Exploring Australian Identity

Overview

Year Level: Year 11
Subject: Other (Cross-Curricular – Identity Studies)
Curriculum Alignment:
This lesson aligns with the Australian Curriculum General Capabilities, focusing on:

• Personal and Social Capability – recognising and understanding identity and relationships.
• Intercultural Understanding – investigating culture and identity in Australian society.
• Ethical Understanding – exploring values, rights, and responsibilities in contemporary society.
• Critical and Creative Thinking – questioning, analysing and reflecting on the formation of individual and group identity.

This session also reflects the Senior Secondary Australian Curriculum – Humanities and Social Sciences integration, using philosophical and sociological perspectives of self and community.

---

Duration

Total Time: 180 minutes (3 hours)
Class Size: 15 students
Modality: Face-to-face, Project-Based, Collaborative and Reflective

---

Learning Intentions

By the end of the session, students will:

1. Explore various factors that shape Australian identities, including heritage, culture, media, history, and place.
2. Critically analyse how personal identity is influenced by national narratives and diversity in Australia.
3. Creatively express their own understanding of identity through collaborative and reflective tasks.
4. Evaluate how society constructs and represents individual and collective identities in Australia today.

---

Success Criteria

Students will demonstrate success by:

• Actively participating in discussions and collaborative activities.
• Contributing thoughtfully to peer reflections and activities.
• Completing a creative artefact that expresses their interpretation of Australian identity.
• Presenting their work and offering a rationale behind their creative decisions.

---

Resources Required

• Butcher’s paper and markers
• Individual student journals or digital notebooks
• A curated selection of Australian artworks, songs, poetry, and advertisements (teacher-prepared)
• Printed copies of identity prompt cards
• Coloured paper, collage materials, magazines, scissors, glue sticks
• Projector or Smartboard for media display
• Reflection sheet template
• Optional: access to sound system for sharing audio

---

3-Hour Lesson Breakdown

---

Part 1: Who Are We? (45 mins)

Activity Title: “Invisible Threads of Me”

Purpose: To set the tone and encourage introspection into personal identity.

Warm-up Task – Identity Mapping (25 mins)

Students create a personal “Identity Web” using butcher’s paper, including aspects like:

• Culture/ethnicity
• Family and background
• Passions/hobbies
• Name meaning
• Gender and beliefs
• Memorable life experiences
• Languages spoken
• First place they called 'home'

Pair up and do a “gallery walk” where students rotate to peer webs and write one comment or question using sticky notes.

Debrief Questions (10 mins):

• What are the most common threads across our identity maps?
• Were there any surprising elements that made you think differently?
• How often do we get to reflect on who we really are?

Introduction to Conceptual Identity in Australia (10 mins)

Facilitator-led mini-presentation:

• What does 'Australian identity' mean?
• Historical and contemporary influences (First Nations identity, multiculturalism, national symbols, media representations)
• The fluid and evolving nature of identity in modern Australia

Quick Class Poll: “Do you feel your identity is well-represented in mainstream Australian culture?” Students respond with thumbs up/middle/down.

---

Part 2: The Mosaic of Us (60 mins)

Activity Title: “Constructing the Continent” – A Collaborative Identity Map

Purpose: To foster understanding of the “collective identity” and how community perception shapes it.

Group Task (45 mins)

Divide the class into 3 groups of 5 students. Each group receives a blank outline of Australia on a large poster and populates it using various resources (magazines, words, symbols, images) to reflect what it means to be ‘Australian’. This must show:

• Cultural diversity
• Urban/rural perspectives
• Media influence
• Indigenous and colonial histories
• Social values, myths, and contradictions

Each group is given different identity prompt cards to integrate, e.g.:

• “Include an element that reflects the experience of a migrant in Australia.”
• “Add a stereotype and challenge it visually.”
• “Feature a local community that represents a lesser-known part of Australian society.”

Groups then give their collage a title and prepare a 2-minute “artist’s statement”.

Gallery Share (15 mins)

Each group shares their map and explains the choices made.

Facilitator Prompts:

• What did you intentionally leave out?
• Who owns the narrative of identity in Australia?
• How does your representation change depending on audience?

---

Break – 10 mins

Encourage students to take a mindful walk and observe the environment around them. Prompt reflection: “What in your surroundings makes you feel like you’re in Australia right now?”

---

Part 3: Hidden in Plain Sight (45 mins)

Activity Title: Decoding Identity in Media and Art

Purpose: To stretch analytical thinking, questioning representations of Australian identity in pop culture and media.

Stimulus Exploration (25 mins)

Students analyse short excerpts from varied media sources (printed):

• Excerpt from My Island Home (Christine Anu)
• Artwork by Archibald Prize finalists
• Short scene transcript from Redfern Now
• Australian advertisement (BBQ product, insurance, etc.)
• Political snippet from a national leaders’ debate

Small groups analyse one item each using guiding questions:

• Who is being represented?
• Who is excluded?
• Which stereotypes are reinforced or challenged?
• How is ‘Australian-ness’ portrayed?

Students then report their brief findings to the class in a 1-minute statement as a “Media Critic”.

Whole Class Synthesis (10 mins)

Facilitator charts the findings under columns:

• “Inclusivity”
• “Stereotypes”
• “Truths and Tensions”

Reflection question: “How has your view of what it means to be Australian changed today?”

---

Part 4: Me and We (40 mins)

Activity Title: Creative Response – Postcards to Australia

Purpose: To consolidate learning and allow creative self-expression.

Task Instructions:

Each student creates a stylised, visual “Postcard to Australia” depicting:

• Their current perspective on Australian identity
• A message to the country about what they value, question, or hope for
• Visual symbols, one quote, and 1–2 written sentences

Art materials or digital drawing tools can be used.

Students complete final reflection sheet:

• One insight I gained today…
• One identity I want to learn more about…
• If I were to define Australian identity in 3 words, it would be...

Option to voluntarily present postcards in a sharing circle.

---

Assessment Opportunities

Formative Assessment:

• Observation of collaboration and engagement in group work
• Contributions in discussions, gallery walk, and class analysis
• Depth of thought in identity map and final reflection

Summative Assessment:

• Creative artefact: Postcard to Australia (creativity, symbolism, and insight)
• Reflection sheet (self-assessment)

---

Differentiation

• EAL/D students: Provide visual aids and sentence scaffolding.
• Students with learning difficulties: Focus on oral expression and provide one-on-one check-ins before independent activities.
• Extension opportunities: Encourage deeper symbolism, abstract visual representation, and critical commentary on identity narratives.

---

Teacher Reflection Prompt

After the class, consider:

• Which students explored their identity in new or unexpected ways?
• What representations sparked the most discussion or discomfort – and why?
• How can you extend this topic across disciplines (e.g., literature, history, Aboriginal studies)?

---

Closing Thought

“Identity is not given, it is created — shaped by stories we carry and stories we choose to share.”

---

Australian Curriculum Links

This lesson builds holistic capabilities by connecting personal experience to national narratives and developing awareness of the diversity within modern Australia, aligned with:

• General Capabilities: Personal and Social Capability, Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural Understanding.
• Humanities and Social Sciences (Senior): Understandings of self and society, values, ethics, and the construction of identity.
• The Arts (Senior Visual Arts/Media Arts): Analysis and reflection through creative mediums.

---

End of Lesson Plan