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Saint Catherine's Teacher Librarians Beaumont Road Broken Bay Diocese Aboriginal Perspectives Multi-stage
 

 

 
picture:1

picture 1 - Boomerang. Courtesy Walhallow PS.



 

picture: 2

picture 2 - Clubs and fighting sticks. Courtesy Walhallow PS.


 

picture: 3

picture 3 - Source: Aboriginal Technology, The Spear. Alex Barlow, Macmillan Education Australia (1994)

 

 
picture 4

picture 4 - Source: Aboriginal Technology, The Spear. Alex Barlow, Macmillan Education Australia (1994)

 
picture: 5

picture 5 - Group of Aborigines with Shields and Spears. Source: The Lycett Album: Drawings of Aborigines and Australian Scenery, Jeanette Hoorn, National Library of Australia, Canberra (1990)

 

canoe making

Source:Thomas Dick Collection, Australian Museum.

 

 

Introduction
Learning Sequence:
References

Learning Sequence

What is technology?

Outcomes: TS3.2, RS3.5, RS3.6, WS3.12, M3.7, LTS3.3, PPS3.5, INVS3.7, DMS3.8, UTS3.9, VAS3.1

Resources:

  • Aboriginal Technology: The Spear
  • Large sheets of paper
  • Pens
  • Pictures, books and artefacts of Aboriginal hunting technology (spears, woomeras, etc)
  • Pictures # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  • Student worksheet 1- Artefact research
  • Student work sample 1 - Mind map
  • Student work sample 2 - Spear technology
  • Student work sample 3 - The barbed spear
  • 'Creating a shield' images

Pose the question: �What is technology?'

Suggested discussion prompts:

What technology do we use at school?
What is the meaning of �technology� in the dictionary? Discuss the broader use of technology as used in the syllabus.
Why do we need technology?
Who uses technology?
Why is technology important in our lives?
What innovations and adaptations has technology allowed us to make?
Does all technology depend on electricity? Give examples.
How has technology led to long-term change of our environment?
Name an invention that has been useful and explain why.
Is all technology �modern�? Why? Why not?

In small groups, students brainstorm inventions they consider to be �old� technology. Groups report responses to whole class, teacher scribes list for display. (See student work sample 1.)

Pose the question: �Is technology important in our lives?� (Give examples of medical advancement, food technology, housing.) Invite students to discuss jobs their parents do, the different tasks they undertake at home, and the technology they use.

Discuss �What kinds of technology do Aboriginal people use today?�
View one or two Aboriginal community websites, eg


www.tobwabba.com.au

www.wettropics.gov.au/rah/rah_cult_tourism.html

 

Possible discussion points:

In what ways do Aboriginal communities use

– websites to sell artefacts and fabrics?

– computers to run community medical centres and other enterprises?

– media and local radio and television production?

– manufacturing technology for businesses?

Teacher reads Aboriginal Technology: The Spear to the class.

Possible discussion points:

What hunting technology, developed by the traditional Aboriginal people, assisted in their survival?
Why were these tools important?
Were they tools, weapons or both?
How were they developed over time?
Are these tools used today? In what way?

In small groups, students view pictures and/or artefacts of traditional Aboriginal hunting technology eg fishing spears, composite spears, barbed spears, harpoons. Pictures may be sourced from a local historical museum.

www.hogarthartsaustralia.8k.com/home.htm

www.nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an5600392

Display pictures of spears and weapons #1, #2, #3, #4 from Walhallow P.S. and Aboriginal Technology: The Spear (pp 19 and 21), and Aborigines with Spears and Shields #5 from The Lycett Album.

Each group selects one item to research. Using student work sheet 1, researches their selected artefact and reports their findings to the class (see student work sample 2). Using computer technology, students publish their reports and add to class display with artefacts, books and pictures (see student work sample 3).

Show Thomas Dick Collection photographs of men creating a shield from a tree.

Extension activities:

Visit a local museum or invite a community member to show and discuss traditional hunting technology. Did both men and women have a responsibility for hunting?
Visit or invite a guest speaker from the local Aboriginal Council to talk about technology and hunting in the local area.
Create a timeline of the development of hunting technology.
Paint a traditional hunting scene using natural colours.
Compare the types of traditional Aboriginal spears with those from another ancient culture.
Collect rock and wood samples. Develop a table of their properties. Discuss suitability for tool and weapon manufacture. Display.
Organise a walk around the local area and identify native trees, shrub and plant species that would have been used by Aboriginal people.
Research Australian animal tracks. Make models in sand and create plaster casts. Display with tags to identify each animal. Students may wish to make a cast of their footprint!

 

continue on to learning sequence 2

 

 

 

  
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