Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Kid/s will have the opportunity to explore the constellations of the night sky, and will understand that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples may use the night sky to understand the world around them. Your kid/s will then create a constellation of something or someone that is important to them. This activity is designed to give you an understanding of how to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into activities and to help you build your confidence in exploring this topic with your kids.

This activity is a great one to do together as a family.

Ideal for: Early Learning, Lower Primary.

Themes:

  • be creative
  • think and connect

Time required: 20 minutes

Curriculum connections: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Literacy, Creative thinking.

Tips for Parents and Carers

The activities in this series have been designed to give you and your kid/s an opportunity to explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures through stories, games and arts and crafts. Before beginning this activity it would be useful to read through this information. There is also a list of resources to help you conduct your own research.

The benefits of embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives: 

  • For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids, exploring their culture plays a key role in their development, identity and self-esteem, and contributes to the overall well-being of the child.
  • For non-Indigenous kids, embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in their early education experiences is fundamental in creating inclusive and accepting attitudes, and positive race relations. These perspectives are also about celebrating different cultures and the uniqueness of individuals. It is enriching for children to experience the different perspectives and diverse human experiences other cultures can bring to the melting pot (source).

About this activity:

  • This activity incorporates activities to support oral language development. To find out more, click here and here.

Lesson & Curriculum Details

Resources Required

  • Art materials
  • Optional: Glitter – try to avoid the glitter if you can or use nature’s glitter or bio-glitter
  • Optional: Star stickers 
  • Outside space to lie down (or indoors with imagination).

 

This activity has been developed with the support of the Philipp Foundation and the Thyne Reid Foundation.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Activity Instructions

Part A: Discussion

Step 1. Begin by going outside and inviting your kid/s to lie on the ground and to look up at the sky. Have a discussion about what you see, with a focus on any shapes you might see in the clouds. For example:

  • I wonder if we can see some clouds?
  • I wonder what shapes the clouds make?
  • I wonder if we can see any animals or people in the clouds?

Tip: To find out more about how these types of questions help with oral language development, click here and here.

Step 2. You could then ask your kid/s to close their eyes and imagine they are looking at the night sky:

  • I wonder what you see?
  • I wonder if you can see any shapes in the stars?
  • I wonder if you can see any people or animals in the stars?
  • How do they look different to the ones you saw in the clouds?

Explain to your kid/s that, unlike the clouds which are always shifting, moving and changing shape, the stars don’t really change (although depending on the time of the year

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