The Language of Art

In this unit, students explore the cultural significance of First Nations art as storytelling, communication, and connection to Country with Brinja-Yuin Walbunja Elder, Aunty Trish. Students will learn how symbols, natural materials, and art share and preserve knowledge. Through activities like yarning circles, mind-mapping, bush walks, and nature art, students will reflect on the power of art in deepening their understanding of First Nations peoples and practices.

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Learning Areas

YEAR 3 & 4 VISUAL ART

AC9AVA4E01
Explore where, why and how visual arts are created and/or presented across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts
AC9AVA4E02
Explore how First Nations Australians use visual arts to communicate their connection to and responsibility for Country/Place
AC9AVA4D01
Experiment with a range of ways to use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials
AC9AVA4C01
Use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to create artworks that communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning
AC9AVA4P01
Share and/or display artworks and/or visual arts practice in informal settings

YEAR 4 ENGLISH

AC9E4LA10
Explore the effect of choices when framing an image, placement of elements in the image and salience on composition of still and moving images in texts
AC9E4LY06
Plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, using visual features, relevant linked ideas, complex sentences, appropriate tense, synonyms and antonyms, correct spelling of multisyllabic words and simple punctuation

Cross Curriculum Priorities

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

Country/Place

A_TSICP1
First Nations communities of Australia maintain a deep connection to, and responsibility for, Country/Place and have holistic values and belief systems that are connected to the land, sea, sky and waterways.
A_TSICP2
The occupation and colonisation of Australia by the British, under the now overturned doctrine of terra nullius, were experienced by First Nations Australians as an invasion that denied their occupation of, and connection to, Country/Place.
A_TSICP3
The First Peoples of Australia are the Traditional Owners of Country/Place, protected in Australian Law by the Native Title Act 1993 which recognises pre-existing sovereignty, continuing systems of law and customs, and connection to Country/Place. This recognised legal right provides for economic sustainability and a voice into the development and management of Country/Place.

People

A_TSIP3
The significant and ongoing contributions of First Nations Australians and their histories and cultures are acknowledged locally, nationally and globally.