Celebrating Our Connections

Overview

Students share and celebrate what they have learned about Country/Place, why it is special, and how people care for places. This final lesson in the unit builds from earlier lessons by turning student learning into a simple class presentation or performance.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify why Country/Place is important to First Nations Australians and how it relates to the place they live.
• Students will describe features of their own familiar place and name at least one local place that can be special.
• Students will explain one way people can care for special places.
• Students will practise respectful ways to share learning with others during a class celebration.

Success criteria

• I can tell what “Country/Place” means and how it is used for places people belong to.
• I can name features of my familiar place (for example, park, home, street, beach, river).
• I can explain why a place can be special and share a caring action.
• I can take part respectfully in our class presentation or performance.

Curriculum links

• AC9HSFK04 — the importance of Country/Place to First Nations Australians and the Country/Place on which the school is located.
• AC9HSFK03 — the features of familiar places they belong to, why some places are special and how places can be looked after.
• AC9HSFK02 — the celebrations and commemorations of significant events shared with families and others (using the class sharing event as a meaningful commemoration of learning and connection).
• AC9HSFK04_E1 — identifying how and why the words “Country/Place” are used by First Nations Australians for the places they belong to.
• AC9HSFK03_E4 — discussing different ways they could or do contribute to caring for special places.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and focus. Teacher greets students and briefly revisits the unit theme with a large class chart: “Country/Place • Special places • Caring actions • Sharing respectfully.” Students sit in a circle and respond to: “What is one thing you learned that you want to celebrate?”

2. 5–12 min · Guided warm-up: “Special place speaking”. Teacher models a simple sentence structure on the board: “Our place is special because…”, “One caring action is…”. Students practise in pairs using picture cards (park/beach/river/streets/yard) and then share one idea to the whole class.

3. 12–22 min · Build the class presentation/performance. Teacher sets up 3–4 stations for quick preparation:

• “Country/Place meaning” (students point to word cards and practise a short line: “Country/Place is where people belong.”)
• “My special place” (students hold up their drawing or photo card and say one feature)
• “Why special” (students choose a reason card: “for fun”, “for family”, “for culture”, “for nature” — teacher keeps language inclusive and simple)
• “Caring actions” (students choose one action card: “pick up litter”, “plant trees”, “look after animals”, “keep water clean”) Students move in small groups to select one part of the performance and rehearse their line or gesture.

4. 22–36 min · Whole-class celebration sharing. Teacher leads the performance like a classroom “celebration of learning.” Each group takes a turn:

• Opening line about Country/Place (teacher prompts with the class chart if needed)
• Sharing “My special place” (each student holds up their card)
• “Why special” (one sentence per student or per group, depending on readiness)
• “Caring action” (students do a short action gesture while saying the action) Teacher provides supportive feedback using the success criteria language and keeps transitions short and calm.

5. 36–42 min · Reflect: “Thumbs and reasons”. Teacher asks three quick questions and students respond using thumbs-up/sideways/down plus a short partner explanation:

• “What does Country/Place help us understand?”
• “What makes a place special?”
• “How can we care for special places?”

6. 42–45 min · Exit ticket: one caring sentence. Students complete a quick oral or written exit response (choice based on readiness): “I can care for my special place by ____.” Teacher collects and notes common caring actions and any language misunderstandings.

Resources

• Student drawings/photo cards from earlier activities
• Word cards: Country/Place, special, belong, care, look after
• Picture/reason/action cards (park, beach, river, home, trees, animals, cleaning up, planting)
• Class chart “Country/Place • Special places • Caring actions • Sharing respectfully”
• Simple props for performance (e.g., small “nature” headbands, a shared “care” poster)
• Name cards for quick turn-taking
• Timer or visual schedule
• Exit ticket slips or small recording sheet

Assessment

• Teacher observation checklist during stations and sharing: participation, ability to use “special place” and one caring action.
• Formative feedback during rehearsals: whether students can give a simple “because…” reason.
• Exit ticket: one sentence identifying a caring action (or recorded verbal response).

Differentiation

• Support: sentence starters (“Our place is special because…”, “I care for places by…”) and gesture options for students needing non-verbal responses.
• Support: pre-teach vocabulary using picture cards; repeat key phrases in consistent routines.
• Extension: for students ready, invite an extra detail: “It is special because families…” or “We can care by… and it helps…”.
• EAL/SEN: allow pointing to cards and short utterances; use consistent prompts and pair with a supportive peer.

End-of-unit link for next steps

• Display the class performance pieces as a “Celebrating Our Connections” board for families and visitors, reinforcing that sharing learning is a respectful commemoration of the unit.