SCHOOL ACTIVITIES FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK
Reconciliation – let’s see it through
Fact sheet 4
Download a copy of Factsheet 4 - School Activities for NRW
Ideas for primary schools
Invite a local elder to tell dreaming stories or read students a dreaming story. Invite the children to create their own story in a group, making sure the story has a meaning that teaches about; values, protocols, culture, or social behaviours.
Highlight a community in regional or rural Australia and discuss with the children the similarities and differences between our lives and theirs. Examples may include: the importance of hunting or fishing in local areas, the importance of extended families in all communities, the differences in school and class size and access to schools in cities and more remote areas.
If your school does not have Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students, establish an ongoing relationship with a school who does using the Dare to Lead network or connect up on Facebook or MySpace (visit www.reconciliation.org.au for links and details). Exchange photos, drawings and stories with your “sister school”.
Set up a display in the classroom representing the shared history of all Australians, including both positive and negative aspects. End the display with your visions for reconciliation. Do this in the library or reception area so the whole school and visitors see it!
Ideas for high schools
Research suburb or street names in your local area that have Aboriginal origins. Find out what they mean and discuss the significance of the names to the history of your local area. Research meeting places, creeks, places Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples met to hunt and share food and stories. Contact the local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community or reconciliation group to help you.
Ask each member of your class to come up with one thing they’ve heard or been told about Indigenous Australians. Carefully, research and discuss whether these impressions are true or not and divide them onto two lists marked “Facts” and “Myths”.
Work with the local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community and begin to develop a permanent banner, plaque, mural or totem to display in your school that reflects the important place of the Indigenous Australian peoples in the history of the area. Make sure you contact the local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community and consult with them.
Check out www.shareourpride.org.au for an opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
Activities for the 10th anniversary of the Bridge Walks for Reconciliation
Imagine you were one of the hundreds of thousands of Australians who took part in the historic Bridge Walks for Reconciliation in 2000. Write a letter to a friend overseas telling them how you might have felt about the experience, who you met, what you talked about and what the event means for Australia.
An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander school student happens to be walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge next to a non-Indigenous school student They’ve never met before. Using short role plays create the conversation that takes place between them.
Download one of the photographs of the walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge from Reconciliation Australia’s website. Write a short news report for the morning newspaper to go with the photograph.
Imagine you took part in the 2000 Bridge Walk for Reconciliation. Write a ”Dear Diary” about your experience. Note the conversations you had as you walked across the bridge. What were you and the other walkers hoping to achieve by participating in the bridge walk?
With one team arguing the affirmative, the other the negative, arrange a class debate on the topic: “Symbolic activities like the bridge walks five years ago help us to achieve reconciliation in Australia.”
Other National Reconciliation Week ideas
- Learn about both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, peoples and cultures – our cultural awareness website www.shareourpride.org.au is a good starting point.
- Learn about your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander history, people and culture by finding out who the local traditional owners are and visiting local Indigenous Australian organisations.
- See a movie or read a book about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.
- Visit our website and read about Reconciliation Action Plans. Develop one in your workplace, school or community group.
- Sign up as a friend of Reconciliation Australia on Facebook or MySpace to keep in touch with news and developments.
For more information about National Reconciliation Week call (02) 6273 9200 or visit www.reconciliation.org.au.
