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Face the Facts (2008) Education Resource
Activity 5: The Facts - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
This activity is designed to assist students in accessing the information included in Face the Facts – Questions and Answers about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to identify some of the important issues facing Indigenous peoples today, and to identify how statistical information can be used to support an argument or proposal. This activity can be used in the classroom when adequate computer resources are available or alternatively set as a homework or individual assignment where more appropriate.
Step 1 – Before/ During/ After Reading Activity
This B-D-A Activity is designed to assist students in accessing information in Face the Facts – Questions and Answers about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The Before/During/After Reading Activity is based on the K-W-L (what I know, what I want to know, and what I learned) strategy.
1. Students begin by brainstorming and listing in the ‘before column’ everything they know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A series of headings have been included to assist students with their responses. This step can be done individually, with partners, in small groups or the whole class can participate at once. However, it is important to always have students share and debate this information as a group before moving to the next step.
2. After brainstorming, students read Face the Facts – Questions and Answers about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, writing brief notes on the new information they find in the ‘during column’. This can also be done individually, with partners, or in small groups - depending on classroom dynamics and objectives. When students locate information in the text that agrees with statements they wrote in their ‘before’ column, they place a tick next to those statements to indicate that their background knowledge was correct.
3. In the next step (after reading), students briefly summarise the new information they have learned in the ‘after column.’
4. Next, group or whole-class discussion should take place to revisit the ‘before reading’ statements that were listed on the worksheet and to share the information they have discovered and clarify any areas of confusion that may have arisen. The aim of this discussion is to establish what students already know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
5. Each student must then identify three questions or issues they have identified during the B-D-A activity for further research.
Additional Resources
Further information about the K-W-L strategy is available via: MyRead Website - developed by the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) and the Australian Literacy Educators Association (ALEA) and published by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), 2003. http://www.myread.org/guide_frontloading.htm#kwl
Teaching English Website - developed by Office for Curriculum, Leadership and Learning, Department of Education, Tasmania. http://www.discover.tased.edu.au/english/choosing.htm#kwl
Step 2 – Identifying the Facts about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
Using the questions they identified during the B-D-A activity, students must locate the facts. The focus of this investigation should be on statistical information which supports or challenges each student’s assumptions about Indigenous issues.
Useful statistics are available in Face the Facts – Questions and Answers about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. However, students should also be encouraged to use their research skills to discover additional facts. The following websites may be useful: Australian Bureau of Statistics website at: http://www.abs.gov.au/
A table has been included in the worksheet to assist students in recording information discovered during their research.
Step 3 – Using Statistics to develop a Report, Proposal or Argument
During this step, students must reflect on the information they have discovered and evaluate whether the data they have discovered is sufficient to construct a report, proposal or argument. At this stage, teachers should work with students to finalise their report topics and assess the information they have gathered. The following instructions have been included in the worksheet.
Student instructions
Statistics are a powerful tool and can be used to provide the basis of strong arguments for change. Governments, community groups and individuals can all use statistics to make decisions about how to: best allocate resources; to identify those groups most in need and provide effective services in the community; to propose change or development to address social issues; or simply to satisfy one’s curiosity.
Now that you have located some statistical information about each of the questions/issues you have identified, select one area to investigate further. There a many issues/questions you could explore including:
Indigenous population
How many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are there in Australia? Where do they live?
Indigenous health
Compare statistics on the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Housing
Compare statistics on home ownership for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Employment
Compare statistics on the levels of unemployment of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
There are many other areas you could investigate. Use Face the Facts – Questions and Answers about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to identify other areas which interest you.
Step 4 – Presenting Your Report
To complete this activity, students must report on their findings, using statistics and other facts to support their argument. Students should be encouraged to share their reports with classmates. This could include publication of the reports in hard copy or on a website.
