Activity 2 – Water

This activity is a part of the Understanding and respecting cultural narratives resource.

Misery Island Coastline, Misery Island, palawa country. Tiffany Garvie. Source: Ngarrngga. © Tiffany Garvie 2023. Used under licence

Advice

If possible, students can visit a local site, such as a creek or waterhole, to connect with a cultural story in their local environment (if one can be sourced).

Step by Step guide

Step 1: Discuss the basic elements of the story you have researched.

To achieve this, you might:

a. Make a visit or excursion to a site of cultural significance.

b. Visit, or source a local elder, or storyteller to share a version of the story, in situ

c. If the above two options are not possible, Google maps or Google Earth could be used to replicate this grounding of story within an actual place. You may like to explore an online virtual tour, to achieve something similar, such as: https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/conservation-and-heritage/aboriginal-culture/aboriginal-storytelling-virtual-tours. d. Ask students to look around them and imagine how elements of the story fit into the environment.

Step 2: Research local narratives

Research Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander narratives from your local area. Discuss the basic elements of the story you have researched.

Step 3: Classroom discussion

Inquiry-based reflection question for class discussion: Does your understanding of the story change when you can see the place it happened in?

Related activities within this resources:

Activity 1 – Tiddalik

Teachers guide students to explore cultural narratives through a film that highlights the rich traditions, morals, and storytelling techniques of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.

Suggested timing:

One to two lessons.

Open

Activity 3: Megafauna exploration

Within these two activities students will explore megafauna and how these animals relate to Australia's history.