keerweer’ means

‘turn around’ in Dutch.



Task 29

Contacts before 1788 In 1606 Dutch Captain Willem Janszoon landed his ship, the Duyfken,

at Cape Keerweer in north-eastern Australia. He came ashore and found the land swampy and infertile. When some of his sailors attempted to kidnap some Aboriginal women, the Aboriginal men killed the sailors. Captain Janszoon ordered a hasty return to his ship. They turned around and left Cape Keerweer.

Now, perform the mime for the class.

Think about your performance.

The class was able to understand what was happening in our mime.

We used gestures and body language well.

The thing we did best was _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Next time, we would do this differently _______________________________________________________________________________

Yes

Yes

No

No

Sometimes

Sometimes

Work in a group of four or five. Create a mime to show what happened when the Duyfken came to Cape Keerweer. Sketch the actions you will use in your mime.

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Heading for poster

Colours in heading

Ideas for images

Other written information on poster



Task 30

Contacts before 1788In 1770, British explorer Lieutenant James Cook

sailed along the east coast of Australia. When the Aboriginal people saw his ships sailing past their land, they were surprised. They had never seen such enormous boats before. They had never seen people with pale skin, wearing such strange clothing, either. They did not want them near their land. They yelled out to the British, “Warra! Warra!”, which means “Go away! Go away!”

Imagine it is 1770, and your clan has just sighted Cook’s ship. Draw a poster to warn other Aboriginal nations that a mysterious floating object containing strange people has been sighted along the coast. First, use the table to plan your poster.

Now, draw your poster.

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Joseph Banks’ journal

At one o’clock we anchored the ship near a small village

The old woman lit a fire and cooked some fish

We rowed out rowboats into the shore

The children ran into the houses

We wanted fresh water, but they refused to allow us to land

We fired a gun at the legs of one man

We went up to the houses and threw some beads, ribbons and pieces of cloth

More shots were fired at them

We also took all the spears we could find

How you might feel



Task 31

Imagine you were one of the Aboriginal people mentioned in Joseph Banks’ journal. Explain how you might feel during each part of the encounter, for example, happy, scared, angry, sad, confused, curious or worried.


Use the information from the table above to write a recount about the encounter from an Aboriginal person’s point of view.

At one o’clock we anchored the ship near a small village consisting of 6 or 8 houses. An old woman and several children came out. The old woman lit a fire and cooked some fish. We rowed out rowboats into the shore, but as soon as we came near, men with spears advanced, calling out to us with harsh words and waving their spears. The children ran into the houses. We wanted fresh water, but they refused to allow us to land. We fired a gun at the legs of one man. He ran to a house and returned with a shield. By this time we had reached the shore. He threw his spear at us. More shots were fired at them and another spear was thrown at us. We went up to the houses and threw some beads, ribbons and pieces of cloth into the houses as presents for the children. We also took all the spears we could find, about 40 or 50. Then we left.

Joseph Banks, Botanist

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La Recherche sails into the bay.

They exchange gifts.

They meet the Aboriginal people.

They eat shellfish on the beach.



Task 32

In 1793, the crew of the French ship La Recherche met the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. They exchanged gifts, shared a meal of shellfish, sang songs to each other and danced. They also tried to learn words from each other’s languages. After a week of merriment, the French boarded their ship and went home.

Draw pictures in the spaces below to show the friendly meeting between the Aboriginal people and the French in 1793.

European contacts

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Name of painting

What materials were used to make the painting?

What were kangaroos used for in the artist’s society?



Task 33

Find a picture of a painting of a kangaroo made by a traditional Aboriginal artist. Then, find a picture of a painting of a kangaroo made by a European artist of the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Print or copy your pictures and glue them in the spaces.

European contacts

Now, complete the table.©


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Name of group member What Governor Phillip should have done



Task 34

In 1790, Governor Phillip was speared by an Aboriginal man at Collins Cove (now Manly Cove). The British thought the Aboriginal man had speared the Governor because he was nervous of the British guns. The Aboriginal man had speared Phillip as a punishment, because the British convicts had been stealing canoes and fish from the Aboriginal people.

1 In a group of three, brainstorm how this confusion could have been avoided.

European contacts

2 If Governor Phillip had understood why the Aboriginal man had speared him, what do you think he should have done afterwards? Each group member needs to come up with an idea.

Now, present your ideas to the class.

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Opening statement (present the subject)

Thesis (state your opinion)

Reason 1

Reason 2

Reason 3

Conclusion (sum up your arguments and restate your opinion)

Gadigal word English translation



Task 35

William Dawes was an officer with the First Fleet. He met a young Gadigal Aboriginal woman named Patyegarang. Together, they produced the first dictionary of Gadigal and English words. Gadigal is one of the 350 Aboriginal languages.

Use the internet or your school library to make a list of five Gadigal words and their English translation.

European contacts

Do you think that learning each other’s language was a good or a bad idea? Use the scaffold below to plan a persuasive text to convince others to agree with your opinion.

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European contacts

Port JacksonNew South Wales

December 1790Dear Governor Phillip,

I am writing to tell you that I cannot support your proposed ‘revenge attack’ on the Aboriginal people because . . .



Task 36

In 1790, William Dawes, an officer with the First Fleet, was ordered by Governor Phillip to take part in a revenge attack on Aboriginal people, after an Aboriginal man killed a convict. Dawes told the Governor that he would not obey the order, as he knew the convict had been cruel to some of the Aboriginal people. Dawes refused to apologise to Governor Phillip for his opposition and was sent back to England in December 1791.

Imagine you are William Dawes. Write a letter to the Governor explaining why you don’t support his orders for a revenge attack on the Aboriginal people.

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Name Date

Name of hero

Where this hero lived

What this hero did

How this hero died

Why this person is considered a hero



Task 37

Design a memorial to an Aboriginal hero, for example Jandamarra, Yagan or Pemulwuy. First, use the table below to help find information about your chosen hero. Then, use this information to write a descriptive text to put on a plaque on the memorial.

European contacts

Design your memorial in the space below. Your design should include the tools and weapons the hero used to care for and defend his or her people.

Now, make your memorial using craft materials. Display it with your descriptive plaque.

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Name Date

Topic

Land

Food

Dis

ease

War

What happened to the Aboriginal people?



Task 38

What happened to the Aboriginal people when the British arrived? In a group of four, discuss the impact of British colonisation of Australia in terms of land, food, disease and war. Write your ideas in the table.

Impacts

Decide on one of the discussion topics above. Write your choice in the box.

Now, make a poster about how Aboriginal people were impacted in this area. Display the poster in the classroom.

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Name Date

I am greatly dissatisfied at the number of Europeans who

have settled in my territory.

If what Maugoran says is true, the natives are very angry

at so many British people being sent to Rose Hill. But wherever our colonists

settle, the natives must leave that part of the country.



Task 39

Read the following accounts about the British settlement at Rose Hill (Parramatta, Sydney).

Impacts

What is Maugoran’s point of view about British people settling at Rose Hill?

Why do you think he feels this way?

What does Governor Phillip say about Maugoran?

What is Governor Phillip’s point of view about British people settling at Rose Hill?

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Name Date

Main victims of smallpox

Elders

Medicine men

Young children

Role in Aboriginal society

Effects of smallpox

Large number of deaths

Deaths of elders

Deaths of medicine men

Deaths of young children

How this affected Aboriginal society



Task 40

Smallpox was an infectious disease that caused small red blisters on the skin. In 1789, a smallpox epidemic swept Sydney. Aboriginal people had never come into contact with the disease and had no immunity to it. It is estimated that between 50 and 70 per cent of Aboriginal people died as a result of smallpox. The main victims of smallpox were elders, medicine men and young children.

In the table, explain what each of these people did in their society.

Impacts

What impacts did the smallpox epidemic have on Aboriginal society? Discuss them with a classmate and write your responses.©


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Name Date

Bush medicine

Tea-tree oil

Eucalyptus oil

Witchetty grubs

Goat’s foot plant

Kakadu plum

Where is it found? What is it used for?



Task 41

A great deal of knowledge about Aboriginal medicines has been lost. However, some are still in use today.

Impacts

Most of our knowledge about other Aboriginal medicines has been lost. Why has this knowledge been lost? Discuss with a classmate and write your answers.

Work with a classmate. Use the internet or your school library to find out about the following Aboriginal medicines and complete the table.

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Name Date

April 1790 December 1792

This journal belongs to Bennelong.

November 1789



Task 42

Bennelong was a Wangal Aboriginal man. In November 1789 he was kidnapped by the British, who wanted to learn his language. He spent six months living with the British learning their customs, and how to speak English. He escaped in May 1790 but still maintained friendly relations. In 1792 he travelled to Britain with the Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip.

Imagine you are Bennelong. Decorate the opening page of your journal. Then write three journal entries explaining how you felt about being kidnapped, what you observed when you lived with the British and how you felt about going to England.

Impacts

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Name Date

Year Aboriginal population

Non-Aboriginal population

1788 750 000* 859

1861 180 402 1 168 149

1901 94 564 3 824 913

1788 1861 1901

Title

Popula

tion

0

250 000

500 000

1 000 000

1 500 000

2 000 000

2 500 000

3 000 000

3 500 000

4 000 000

Key Aboriginal:

Non-Aboriginal:



Task 43

Impacts

Look at the population table. Draw a line graph to show the change inAboriginalandnon-Aboriginalpopulations from 1788 to 1901.

On the back of this sheet, write answers to these questions.1 Whatdoyounoticeaboutthenon-Aboriginalpopulation?2 What do you notice about the Aboriginal population?3 Why do you think these changes happened?

*The number is only a guess. Some historians believe the 1788 Aboriginal population may have been higher.

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Name Date


Task 44


Use the internet or your school library to find the painting Aborigines attack a sailor collecting plants (or Port Jackson Drawing – No. 44) by the unknown artist called ‘Port Jackson Painter’.

Draw the painting, or print and glue it in the space.

Write a brief description of the painting.

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

Impacts

Why do you think the sailor was collecting plants?

Why do you think the Aboriginal people in the painting were attacking the sailor?

What does this painting tell us about early contacts between Aboriginal people and British people?

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Name Date



Task 45

Impacts

Create a poster to show the impact of the British settlement on an Aboriginal boy or girl of your age in 1800. Your poster should include the effect of loss of land, the impact of European diseases, declining food sources and loss of culture on the Aboriginal boy or girl. Write and sketch your ideas in the spaces.

Draw your poster on a sheet of cardboard. Display your poster in the classroom.

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Samantha Frappell

Activities to switch on thinking skills!Activities to switch on thinking skills!

45 photocopiable pages

ages

8-10

www.macmillan.com.au

Thinking Themes is a practical series packed with exciting, ready-to-use activities for popular Curriculum topics. Every activity is cross-referenced to Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and to Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking skills.

Use the activities as a learning centre, or add them to an inquiry unit. However you use the series, it will enable you to:• consciouslyandsystematicallyincorporate

thinking skills into your program• ensurethatyourstudentsworkacrossthe

intelligences as active investigators• covertheskillsoftheAustralianCurriculum.

About the cover . . .

About the author

Dr Samantha Frappell is an author, historian and teacher with a PhD in AustralianHistory.Shehaswrittennumeroushistorybooksforstudents,ranging from primary to senior secondary school level.

Macassan prau, Indonesia

Vaulted shelter with

triple ridge-pole, ArnhemLand

Wooden spearhead,

Pilbara region

Stone spearhead, Kimberley region

Returning boomerang, south-eastern

Australia

Fire, used in all parts of

Australia

Colonial ship, Europe

Basket for carrying food or catching small

fish, Queensland rainforest

Double outrigger canoe, northern Queensland

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Documents

Thinking Themes: First Contacts Ages 8-10