Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Part A: What Is Australia's National Identity?

25 minutes

Part B: Representing All People

20+ minutes

Part C: Who Are We? And Who Do We Want To Be?

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students understand...

what ‘national identity’ is in an Australian context
why unity in diversity is important to reconciliation across the nation
the impact of negative race relations, inequality and inequity on Australian society.

Students can...

identify examples of negative race relations, inequality and inequity in Australian society, and explain how these impact on identity
imagine a future where all Australians feel like they belong
present a representation of their understanding of Australia’s national identity and of a reconciled future for Australia.

Part A: What Is Australia's National Identity?

Note: If The Final Quarter - Finding A National Identity - Civ & Cit - Year 8 lesson has not been completed or if you would like to revise the learnings from that lesson, invite students to take part in the following discussion about how they perceive Australia’s national identity.

Step 1

Explain to students that the focus of this lesson is to work out who we are as a nation and who we want to be in the future. To gain an understanding of what students already think and feel about Australia’s national identity, invite them to complete a Think-Pair-Share.

Think Pair Share

Think pair share is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question.

Think - students independently think about an issue or question and record their thoughts.

Pair - students work in pairs to discuss their ideas and record new thoughts.

Share - students share their thoughts with the whole group or with other pairs to reach consensus.

Step 2

Provide each student with a copy of the Student Worksheet and invite them to think about the following questions:

What do you see as Australia’s national identity?
What characteristics and behaviours do you think or feel reflect what it means to be Australian?

Allow students 2-3 minutes to think about their ideas and to write them on the Student Worksheet in the first column of the Think-Pair-Share table.

Encourage students to think of the diverse cultures represented across Australia and the diverse experiences of living in Australia (e.g. geographies, histories, cultural practices, political systems, social values), not just the stereotypical things that some people may view as being uniquely Australian.

Step 3

Once students have had an opportunity to think and record their responses to the questions, encourage them to pair up with another student and discuss the similarities and differences in their responses.

Ask students to list down key ideas from their pair discussions in the second column of the Think-Pair-Share table.

Step 4

Bring the class back together and create a class brainstorm on the board based on the ideas and responses to the Think-Pair-Share prompts.

Try to group similar ideas together to create themes.

Step 5

Facilitate a class discussion to attempt to answer the following questions.

What do you think it means to be Australian? Why?
How have perceptions/representations of Australia’s national identity changed over time? Why do you think this is?
What was similar about the national identities that you shared in pairs?
What was different about the national identities that you shared in pairs?
How do you see Australia's national identity represented in the media? Why do you think this is?
Do you think all people are equally and equitably represented in your class’ descriptions of Australia’s ‘national identity’?
Do you think any peoples or cultures are underrepresented or misrepresented? How and why do you think this is?
How are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples represented in representations of Australia's ‘national identity’?
Why do you think unity – an Australian society that values and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, perspectives and heritage as a proud part of a shared national identity – is important to reconciliation across the nation?

Part B: Representing all people

Step 1

If students have not seen The Final Quarter documentary, share some background information about Adam Goodes and film:

If the class have seen the film, you may choose to ask students what they remember from the film and what they know about Adam Goodes.

Note: The following clip presents some complex and sensitive themes relating to identity and racism in Australia. You may wish to refer to the Handling Sensitive Topics and Issues Factsheet. It is also highly recommend that students complete The Final Quarter - Responding To The Film - Years 7 & 8 before this lesson.

Step 2

Explain to students that they will soon be watching a short clip about Australia’s national identity from the documentary The Final Quarter. The clip is made up of archival footage and commentary from the final year of Adam Goodes’s AFL career.

Invite students to arrange themselves so that they are seated where they can see the screen and remind students that this clip is only a small piece of the Adam Goodes story.

Step 3

Watch the following clip as a class, pausing for students to complete the See, Hear, Feel Y-chart on the Student Worksheet.

Sam Newman - Stan Grant - Adam's Retirement (https://vimeo.com/348313371/6e9dc198a2)

Suggested opportunities to pause for reflection:

Sam Newman on the Footy Show (0:00 - 0:49) - running through the banner together & "What right do you have to call someone a racist?"
Adam Goodes final AFL games (0:49 - 1:21) - sound of the crowd & headlines
Stan Grant (1:21 - 2:13) - “Australia turned to face itself”.
Final minutes of Adam Goodes’ career (2:13 - 4:35) - commentary of his achievements in his career.

Step 4

At the conclusion of the clip, provide an opportunity for students to share with the class what they thought, heard and felt. Encourage students to link their responses to parts of the clip to help explain their reactions more clearly.

Step 5

Draw attention to Stan Grant’s powerful statement (also provided on the Student Worksheet). Read through the statement as a class and ask students to consider what they think his message is.

Transcript of Stan Grant (1:21 - 2:13):

“In the winter of 2015, Australia turned to face itself. It looked into its soul and it had to ask this question, “Who are we? What sort of country do we want to be?” And this happened in a place that is most holy, most sacred to Australians. It happened on the sporting field, it happened on the football field. Thousands of voices rose to hound an Indigenous man. A man who was told he was an Australian. A man who was told he was an Australian of the Year. And they hounded that man into submission.”

Step 6

In small groups, invite students to use Stan Grant’s statement as a starting point to discuss the following questions about national identity and race relations in Australia (refer to the teacher's notes on 'Identity' and 'Reconciliation' for context).

First, share this definition with the class if they haven't encountered the term 'race relations' before:

“The State of Reconciliation in Australia report defines the race relations dimension as a state in which: All Australians understand and value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous cultures, rights and experiences, which results in stronger relationships based on trust and respect and that are free of racism.”

Encourage students to write their group's key points in the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

What do you think Stan Grant’s statement says about the current state of race relations in Australia?
How do you think this impacts upon Australia’s ‘national identity’ and the nation’s wider reconciliation journey?
Why do you think Stan Grant refers to racism happening specifically on 'the sporting field'? What is significant about 'the sporting field' to Australians?
In the clip we hear the sound of the crowd - beyond the crowd's words alone, what impact do you think the tone and volume of these sounds/words might have on those they are directed towards (or indirectly effect) and how might it impact upon their sense of belonging?

Step 7

Bring the class back together and ask students to explain what they think Stan Grant’s primary message was. Draw out students’ understanding of race relations in Australia by encouraging them to make connections to the statement, the clip and wider society.

For example, students may suggest his message was to get people to think about the impact their words and attitudes have on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – “Thousands of voices rose to hound an Indigenous man”.

Step 8

Read out the two questions in Stan Grant’s statement:

"Who are we? What sort of country do we want to be?"

Invite students to list the positive things that they believe currently make it great to live in Australia, as well as the things that could be strengthened in the future. Encourage students to focus on the positives as there are many great things to celebrate about being an Australian.

Depending on the needs of your class, this task can be completed individually or in small groups using the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Students who have lived in other countries might be able to provide interesting points for comparison between Australia and the rest of the world.

Part C: Who are we? And who do we want to be?

Note: If The Final Quarter - Finding A National Identity - Civ & Cit - Year 8 lesson has not been completed, invite students to think about some of the diverse ways in which Australia’s ‘national identity’ is represented, and to critically consider the extent to which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and contributions have been included in representations of the nation’s shared identity. Examples of the kinds of representations that students might like to reflect on include songs, stories or poetry, symbols, artworks, advertisements, events, charters/declarations. Invite students to share their ideas with the class.

Step 1

Explain to students that they will now be required to create their own representation of who we are and what sort of country we want to be. To do this, students will use their understandings of national identity and how it can be represented, as well as their response to the questions, “Who are we? What sort of country do we want to be?” in the previous activity.

Step 2

Invite students to form small groups of 3 or 4 and provide each group with a piece of butcher’s paper. Explain to students that each group has five minutes to come up with as many ideas as they can about how they could create their own representation of who we are and what sort of country we want to be.

The purpose of the timed group ideation is to generate a list of ideas that can be developed and refined. The more different and varied the options created, the better - no matter how abstract or off-the-wall. This helps promote creativity and new possibilities.

The group ideation could be run like this:

Give each group a piece of butcher’s paper and each person a marker pen.
Before starting the countdown, ask students to write the guiding question on the top of their piece of paper – How can we represent who we are and what sort of country we want to be?
Students should stand around the tables rather than sit in their chairs as this encourages more creative thinking.

They should:

Step 3

Once groups have completed the ideation, ask each group to spend the next couple of minutes viewing and discussing their list of ideas. Invite each student to nominate their favourite ideas by:

Drawing a C next to the idea they think is the most creative
Drawing a B next to the idea that they like best

Note: At this stage, you may choose to add limitations to students' options to help them select a realistic and achievable representation. This may include realistic resources needed or time allowances for the task.

Step 4

Once complete, invite each students to record their most creative idea and the idea they liked best in the space provided on the Student Worksheet. Then ask each group to share their selected ideas with the class.

Step 5

Now that students have a list of ideas to choose from, invite them to refine their selected idea to ensure they are able to represent who we are and what we want to be as a country. Encourage students to show the diverse and dynamic nature of Australia’s national identity, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.

Some examples of possible representations:

Write an original song or poem
Create a Tourism Australia advertisement
Evaluate an existing song and change the words to be more inclusive of all peoples and perspectives
Create a community event to celebrate unity in diversity, as well as democratic values, characteristics and behaviours
Write a charter or declaration that all Australians should aim to live by, and justify why.

For more ideas on how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities can be included in student representations, consider exploring the Narragunnawali Curriculum Resources.

Step 6

Allow time for students to plan out their representation and encourage them to discuss their ideas with a partner before checking in with the teacher.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to reflect on the learnings of this lesson by answering the following questions on the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Have your thoughts or feelings about Australia’s national identity changed through the course of this lesson? Explain your answer.
What has this lesson made you reflect on, and how/why? What can you and your class/school do to translate your learnings and reflections into positive action into the future?
What is still challenging for you about understanding Australia’s national identity, and where might you seek help to address this challenge in future?

Differentiated Learning

Extension – In Part B, invite students to analyse the importance of statements such as Stan Grant’s in understanding race relations in Australia. Prompt questions could include:

Why is it important to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives?
What other important statements, both historically and recently, have been made about race relations in Australia?
How can you use Stan Grant’s message to positively shape your attitude and actions in the future?
What other important statements have been made about race relations in Australia?

Provisions for Learning Support

In Part B, you may choose to watch The Final Quarter clip in its entirety before watching it again and pausing for students to make a note of what they think, hear and feel. This may help students grasp key ideas and themes when viewing for the second time.
In Part C, encourage students who have similar ideas to join to make pairs or small groups to create their representation.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

The Final Quarter - Representing A National Identity

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Summary

Lesson guides and printables

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