Caution: This website includes images and names of deceased people that may cause distress to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Classroom resource
This free classroom resource supports teaching and learning about Indigenous history and culture. It is based on the powerful stories shared by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Encounters exhibition.
Curriculum links
Students from years 4–10 can explore and engage with activities aligned to the Australian Curriculum general capabilities and the Australian Curriculum: History.
Year 4
| Curriculum | Related activities |
|---|---|
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK083: The diversity of Australia's first peoples and the long and continuous connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to Country/Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) | All communities |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK086: The nature of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others, for example, the Macassans and the Europeans, and the effects of these interactions on, for example, people and environments | All communities |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK084: The journey(s) of AT LEAST ONE world navigator, explorer or trader up to the late eighteenth century, including their contacts with other societies and any impacts | |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK089: The custodial responsibility Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have for Country/Places, and how this influences views about sustainability | |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACADAR008: Identify how the elements of dance and production elements express ideas in dance they make, perform and experience as audience, including exploration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAM110: Explore ideas and artworks from different cultures and times, including artwork by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to use as inspiration for their own representations | |
| Visual arts, ACAVAR113: Identify intended purposes and meanings of artworks using visual arts terminology to compare artworks, starting with visual artworks in Australia including visual artworks of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples |
Year 5
| Curriculum | Region |
|---|---|
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK108: The impact of a significant development or event on an Australian colony | |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK107: The nature of convict or colonial presence, including the factors that influenced patterns of development, aspects of the daily life of the inhabitants (including Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples) and how the environment changed | All communities |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSI097: Sequence information about people's lives, events, developments and phenomena using a variety of methods including timelines | |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK112: The influence of people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, on the environmental characteristics of Australian Places | |
| The Arts – Dance, ACADAR012: Explain how the elements of dance and production elements communicate meaning by comparing dances from different social, cultural and historical contexts, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAM114: Explore ideas and practices used by artists, including practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to represent different views, beliefs and opinions | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAR117: Explain how visual arts conventions communicate meaning by comparing artworks from different social, cultural and historical contexts, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks |
Year 6
| Curriculum | Region |
|---|---|
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSI125: Sequence information about people's lives, events, developments and phenomena using a variety of methods including timelines | |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK135: Experiences of Australian democracy and citizenship, including the status and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, migrants, women and children | |
| Humanities and Social Sciences, ACHASSK140: The world's cultural diversity, including that of its indigenous peoples | All communities |
| The Arts – Dance, ACADAR012: Explain how the elements of dance and production elements communicate meaning by comparing dances from different social, cultural and historical contexts, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAM114: Explore ideas and practices used by artists, including practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to represent different views, beliefs and opinions | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAR117: Explain how visual arts conventions communicate meaning by comparing artworks from different social, cultural and historical contexts, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks |
Year 7
| Curriculum | Region |
|---|---|
| History, ACDSEH148: The importance of conserving the remains of the ancient past, including the heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples | All communities |
| Geography, ACHGK041: Economic, cultural, spiritual and aesthetic value of water for people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and peoples of the Asia region | |
| The Arts – Dance, ACADAR019: Identify and connect specific features and purposes of dance from contemporary and past times to explore viewpoints and enrich their dance-making, starting with dance in Australia and including dance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAM118: Experiment with visual arts conventions and techniques, including exploration of techniques used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to represent a theme, concept or idea in their artwork |
Year 8
| Curriculum | Region |
|---|---|
| Geography, ACHGK049: Spiritual, aesthetic and cultural value of landscapes and landforms for people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples | |
| Economics and Business, ACHEK028: The traditional markets of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and their participation in contemporary markets | |
| The Arts – Dance, ACADAR019: Identify and connect specific features and purposes of dance from contemporary and past times to explore viewpoints and enrich their dance-making, starting with dance in Australia and including dance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAM118: Experiment with visual arts conventions and techniques, including exploration of techniques used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to represent a theme, concept or idea in their artwork |
Year 9
| Curriculum | Region |
|---|---|
| History, ACOKFH015: The nature and extent of the movement of peoples in the period 1750–1918 (slaves, convicts and settlers) | All communities |
| History, ACDSEH020: The extension of settlement, including the effects of contact (intended and unintended) between European settlers in Australia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people | All communities |
| History, ACDSEH085: The short and long-term impacts of the movement of peoples during this period | All communities |
| The Arts – Dance, ACADAR026: Analyse a range of dance from contemporary and past times to explore differing viewpoints and enrich their dance making, starting with dance from Australia and including dance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and consider dance in international contexts | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAM125: Conceptualise and develop representations of themes, concepts or subject matter to experiment with their developing personal style, reflecting on the styles of artists, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists |
Year 10
| Curriculum | Region |
|---|---|
| History, ACDSEH104: Background to the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for rights and freedoms before 1965, including the 1938 Day of Mourning and the Stolen Generations | |
| History, ACHHS189: Evaluate the reliability and usefulness of primary and secondary sources | All communities |
| History, ACHHS190: Identify and analyse the perspectives of people from the past | |
| Geography, ACHGK072: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' approaches to custodial responsibility and environmental management in different regions of Australia | |
| The Arts – Dance, ACADAR026: Analyse a range of dance from contemporary and past times to explore differing viewpoints and enrich their dance making, starting with dance from Australia and including dance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and consider dance in international contexts | |
| Visual Arts, ACAVAM125: Conceptualise and develop representations of themes, concepts or subject matter to experiment with their developing personal style, reflecting on the styles of artists, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists |
Acknowledgements
This classroom resource is based on the exhibition Encounters: Revealing stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects from the British Museum and was created with the generous support of the Sidney Myer Fund. Encounters is a collaborative project between the National Museum of Australia, the British Museum, the Australian National University and a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
Image top left: cantchant (shield) 2015 (detail, reverse view), depicting the artist’s great-grandfather, George Sibley, by Vernon Ah Kee, National Museum of Australia, courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane. Images centre, from left: Gweagal man Rod Mason making a gararra (fishing spear), 2011, National Museum of Australia; Bagu, 2012, (detail) by Alison Murray, National Museum of Australia, courtesy the artist and Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Cardwell; Shield (back detail), collected from the Shoalhaven by Henry Moss before 1862, 89 x 34 x 7 cm. British Museum Oc.1808.