Australia Lesson Activities - Literacy

Neighborhood rivalry may be common in the city suburbs, with noise pollution, overhanging trees, messy yards etc…

Generally in the outback neighbors get along well, if they didn’t they wouldn’t have anyone to talk and socialize with. This is a story that our team of cyclists heard during our travels through Wrotham Park; it’s all about a couple close neighbors in the outback who don’t get along as well as most.

It started about 50 years ago in the Palmerville area, when two families lived only a stones throw away from each other. It’s rare for neighbors in remote areas to live so closely, families neighbors can live up to a weeks drive from their neighbors property. Ms Doris Wilson moved to the Palmerville area hoping on having a large area to herself and her family. Much to her disgust she found that she had an old man living next door with his daughter. The families intermarried and later to an unknown fact the two families had a disagreement. And for 30 years the families are not even speaking to one and another. Only two people are still around and still not talking. Doris Wilson owns part of a key access road that connects Maytown to Palmerville and will not let anyone get through (including Expedition 360).

So as you can see this relationship between two hermit families in the outback has been disastrous. They have married and intermarried, fought and taken advantage of the land that they live in by refusing entry into their land.

Why do you think these people even started arguing? Perhaps when Doris Wilson moved to closely to the other families home; or maybe Miss Wilson burnt the damper on Chrissy day. Write a story about how they may have started arguing.

Feed your children wheat - Joshua

The recording of a culture’s history is directly linked to its stories, whether orally handed down generation to generation, described in pictures on cave walls or animals hides, or in written accounts. By today’s standards, the written word of a culture’s story plays a vital role in the preservation of that culture, past and present.

A child’s learning to read those stories takes on a new dimension in the Cairns School of Distance Education. Mothers of children in isolated locations become home tutors for their children. Facilitated by a HF school radio, class lessons are conducted by a teacher and ‘class’ of long distance children, each, in turn, calling in on the radio mike to share ideas during the course of the daily lesson. This process is supplemented by companion videos and texts which students access to enhance the skills they are learning, i.e., word decoding, story elements, and phonics skills, to name a few. Obviously, to learn in this manner requires excellent listening skills and limited distractions.

“Smelly Feat” a delightful story by Paul Jennings, was today’s literacy lesson at the Pinnacle Springs Station. Ten year old Laura was excited to share it! It is the story of a quick thinking young boy who uses his smelly feet as a defense in saving an endangered sea turtle threatened by bullies. The SDE students make predictions, read the story, view the video, all the while identifying what brings a story together to communicate its message.

Although there are similarities in the techniques used by public schools and long distance education students to learn the stories, Outback education has its own brand of unique challenges to overcome. But it is this unique blending of the pioneer spirit coupled with an isolated environment which enhances the ability of the stories to be read and shared.

Suggested learning activities: Provide several students with short range radios or walkie talkies, sending each on his own to an isolated location, i.e., lunch room, empty classroom, hallway, etc. Conduct a lesson in reading or literacy posing questions to each ‘long distance’ student via the radios. Students may respond in turn, ending each transmission with the teacher’s name to indicate they are finished speaking.

April

Day 16

What is literature? In a sense, it relates to the art of ‘letters’, relating through words an idea or story. Letters….literature. But must it be written to be considered literature? Of course not! There is the oral tradition of literature, story telling, the passing of one’s history and legends. And today we saw oral literature in action.

Jason and Todd sought to record on film the history of the railroad as it related to the community of Mt. Surprise here in the Queensland outback. We cycled a brief 23 kms into town from our camp out in the bush, arriving in town around 9:30 in the morning. After several hours of talking to people, two women from the community finally sat down in front of Todd’s camera for the interview. Merl and Suzette are active in the community and knew their history well. And they sure could talk.

Instead of reading about the town of Mt. Surprise in a book, we learned about the area’s history from the people who live there. They spoke to the camera and told stories of the early history on up to future. We learned about the railroad history as it related to the mining operations, the cattle industry, communications and supplies for the bush country, and now, in the past 8 years, as a source of tourist revenue with the beginning of the Cairns-Forsythe weekly train trip for tourists and history buffs.

Through their words we learned about the failure of sheep ranching in the area, about mining, about the beginnings and impact of the railroad into the region. We heard about floods and drought and cattle operations, and also we heard a lot about the town itself. Mt. Surprise, with a population today of 60, has been about the same size since its founding a hundred years ago. It grew a bit during WWII when 50 soldiers were stationed there, but it’s a small place. Electricity was first brought in around the mid-1980’s. That’s right, 1980’s, about the same time individual phone connections were first made. And how about this: street names were never needed until recently. There are only four streets, and this month, August 2001, will mark the first time the streets will have official names. I don’t know what the street names will be, other than that Myrna said a vote of the community determined that they will be named after local pioneers.

I don’t think anyone’s written a book about the history of Mt. Surprise. (Actually, we forgot to ask Merl and Suzette why it’s called Mt. Surprise…) But we certainly learned a lot about this little community out here in the vast outback. And that’s true literature in the oral tradition.

Suggested learning activities: can you find someone in your community who knows the history of the area? Go ahead and interview them, ask some questions about when they were young, or about when their parents or grandparents came to the area. Or, here’s another idea: pretend that you are old and a young student is asking you to recall your own youth. What would you tell them about your life, your neighborhood, town, city? What oral literature would create for that young person?

Jim

First read the general update written by April if you haven’t already. You will learn all about her experience of driving the support truck to the town of Croydon and having a hard time buying food from the store-owner!

Suggested learning activities: write a hypothesis of why you think the store owner wouldn’t sell April the goods she wanted, backing up your ideas with a reasoned argument. Consider influencing factors such as culture, remoteness of the town, community, economics etc.

For older classes: write a few paragraphs on the reasons why you think the store-owner in Croydon is in business at all? Do the same for a store local to you. Back up your ideas with a reasoned argument. Compare and contrast the two.

jason

Being famous for something often enhances some people’s sense of community. For example, today we passed through Julia Creek that had a welcome sign that read -

“Welcome to Julia Creek, home of the Fat Tailed Dunnart.”

Fat Tailed Dunnarts are marsupials that look a bit like a large possum. We’ve seen a few – flat on the road I might add.

Suggested learning activities:
1. Write a short piece on why your local community is unique, explaining your answer. Create a welcome sign for the town that reads similar to the one above for Julia Creek, except including how your town is unique.

2. Write a short critique on whether or not you think having a welcome sign for a town is important for the community. Explain your answer, giving reasons where possible.

jason

Part of the reason why we know so much about Burke and Wills’ expedition is because of their journals that were discovered after their deaths. Wills’ writing style and discipline is especially worthy of note. It is remarkable that, day after day, in the harsh conditions the expedition team were exposed to and no doubt being very tired each evening, he was able to make daily entries of up to 400-500 words, with never a fault of spelling or grammar. His attention to detail, descriptions of events and observations in the environment they were passing through and behaviour of the other team members and animals provide us with (more than a century later) the means to reconstruct – as best we can - what actually happened.

Excerpts from Wills’ diary:
1. December 24th 1860
“We started from Coopers Creek, Camp 66, with the intention of going through the Eyre’s Creek without water. Loaded with 800 pints of water, four riding camels carrying 130 pints each, horse 150, two pack camels 50 each, and five pints each man.”

2. January 7th 1861
“As we proceeded, the country improved at every step. Flocks of pigeons rose and flew of to the eastward, and fresh plants met our view on every rise: everything green and luxuriant. The horse licked his lips, and tried all he could to break his nose string to get at the feed.”

3. January 30th
“After several unsuccessful attempts at getting Golah (the camel) out of the bed of the creek it was determined to try bringing him down until we could find a place for him to get out at; but after going on like this for two or three miles, it was found necessary to leave him behind, as it was almost impossible to get him through some of the waterholes…”

Suggested learning activities
- compare and contrast the three passages above. How are they different from each other in terms of the information they provide the reader?
- think of a journey you have taken recently. Write a short descriptive piece – ideally in your journal if you have one – of some of the more memorable experiences on the trip.
- If you don’t already write in a journal – start one today!

Literacy -bush fires

ADVERTISING

Bush fires can either be a positive or negative thing depending on the
circumstances.

An example of 'positive' bush fires would be the fires started
naturally by lightening strike or deliberately by aboriginal people looking to
encourage regeneration of vegetation in the local environment. See the
update written on ESD to find out more about the
latter.

An example of 'negative' bush fires would be the fires started
accidentally by causes such as rogue campfires, cigarette stubs thrown
out of car windows or glass bottles dumped in the bush. These fires
normally go unnoticed until they become uncontrollable.

Advertising campaigns are often used to raise people's awareness of the
potentially disastrous effects of their actions. The sign you see in
the photo is one such ad-campaign, designed to attract people's attention
using humour; 'frilled' lizards - that inhabit the local area we are
currently passing through - would be quickly become 'grilled' lizards
if an uncontrollable bush fire were to sweep through the area.

"We prefer our lizards frilled NOT grilled"

The reason humour is used in this advertisement is to make the message - to avoid starting bushfires - remain in people's minds for longer.

Suggested learning activities:
- think of a cause in your local area that you feel more people should
be made more aware of. Now design an advertising billboard - similar to
the one in the photo - that will achieve this. Remember, humour is not
the only way to catch people's attention!

“The Aboriginals had an earthbound philosophy. The earth gave life to a man; gave him his food, language and intelligence; and the earth took him back when he died. A man’s ‘own country’, even an empty stretch of spinifex, was itself a sacred icon that must remain unscarred.” ‘Songlines’, Chatwin

The beauty of writing is found in the voice of the writer creating a mental picture with his words. It can be one of the most difficult concepts to teach, but is one of the more important techniques a writer uses to convey a sensory approach to writing. Voice allows us, as the reader, to glimpse the writer’s soul, to feel and connect emotionally through our own experiences to what the writer is saying.

We had left the Plenty Highway, heading south along a dirt track toward Alice Springs. The terrain began to change immediately from a flat, tree lined,straight gravel road. The sandy, two track snaked off through the undulating foothills of the MacDonnells, which we will parallel on the way to Alice. Bending around a curve in the road, a small hill rose before us. In silence, we left our bikes by the side of the road to climb its boulder-strewn rise. Several team members composed their thoughts at the joy of this latest environment.

“When we came upon the MacDonnells, I received an extra shot of adrenalin and joy. Not that a long flat landscape’s single tone can be ignored, but the road we all saw flowing through the MacDonnells was a wonderful orchestra I was aching to hear! Mick

“The sight of the start of the MacDonnell Range astounded me. Couldn’t believe that something could be so different to the land we had been cycling through.” Josh

“To me it felt like everyone was living in the moment! Not thinking about getting to camp or how many miles we’d do, just gazing across the huge valley and being excited about something as simple as an echo! Crister ‘Brave’ Brady

“Looking out over the vista felt like drinking a glass of ice-cold water to quench a raging thirst. I felt fully satiated. An inner need had been met and fulfilled.“ Jason

“From the top of the rise, small ranges of tree covered grassland fell away toward the horizon. The silence was broken by a single shout from Crister, creating an echo, which reverberated across the distant hills. His voice appeared to become a repeated echo, carried by the wind. Straddling the rocks, we sat in silence, listening to his fading voice. I felt completed grounded in the land of the ancients.”

Suggested learning activities: Practice writing in a daily journal. Select a topic that is a simple idea or event. Use words that create pictures that can paint a visual image in the mind of your reader. Select your favorite stories and identify how the author uses voice to engage his readers.

April

2001, August 30. Thursday. Arltunga Historical Reserve.

In the harsh outback regions of Australia, nature breaks down man made roads and buildings quickly. Many communities have dealt with this by making their homes in the one place entirely protected from the elements – under the earth. This has the added advantage of temperature control, as extreme heat and cold do not penetrate the ground quickly, and temperature usually stays close to twenty-two degrees Celsius (ådegrees Fahrenheit).

But imagine slaving a twelve-hour day down a dusty, dark mineshaft, then returning to an underground home. The thought of a cosy protected place would not seem so inviting. The historic mining community at Arltunga was all built above the ground, and although they were well built – all made of stone - today very few of the buildings could be described as anything more than ruins. Those which are still standing have been restored by the Australian Heritage Trust.

The best preserved of the remains which we saw, was a sturdy little jailhouse standing beside the police station, but even this would not keep its strength under the conditions. In 1911, the officer who was in charge at Alice Springs reported that the Arltunga Police station was in poor condition and that: “the last time I saw a European prisoner in custody there, he was tied up by chain to the leg of the constable’s bed.”

Some members of the team were struck by the spelling of the word ‘jail’ a.k.a. ‘gaol’ on the signposts at the police station site. As an Australian, both spellings are familiar to me, though some of the others had never seen one or the other version.

You may have noticed in our updates that some of us spell words differently, especially ‘colour / color’ and ‘metre / meter’. We also noticed (when discussing out recycling system) that the Americans in the group say ‘Aluminum’ while the English and Australian way is ‘Aluminium’. We discovered that this particular example occurred because the first English dictionaries to be taken to the United States of America contained a printing error omitting the second ‘i’

Looking at our past updates, what examples can you find examples of different spelling variations? Perhaps you can find some typos we missed!

bel