WELCOME ENGLISH TEACHERS!

MODULE: CONNECTING SELF AND OTHER: INDIGENOUS LITERATURES ACROSS THE WORLD

By

MELISSA MCMAHON & SADAF KHAN, ST LEO'S CATHOLIC COLLEGE, WAHROONGA

www.connectingselfandother.wikispaces.com

BBC Good Reads

Dr Anita Heiss' Black Book Challenge

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This unit, designed for Stage 5 students, has been prepared using the Understanding by Design Model of programming and assessing. The approach is a backward design approach, in which teachers decide where they want their students to end up before they begin teaching. To find out a little more about the UBD model, teachers can visit Jay McTighe's site.

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS

Students will understand...

  • the fundamental connection between language, culture and identity

  • the challenges of using an alien tongue to communicate

  • how language can be used to marginalise, exclude, include and reconcile

  • and relate to the indigenous experience of otherness

  • the multitude of ways in which indigenous cultures express themselves

  • the similarities and differences between indigenous cultures and their experience of being colonised

  • the power of storytelling and the varied modes of storytelling across different cultures

  • the power relations that exist between the dominant and marginalised cultures

  • the stereotypical ways in which indigenous peoples have been represented in the media and literature

  • the importance of positive representations of self

  • there are many ways to be aboriginal/ indigenous

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

  • What is the relationship between language, culture and identity?

  • What is the relationship between literature and power?

  • How can literature be a voice for indigenous culture and identity?

  • How do indigenous peoples express themselves and their identity?

  • How do we define Aboriginal literature? Can it be defined?

  • How do we value indigenous literature?

  • What are the similarities and differences between the experiences of indigenous peoples?

  • How have indigenous peoples been represented in literature and the media?

  • How can we challenge and collapse the binary oppositions established in many representations?

STAGE 5 OUTCOMES

Current Stage 5 outcomes being met


New syllabus draft outcomes to come soon!

ASSESSMENT

There are a range of assessment possibilities in this unit. We have suggested assessments for learning, however, the main assessment task is a multimodal picture book in which each child contributes a page. The task assesses students' understanding of the connection between language, identity and culture. It enables students to express their voice in the discussion about what comes next in Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations. More details on the ppt below and the week entitled, "Our Story".

1. Discourse of Inclusivity: Connecting Self to Other.ppt

2. Understanding the Story of Self and Other


3. A snapshot of Weeks 4/5 Language, Culture and Identity