Subject Matter Focus.

In this lesson, students learn Syllabus Outcomes and Indicators:

about:
(HT3-1) Describes and explains the significance of people,
Understanding the first-hand experiences from an aboriginal in groups, places and events to the development of Australia.
the stolen generations.
Syllabus Skills:
Interpreting stories and information being told through song
identify events that have shaped Australia's identity
and discuss why they were significant
Implications for Learning. In this lesson, students have
an opportunity to: Syllabus Values and Attitudes:
an understanding of another's point of view, way of the nature of history as reflecting differing perspectives and
life and decisions made in a different time viewpoints
understand the importance of racism and how it can
be portrayed in many ways

Human rights: Stolen Generation

Lesson Introduction:
Children laying on ground with their eyes closed. Teacher plays Took the Children away by Archie Roach and
ask children to visualise the story being told.
Think, Pair, Share- children record words in Y-chart- see, feel, think- (personal whiteboards) about the song. In
pairs they compare answers, highlight similar words.
Questions: Do you have similar words to your partner?

What was the author trying to tell us?

Body of Lesson:
Display lyrics on IWB (Appendix 2)
Look at first two lines.

This story's right, this story's true

I would not tell lies to you

Questions: how do we know this story is true? Who is it written by?

Display Archie Roachs background information (Appendix 3) on IWB, read to class

Introduce Racism- e.g. targeted Aboriginal people, colour of skin, way of living etc.

Listen to the song again following printed words. Children highlight powerful words they depict as racism, e.g.
Humiliation, prejudice

Talk about certain sentences which describe racism (question, explain meaning)
fenced us in like sheep

teach them how to really live

told us all the white mans way

acting white, feeling black (PREJUDICE)

children came back

Students are to create a short narrative (journal article), which incorporates the source material provided in the
lesson. Use specific words and concepts discussed. Narratives can be printed and presented around the room for
other students to read
Conclusion of Lesson:
Select some students to read their journal articles to the class.
What did you learn? What did you find interesting?

Background information of Archie Roach:

Born in 1956 at Framlingham Aboriginal mission in South Western Victoria. When
Archie and most of his sisters and brothers were taken from their mother and
father and placed first in a Salvation Army Orphanage before being fostered out
to white families they became part of the Stolen Generations, one of the saddest
and most misguided chapters in Australian history. Put yourself in the place of a
three or four-year old child torn from your mothers arms and you can
understand the trauma that cuts so deep. Uncle Banjo Clarke years later helped
Archie remember what had happened. The song is about trying to find your way
back to the arms that first held you. The pain, the hole in the heart, never goes
away and most of life is spent searching for the way home againto your people
and your country.