Teacher notes

This resource is designed to support the teaching of Australian Aboriginal astronomy in Stage 3.

It includes many examples of how Aboriginal people used their knowledge of astronomy to manage daily activities, such as food gathering and ceremonial activities. It also highlights how they explained the origins of many features in their environment, particularly the night sky.

This resources contains numerous hyperlinks to resources and additional information that can support class activities. Some of these resources include YouTube clips which teachers may need to access in the classroom in order for students to view them.

This site is best viewed in Google Chrome.

This resource can be used as a foundation for additional teaching and learning activities. Some suggested activities include:

• • Invite a member of the Aboriginal community to share their knowlegde and Dreaming stories about Aboriginal astronomy.

  • Read and discuss Were Aboriginal Australians the world's first astronomers?

  • Research famous astronomers and share their discoveries about the universe.

  • Identify and research a constellation. Include information about its appearance, visibility at different times of the year, its significance and any stories associated with it.

  • Select an image from the resource and/or from a quality text such as 'Walking with the Seasons in Kakadu' (Lucas, D. and Searle, K.) and use it as a stimulus for a creative writing piece.

• • Create a narrative based on seasons and astronomy in Kakadu National Park, or another location of Indigenous significance. Present the narrative as a visual text, such as a short movie.

  • Create an artwork depicting the night sky. Consider the appearance of different constellations.

  • Locate different constellations in the night sky using Stellarium. Use the search and calendar features to find specific constellations at different times of the year.

  • Explore planets using Google Sky. Turn the `Sky’ button on in Google Earth to change to sky view.