NAIDOC Week classroom ideas

NAIDOC Week is held in the first week of July and is a fantastic time to explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements. It's also the perfect opportunity to introduce young students to the key symbols and meanings in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Before you begin, make sure your students understand the difference between a celebration and a commemoration click here for more info.

I'd like to take you through the some ideas you can use in your own classroom to explore NAIDOC Week with some activities and crafts your students will love. 

DOT PAINTING

My students always love this activity! It's so much fun! It's important to explain how dot painting came about and there is some great information here about the history and tradition of it. It's such a nice way of incorporating Aboriginal art, animal symbolism and HASS together. 

MAKE A WALL DISPLAY

I create a short written response with students about what NAIDOC Week is all about and then we glue them on to our posters with our little Aboriginal boy. This look fantastic on a wall display and parents enjoy reading the writing samples when they visit the room. 

DRILLING DOWN DEEPER

If you have time, it's great to drill down a bit deeper into NAIDOC Week by discussing some of the key concepts about this celebration. 

EXPLORE THE VOCABULARY OF WELCOME TO COUNTRY

All students would have heard 'Welcome to Country' but do they understand what it means? I like to take some of the key words and explore the definitions. You can make this part of your STRIVE program if you use it or just part of your reading group activities.

EXPLORE THE ABORIGINAL AND THE TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER FLAGS

You can create lots of interesting art pieces with the Indigenous flags but it's worth spending some time with students to explain the meanings behind the colours and symbols used. 

DESIGN NAIDOC WEEK POSTERS

I've done this activity for many different year levels and it's always a good way to work with layout, setting, cohesive devices and persuasive writing effects. Younger students may just want to colour and decorate a poster, whereas older students might enjoy creating a poster in PowerPoint.

Throughout the HASS curriculum there is an element of exploring and recognising community celebrations both within Australia and in other countries. You can find these products and more at the products linked below.

4 Ways to write a good report on that difficult student

Let's face it. Writing report cards suck! They take valuable time away from family life and frankly tell little lies. Let's be honest.. Little Johnny does not struggle to "...make the correct choices in class sometimes", he's a total pain in the butt 99% of the time! But there are no bad students - just little daily challenges...right? Sadly, what you really want to say to parents you're unable to and frankly they don't want to hear it either. You could write all day about that perfect student but the difficult ones are often another matter.

Report cards must be done. So what to write and how do you say what you want to say in a positive non-offensive way?

Listed below are my all time favourite report card comments for... that difficult child in your class (you know THE one).

1. The student that talks all the time.

This child could talk underwater, or so its seems. Doesn't matter where you move them in the classroom, they will always find somebody else to talk to. Heck they will even talk to themselves if they have to!

The key words to use: "is learning to"

What to write:

[Student] is learning to manage their time more efficiently in class....

[Student] is learning to follow the classroom rules and is developing good self-regulating skills...

[Student] sometimes needs a rule reminder to stay on task but is learning to listen to others...

2. The student who is always off task.

Doesn't matter which subject or activity they are supposed to be doing. They are off doing something else on the other side of the room or are disrupting other students.

The key words to use: "with support"

With support [Student] is developing self-monitoring skills to enable them to stay on task....

With support [Student] is beginning to stay on task with activities until completed....

With support [Student] is learning to complete tasks in a timely manner and to an acceptable standard...

3. The student that doesn't want to work in groups.

You take a great deal of effort to place this child in the correct group. The right number of boys/girls, at least one high achieving student, differentiated in all the right places - and they refuse to work in the group. They won't even work in a pair unless cajoled for hours.

The key words to use: "finds it difficult"

[Student] finds it difficult to participate in group work and prefers to work alone...

[Student] finds it very difficult to work with others and prefers to work alone...

4. The student that has messy work/desk or is always disorganised.

This student loses the letter home within moments of getting it. They lost their library book the first week and haven't been able to borrow for a whole semester. Their desk looks like a rubbish dump and their writing is atrocious.

The key words to use: "goal/s"

[Student] could work on the goal of improving the presentation of their written work...

[Student] sometimes presents their work in a tidy manner but could work on the goal of keeping their work area tidy...

No matter what you say, always end on a positive note.

A Student: [Student]'s commitment to their work and positive attitude are reflected in their marks.

B Student: [Student] has worked hard this year and this is evident in their academic achievements.

C Student: However, [Student] has shown great improvements in their academic work.

D Student: [Student] is beginning to develop sound academic skills.

E Student: With support, [Student] is learning to work towards academic goals.