Connecting Cultures – Berrinba East State School’s Journey

1. Connecting Cultures – Berrinba East State School’s Journey

2. School Background • Low social-economic, rural-residential suburb of Logan City • Berrinba means ‘to the south’ • School was established in 1975 • 515 students • Multicultural population - 8% Indigenous • It is classified a complex and challenging school

3. OurJourney • 3 year journey to implement ‘Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives’ policy • 2008 School Opinion Survey – significant increases in skills in teaching Indigenous culture (29% - 59%) and skills in engaging Indigenous students (29% - 55%) • Results brought the school to state level

4. Intercultural Investigations (IcIs) Lets Go Shopping! Students investigate the ways in which culture influences and language use reflects how people go shopping in Logan and how food is gathered by Traditional Aboriginal Australians.

5. You should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of • shopping practices in Logan • food gathering of Traditional Aboriginal Australians • dominate attitudes of shopping in Logan • dominate attitudes of Traditional Aboriginal Australians • language examples that carry a message about shopping and food gathering

7. Assessable Task A Traditional Aboriginal Australian around your age will be staying with your family over the next holiday break. Plan a shopping trip that you would like to share with your guest. Based on your knowledge of food shopping practices and attitudes in Logan and the way of life of Traditional Aboriginal Australians write an email to your guest outlining your place or places you plan to go shopping and explain why. Explain your decisions to your teacher.

9. The Rabbits – A Story of Migration • Students in 5b will be learning about the migration of people to Australia, from the first Australians over 40 000 years ago, to the First Fleet and later African, European and Asian settlers. Through sharing a range of stories children will be exposed to different perspectives of these cultural groups. As part of this unit students will be encouraged and supported to read, comprehend, edit, write narratives, procedural texts and explanations, write from different perspectives, construct tables, as well as design and paint a boomerang and other Indigenous art.

10. How did the Australian Aborigines reach Australia? • Why are Dreaming stories significant for Australian Aborigines? • What impact did European settlement have on Australian Aborigines? • Are there differences of opinion between the Aboriginal and British settler view of European settlement? • What are common struggles that the Sudanese, Italian and Vietnamese shared settling into Australia?

13. Assessable Task Students are to write a procedural text to demonstrate: •  Knowledge and understanding. • Interpreting purpose, audience, subject matter and correct text type. • Constructing text to suit audience and purpose. • Reflecting on language choices and learning.

15. Berrinba East State School – Making Teaching and Learning Personal