Activity 01
Inquiry Circle: Traditional Customs Research
Divide class into small groups, assign each a custom like kinship or bush tucker laws. Groups research using provided texts and images, then create posters explaining the custom and its purpose. Share findings in a class gallery walk.
Identify some traditional laws and customs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Facilitation TipDuring Inquiry Circles, assign each group a distinct nation and provide curated source cards to prevent overlap and highlight diversity.
What to look forPose the question: 'Imagine you are organizing a school event. How could you ensure that the traditions and customs of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and other diverse groups in our community, are respected and included?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to offer specific, actionable ideas.
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Activity 02
Role-Play: Respect Scenarios
Pairs act out everyday situations, such as a school event with Welcome to Country or sharing resources per kinship rules. Switch roles, discuss what respect looked like, and note key learnings on sticky notes.
Justify why it is important to respect different cultural ways of life in Australia.
Facilitation TipFor Role-Play: Respect Scenarios, give students clear scripts that include both respectful and disrespectful options to analyze.
What to look forProvide students with a slip of paper. Ask them to write down one traditional law or custom they learned about and one reason why respecting different ways of life is important for Australia. Collect these as students leave to gauge understanding.
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Activity 03
Reflection Mapping: Learning from Diversity
Individually, students draw a mind map linking one Indigenous custom to their own life, then pair-share and add class contributions to a shared wall map. Conclude with whole-class discussion on appreciation.
Explain how we can learn from and appreciate diverse traditions.
Facilitation TipIn Reflection Mapping, provide sentence starters like 'This surprised me because...' to scaffold critical thinking.
What to look forPresent students with a short scenario, for example: 'A new student joins your class who celebrates a different holiday than most people at your school.' Ask students to write or verbally share one way they could show respect for this student's traditions. This checks their ability to apply the concept of respect.
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Activity 04
Guest Speaker Prep: Question Workshop
Whole class brainstorms respectful questions for an Elder or community member about laws and customs. Practice phrasing in pairs, vote on top questions, and reflect post-visit on new understandings.
Identify some traditional laws and customs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
What to look forPose the question: 'Imagine you are organizing a school event. How could you ensure that the traditions and customs of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and other diverse groups in our community, are respected and included?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to offer specific, actionable ideas.
UnderstandApplyAnalyzeEvaluateSelf-ManagementRelationship Skills
Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Experienced teachers approach this topic by grounding discussions in concrete examples first, then expanding to broader concepts. Avoid starting with definitions of 'kinship' or 'Country'—instead, let students discover these through stories and scenarios. Research shows that when Indigenous voices are centered in materials, student empathy increases and misconceptions decrease.
Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining specific traditions, role-playing respectful interactions, and connecting customs to modern Australian life. They should justify their views with examples and show empathy in discussions.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During Inquiry Circles, watch for groups generalizing traditions as 'all the same.'
Redirect by asking each group to identify one unique custom from their nation and explain why it matters to that Country. Compare notes in a class chart to highlight diversity.
During Role-Play: Respect Scenarios, watch for students dismissing protocols as irrelevant.
Pause the role-play and ask actors to explain how their character's actions reflect a traditional law. Classmates must identify the specific custom being honored or broken.
During Reflection Mapping, watch for students saying respect means changing their own beliefs.
Provide sentence stems like 'I can respect this tradition even if it differs from mine because...' to guide responses toward understanding rather than agreement.
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