Daisy Sunshine: Classroom activities

1. Write a song

• Daisy writes a song to sing while participating in the International Women's Year march. Ask your students to choose a contemporary topic and write a song on that topic, working in small groups.
• Have them consider songwriting aspects such as style, instrumentation, tempo, timbre (the sound characteristics of instruments), harmony, rhythm and melody.
• If possible, have your students record their songs so that they may listen to them later on and compare them to other songs written in the class.

2. Create a drama piece

• Rainbow Rose goes away to participate in protests aimed at saving old buildings from destruction. Ask your students to create a drama piece based upon the scene of a similar protest at an old building.
• Have them consider the characters required (eg protesters, demolition team and city council representatives), the use of costumes, props and make-up, the nature of the conflict and how it might be resolved.
• If possible, have your students videotape the performance so that they may analyse how it expressed their interpretation of the theme.
• Encourage them to research as part of their preparation the 'Green Bans' that were a substantial part of the 'anti-heritage building demolition' movement in the 1970s in Australia.

• These websites may be useful for their research:
  
  Teaching Heritage
  www.teachingheritage.nsw.edu.au/d_reshaping/wd2_burgman.html
  ABC
  http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s18145.htm
  
  Friends of Pyrmont Point
  http://www.fopp.org.au/oldsite/mediareleases/mr20031111.aspx

3. Research the history of Australian women at work

• Ask your students to research the history of Australian women at work. This research might include topics such as pay rates for women and men, number of women in CEO and company president positions, maternity leave conditions, part-time work and women in 'traditionally male' occupations.
• Ask them to use the Snapshot of Australian women at work BLM (PDF 419kb) to compare women's work conditions of 1975 and today.

• Your students may like to use these websites as sources of information:
  
  Australian Human Rights Commission
  www.hreoc.gov.au
  
  The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for Housing, Minister for the Status of Women
  www.tanyaplibersek.fahcsia.gov.au
  
  Australian Bureau of Statistics
  www.abs.gov.au
  
  Australian Women's History Forum
  www.womenshistory.com.au

4. Hold a class debate

• Daisy is inspired by one of Rainbow Rose's posters; it says 'Believe in your freedom'. Ask your students to hold a class debate using the poster theme as the debate topic.

5. Create a t-shirt design

• Daisy and her mum create their 'Superwoman' t-shirts to wear in the march. Ask your students to create a t-shirt design that Daisy and her mum could have worn in the march.
• Ask them to use the Wear it with pride! BLM (PDF 194kb) for their designs.
• Encourage them to explore t-shirt designs that they might wear if they were to participate in marches related to contemporary current affairs.