HASS · Year 10

Active learning ideas

The Stolen Generations: Policies and Impacts

Active learning works for this topic because it requires students to engage directly with the emotional weight and ethical complexity of historical policies. Moving beyond lectures, students analyze documents, hear voices, and trace consequences, which builds deeper understanding and empathy.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9H10K06

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Policy Analysis

Students individually review excerpts from Aborigines Protection Acts and note assimilation language. In pairs, they discuss motivations and evidence of harm. Pairs share key quotes on a class chart for whole-group synthesis.

Analyze the motivations behind the policies that created the Stolen Generations.

Facilitation Tip

During the Think-Pair-Share, provide students with a short excerpt from the *Bringing Them Home* report to ground their discussion in primary evidence.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'Considering the motivations behind assimilation policies, to what extent can the actions leading to the Stolen Generations be justified by the prevailing beliefs of the time? Discuss the ethical implications of these beliefs.' Encourage students to reference specific historical evidence.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Survivor Testimonies

Display printed stories from 'Bringing Them Home' around the room. Small groups rotate through stations, recording social and emotional impacts on sticky notes. Groups present patterns to the class.

Explain the long-term social and emotional impacts on individuals and communities.

Facilitation Tip

Before the Gallery Walk, assign each station a specific theme (e.g., family separation, cultural suppression) to help students focus their observations.

What to look for

Provide students with a card asking them to identify one specific policy related to the Stolen Generations and describe one long-term impact it had on an individual or community. Collect these to check for understanding of cause and effect.

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

Activity 03

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Report Recommendations

Assign report sections to home group experts who study and prepare summaries. Experts then join new groups to teach content and discuss implementation today. Home groups report consensus findings.

Evaluate the findings and recommendations of the 'Bringing Them Home' report.

Facilitation Tip

In the Jigsaw activity, assign roles such as 'historian,' 'survivor advocate,' and 'policy analyst' to ensure diverse perspectives are represented.

What to look for

Present students with a short excerpt from the 'Bringing Them Home' report. Ask them to identify one key finding and one recommendation made by the report, writing their answers on a whiteboard or shared digital document for immediate feedback.

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

Activity 04

• Socratic Seminar
• 45 min · Small Groups

Impact Timeline: Intergenerational Chain

In small groups, students create timelines linking 20th-century removals to current statistics on Indigenous wellbeing. Add personal reflections or community stories. Present to class for connections.

Analyze the motivations behind the policies that created the Stolen Generations.

Facilitation Tip

For the Impact Timeline, use string to physically connect events and their consequences, making the intergenerational chain visible.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'Considering the motivations behind assimilation policies, to what extent can the actions leading to the Stolen Generations be justified by the prevailing beliefs of the time? Discuss the ethical implications of these beliefs.' Encourage students to reference specific historical evidence.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Approach this topic with care, balancing historical accuracy with sensitivity. Avoid presenting the Stolen Generations as a single event; instead, emphasize the systematic nature of policies over decades. Ground discussions in survivor testimonies and official reports to counterbalance biased narratives. Research shows that students retain more when they connect emotionally to the material, so prioritize activities that humanize the experiences.

Successful learning looks like students connecting past policies to present realities through evidence and testimony. They should articulate how assimilationist beliefs shaped actions and recognize ongoing intergenerational impacts in health, education, and identity.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Think-Pair-Share, watch for assumptions that removals were primarily for welfare.

  Provide students with two contrasting excerpts: a government policy document stating 'protection' and a survivor testimony describing forced separation. Ask them to analyze the language and intent in pairs before sharing.

• During the Impact Timeline activity, watch for students assuming the impacts ended with the 1970s.

  Provide students with modern statistics on Indigenous incarceration, health outcomes, or school attendance. Ask them to add these to the timeline and explain the connection to past policies.

• During the Jigsaw activity, watch for students oversimplifying who was affected by focusing only on mixed-descent children.

  Give each group a different legislative excerpt that shows the broad discretion given to authorities. Have them present how the laws applied to various Indigenous communities, using specific examples from the text.

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share
• Gallery Walk
• Jigsaw
• Socratic Seminar