Karda Gathering Place

Overview

In this 100-minute on-country Science session, students explore how karda (ocean) has long been a gathering place for Noongar families. Through story, respectful sharing circles, and gentle role-play, students connect cultural knowledge with basic Science ideas about life near water and seasonal foods from the ocean.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• Understand that karda (ocean) is a traditional place for gathering and sharing for Noongar people.
• Describe one traditional use of the ocean and explain why it was important to Noongar families.
• Sort and record observations about ocean life and ocean foods using teacher-provided templates.
• Identify simple patterns in seasonal foods/availability with guidance.

Success criteria

Students can:

• Share one traditional use of karda (ocean) (for example gathering food, meeting together, or caring for resources).
• Explain why that use was important (connection, sharing, food for families, knowledge and caring).
• Use the class template to draw or match images to show what was seen/considered.
• Participate respectfully in cultural protocols and listen for key story messages.

Curriculum links

• Science (Foundation): represent observations in provided templates and identify patterns with guidance.
• Science (Foundation): collaborate to create a class display linking images/samples of materials to observed objects.
• Science (Foundation): identify common features of familiar groups of animals (ocean life) with guidance.
• HASS (Foundation): recognise the importance of Country/Place to First Nations Australians and the Country/Place on which the school is located.

Lesson structure (100 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Welcome on Country & connection. Teacher welcomes students to Country and reminds them of respectful listening; briefly introduce focus words (karda, boodja/land if used in your setting). Students sit in a sharing circle and listen, then respond to a simple prompt: “What is the ocean for families?”

2. 10–25 min · Story on karda as gathering place. Teacher tells a Noongar-informed story (teacher uses local language terms for ocean/country as appropriate to your school protocols) emphasising: gathering, sharing, seasonal knowledge, and caring practices. Students hold a “story stone” (or similar) and when given it, share one feeling/idea from the story (teacher models responses).

3. 25–40 min · Artifact & image observation (Two Way Science). Teacher shows a small set of culturally appropriate resources/artifacts (or respectful substitutes such as laminated pictures, shell/seaweed samples, and ocean-life images). Students rotate in pairs, choose one item/image, and place it into a provided template column (Gathering / Food / Care / Life near water) while teacher supports observation wording.

4. 40–60 min · Outside on-country “Observe & Sort” walk. Teacher leads a short, safe walk near water or a water-like environment (school garden pond, estuary viewpoint, or appropriate local spot) to look for traces: shells, seaweed, tide marks (if present), or images of animals/plants found locally. Students record 1–2 observations using a simple “I notice…” template and a matching set (“living things near water” vs “non-living things”).

5. 60–75 min · Guided pattern talk: seasonal foods. Teacher brings out picture cards of local seasonal ocean foods (or teacher-made cards). Students sort cards into “time of year we might see it” groups with guidance and discuss: “What pattern do we notice?” Teacher reinforces that seasonal knowledge helps families plan gatherings. Students add one drawing or tick to the class chart.

6. 75–92 min · Role-play: gathering & sharing practice. Teacher sets up 2–3 role-play stations: “Gather together”, “Share food”, “Care for karda”. Students rotate through role-play with teacher coaching on respectful language and safe actions (no pretending to take from nature; use toy models or picture cards). Students choose a role card and enact it for 1–2 minutes, then share one sentence: “We gather because…”

7. 92–100 min · Reflection choice & exit ticket. Teacher presents three reflection options and students choose one: drawing, speaking to a partner, or a movement “freeze” showing gathering/sharing. Each student completes a brief exit ticket: “One traditional use of karda is ______. It was important because ______.”

Resources

• Story props (story stone, picture book pages or printed story sequence cards)
• Laminated image set: ocean life, ocean foods (seasonal cards), non-living water traces
• Simple observation templates (draw-and-match “I notice” and “Gather / Food / Care / Life”)
• Sorting mats or clipboards, coloured pencils/crayons
• Culturally respectful artifacts or safe substitutes (shells, seaweed samples if permitted, or photo samples)
• Role-play cards and toy models (food/toy shells) and station signage
• Class seasonal chart (paper or whiteboard)
• Water safety reminders, hat/sunscreen, drinking water

Assessment

• Teacher checks during artifact sorting: can the student place an image/item into the correct template category and use an observation sentence stem.
• Guided pattern talk: listen for student comments that show understanding of “seasonal” and “planning for families”.
• Exit ticket (100-minute close): confirm each student can name one traditional use and give a reason it was important.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters and word banks with Noongar terms used in your unit (e.g., “karda is…” “We gather to…” “It was important because…”).
• Offer scaffolds for templates: tracing lines, picture-to-picture matching, and teacher-guided pair support for students who need it.
• For different learning styles: role-play stations (kinesthetic), artifact observation (visual/tactile), story sharing circle (auditory), reflection choice (draw/speak/move).
• Extension for confident learners: “What would families need to know to gather safely and respectfully?” (e.g., seasonal timing, caring for resources).