Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: What’s in a jersey?

10 minutes

Find Out: What matters to us?

30 minutes

Take Action: Representing us

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: What’s in a jersey?

Step 1

Share the first two images of this visual explainer with your students, which shows some images of the Australian Women’s Soccer team in their various uniforms.

As you go through the images, discuss the following with your students

Why are the jerseys green and gold?
- Australia’s colours: Gold conjures images of Australia's beaches, mineral wealth, grain harvests and the fleece of Australian wool. Green evokes the forests, eucalyptus trees and pastures of the Australian landscape. (Source: Australian Government).
How these colours have been used in different patterns, shapes and combinations to create meaning?

Step 2

Now show your students the next two images. Ask your students:

How do you think wearing a uniform (or the colours of a uniform) makes people feel?

Through discussion, lead your students to the knowledge that wearing a uniform helps people to feel connected and part of something. It can be a symbol of belonging.

Step 3

Discuss with your students - does a uniform have to be formal? Or only associated with sports?

Get your students to brainstorm other places where a shared style and uniform help create a sense of belonging.

You might like to show the next slide on the visual explainer, which shows some aspects of the Taylor Swift concert that happened recently. In this setting, friendship bracelets, the love heart symbol, merchandise, glitter and sequins all made people feel as though they were part of the same group and offered a sense of belonging. Use this explanation as a prompt to help your students brainstorm

School
Work
Clubs
Fandoms
Supporters

Step 4

Show your students the next slide, which shows how the AFL/AFLW celebrates the Indigenous round with special jerseys and designs for the players' uniforms, or you might like to check out some of the 2023 designs here.

Ask your students what other special rounds do they know about in the AFL and AFLW?

Pride Round is another important round during the year, you might like to show your students some of the designs for the 2023 AFLW pride round.

Discuss with your students: How do these additions to the uniforms create extra meaning? What does it say about the people who wear the uniform?

These designs show that the people wearing these uniforms care about these topics and want to support them. It shows us what is important to them as a team.

Find Out: What matters to us?

Step 1

Ask your students to think about what is important to their class (or their school!). If they were to wear a jersey, what would they put on it to represent their class/school? How would they express these ideas through the use of colour, pattern, and shape? Would they include additional symbols, and why?

You could brainstorm this with students and create a big list on the board as you go.

The purpose of this brainstorm is to think about what provides meaning to your class (or school) and what makes them feel a part of the group and like they belong. It might be an idea to ensure everyone agrees on a particular idea or symbol being included on the list.

Take Action: Representing us

Step 1

Provide students with the jersey template and materials to create their own representation of their class/school.

You could use:

drawing materials (pens, pencils, crayons, pastels, charcoal, etc.)
paint (watercolour, acrylic, etc.)
natural materials (leaves, grasses, flowers, bark, etc.)
collage materials (magazine cutouts, recycled paper, cardboard, etc.).

You might like to show your students an example of what a representative jersey could look like (on the attached visual explainer) - The cool.org team created this jersey to represent our organisation and the people in it!

Step 2

Display your students' artwork in a shared space and conduct a gallery walk so your class can see the representations of themselves.

How does it make them feel to see themselves physically represented as a group?

Extension: Students can write an artist statement-style passage to explain the different elements of their design.

Reflection

Reflect on todays lesson with your students by asking them the following questions

Why is representation important?
How does wearing a jersey provide this representation?

Jersey Design: Celebrating Diversity and Belonging

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Summary

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