English · Year 10

Active learning ideas

Connection to Country in Literature

Active learning works because this topic demands students move beyond abstract ideas to feel how Country shapes identity. Activities like drama and mapping ground analysis in concrete experiences, helping students see how literature mirrors lived relationships with land.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9E10LT04
• AC9E10LA01

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Country Excerpts

Assign small groups different excerpts from Indigenous authors like Alexis Wright or Melissa Lucashenko. Groups note language linking people to Country, then regroup to share findings in expert-home jigsaw format. Synthesize class insights on a shared chart.

Analyze how the landscape functions as a character or spiritual entity in Indigenous narratives.

Facilitation Tip

During Jigsaw Reading, assign each group a short excerpt to annotate for personification before sharing with the class.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How does the landscape in [Text Title] act more like a character than a setting?' Ask students to provide at least two specific examples from the text, citing descriptive language or actions attributed to the land.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Pairs

Personification Drama: Land Voices

In pairs, select passages where Country speaks through description. Script and perform short scenes giving voice to land elements. Class votes on most evocative and discusses emotional impact.

Explain how the concept of 'Country' extends beyond physical geography to encompass identity and belonging.

Facilitation Tip

In Personification Drama, give students 10 minutes to rehearse before performing, ensuring they focus on how language choices bring the land to life.

What to look for

Provide students with a short passage from an Indigenous text. Ask them to highlight words or phrases that suggest Country is a living entity and then write one sentence explaining their choice.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Tradition Comparisons

Small groups create posters contrasting Country in Indigenous texts with nature in Western works like Wordsworth. Display for walk; peers add evidence sticky notes. Debrief contrasts.

Compare the portrayal of nature in Indigenous texts with Western literary traditions.

Facilitation Tip

For the Gallery Walk, post two anchor texts—one Indigenous, one Western—side by side so students can annotate differences in their roles immediately.

What to look for

Students write a paragraph comparing the portrayal of nature in an Indigenous text with a Western text studied previously. Partners read each other's paragraphs and use a checklist: Does the comparison focus on the *role* of nature? Are specific textual examples used for both texts? Partners provide one suggestion for improvement.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Individual

Sensory Mapping: Text to Place

Individually, students map Country from a text using colors for senses and symbols for spiritual ties. Pair share to combine maps, then whole class builds composite.

Analyze how the landscape functions as a character or spiritual entity in Indigenous narratives.

Facilitation Tip

During Sensory Mapping, have students use different colored pencils to layer physical and cultural details on the same map to visualize holism.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How does the landscape in [Text Title] act more like a character than a setting?' Ask students to provide at least two specific examples from the text, citing descriptive language or actions attributed to the land.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should start with excerpts that clearly show Country as an active force, using drama to make abstract language tangible. Avoid rushing to definitions of ‘Country’; instead, let students discover its layers through close reading and creative response. Research suggests Indigenous texts are best taught in partnership with Elders or community members when possible, but even without that, centering students’ lived experiences with land can bridge cultural gaps.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying Country as a dynamic character in texts, not just a setting. They should articulate how language choices create spiritual and cultural depth, and compare traditions through evidence-based discussion.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sensory Mapping, watch for students treating Country as only physical land or environment.

  Prompt students to add spiritual or cultural details to their maps, such as ancestral connections or sacred sites, and discuss these additions in small groups.

• During Personification Drama, watch for students portraying Country as unchanging and ideal.

  Have students include moments of tension or conflict in their performances, such as dispossession or environmental damage, and debrief how these reflect real-world experiences.

• During Gallery Walk, watch for students assuming Western literature portrays nature like Indigenous Country.

  Guide students to annotate texts with evidence of objectification, such as descriptions of nature as resource or backdrop, and compare these to Indigenous texts during debrief.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Gallery Walk