Indigenous Adaptations

Overview

In this lesson, students explore Indigenous Peoples’ continuous connections to Country/Place and how this connection guides adaptation over time. They focus on how culture, knowledge, and land and water management shape sustainable living.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• recognise that there is diversity among First Nations Australians and distinct cultural groups
• explain how land and water are connected to people’s lives and responsibilities
• describe examples of adaptation through cultural practices for managing resources
• create a short informative multimodal text to share learning with an identified audience

Success criteria

I can:

• use respectful language to describe connections to Country/Place
• give one example of how Indigenous knowledge supports sustainable use of land or water
• identify at least two ways cultures adapt to local environments
• plan and present a short poster or digital slide with clear ideas and labels

Curriculum links

• Humanities and Social Sciences — AC9HS4K01 (diversity of First Nations Australians; continuous connection to Country/Place and social organisation)
• Humanities and Social Sciences — AC9HS4K06 (custodial responsibility; sustainable use and management of renewable and non-renewable resources)
• Humanities and Social Sciences — AC9HS4K05 (importance of environments, including water sources, to people and animals)
• Science (cross-curriculum writing link) — AC9S4I06 (communicate findings and ideas using scientific vocabulary and digital tools as appropriate)

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome + respectful frame. Teacher sets a learning tone: “Today we learn respectfully about connection to Country/Place.” Students quickly turn-and-talk: “What does it mean to care for a place?”

2. 5–12 min · Activate knowledge: wetlands and Country. Teacher shows 2 images (wetland vegetation + water/animals) and asks: “Where do people get food, water, and materials from?” Students record 2 observations on a class worksheet (“I notice…”).

3. 12–22 min · Mini-lesson: connection and custodial responsibility. Teacher explains that First Nations Australians have continuous connection to land and water, with cultural knowledge guiding how resources are managed over time. Teacher gives an age-appropriate example: using local knowledge to support sustainable harvesting or managing movement through environments (e.g., adapting how and when people return to a resource). Students underline key ideas: connection, responsibility, sustainable use.

4. 22–32 min · Guided inquiry: adaptation through culture. Teacher provides a short, teacher-read information card titled “How culture supports adaptation in wetland places.” Students in pairs answer 3 prompts:

• “What is the connection to Country/Place?”
• “How do people adapt their practices to the environment?”
• “How does this help the wetland for the future?” Teacher circulates using a checklist for respectful discussion and clear reasoning.

5. 32–41 min · Create: Indigenous Perspectives Adaptation poster/slide. Teacher models a simple layout: Title, 2–3 key points, and 1 labelled diagram (water/plant/resource). Students create either:

• a paper poster, or
• a digital slide (if available), using sentence starters: “Our place provides…”, “People adapt by…”, “This supports sustainability because…”

6. 41–45 min · Share + exit ticket. Teacher selects 3 students to share their first key point. Students complete a quick exit ticket: “One connection to Country/Place I learned today is…” and “One adaptation practice that supports sustainability is…”

Resources

• Image prints or slides: wetland vegetation, water sources, animals
• Teacher information cards (short, plain language; one wetland-focused example)
• Student worksheet: “I notice / I wonder”
• Pair inquiry prompt sheet
• Poster paper or blank slide templates
• Coloured pencils/markers; glue or sticky notes
• Sentence starter strips (connection, adaptation, sustainability)
• Timer and checklist for teacher monitoring

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observes pair inquiry responses for respectful language and accurate connections between environment and adaptation
• Formative: checks students’ poster/slide for inclusion of clear ideas and labels (connection + adaptation + sustainability link)
• Exit ticket: assesses whether students can state one connection and one sustainable adaptation idea

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide sentence starters and a word bank (connection, Country/Place, water, wetland, care, adapt, sustain, future)
• Offer a partially completed poster template (title + two headings already written)
• Allow students to draw first, then add short captions
• Extension:
• Challenge students to add a “Because…” sentence that explains how the adaptation helps the wetland
• Invite an additional example from their local environment (school grounds or local wetlands) in a generic, non-specific way
• EAL/SEN:
• Use visuals for each prompt and accept oral responses for planning before written output
• Provide smaller chunks of text on the information card with teacher clarification
• Language and respect:
• Remind students to avoid generalising or naming specific groups unless the class has local/community guidance; keep the focus on respectful concepts and examples