Mentorship and Indigenous Leadership

Year 6 | Indigenous Leadership Explorations | Lesson 9 of 10

Curriculum Alignment

Australian Curriculum – Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS):

• ACHASSK135: Explore significant figures, events, and ideas that have shaped Australia, including the perspectives of First Nations Australians.
• ACHASSI127: Reflect on learning and propose actions in response to issues and challenges.

General Capabilities:

• Intercultural Understanding: Recognising and respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership traditions.
• Personal and Social Capability: Understanding mentorship and leadership in different cultures.

---

Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will:
✅ Understand the role of mentorship in Indigenous leadership.
✅ Explore the qualities of a good mentor.
✅ Learn and use key vocabulary: tūpuna (ancestors) and ako (learning through mentorship).
✅ Reflect on how they can be mentors in their own lives.

Success Criteria

Students will demonstrate success by:

• Contributing to discussions about mentorship.
• Identifying key qualities of a strong mentor.
• Explaining how mentorship is embedded in Indigenous leadership.
• Writing a reflection on how they can mentor others.

---

Lesson Structure (60 minutes)

1. Tuning In (10 mins) – Personal Mentorship Discussion

• Begin with the question: “Who is a mentor in your life? What have they taught you?”
• Allow students to turn and talk with a partner.
• Whole-class share: Three or four students explain who they consider a mentor and why.
• Introduce Indigenous perspectives on mentorship and leadership, highlighting that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures value learning from elders (tūpuna) and see mentorship (ako) as a lifelong, reciprocal process.

2. Explicit Teaching (15 mins) – What Makes a Great Mentor?

• Define mentorship and connect it to well-known Indigenous leaders (e.g. Vincent Lingiari, Lowitja O’Donoghue).
• List qualities of strong mentors (e.g. wisdom, guidance, patience, encouragement).
• Display a visual mind map on the board with ‘Good Mentor’ in the centre. Add student contributions to the map to highlight common characteristics they identify.
• Introduce the words tūpuna (ancestral mentors) and ako (reciprocal learning), explaining how these terms relate to Indigenous leadership.

3. Exploring Indigenous Mentorship (15 mins) – Role Model Profiles Activity

• Divide students into small groups. Each group receives a profile of an Indigenous leader. Examples:
  • Vincent Lingiari – Advocacy for land rights.
  • Lowitja O’Donoghue – Pioneering health leadership.
  • Evonne Goolagong Cawley – Mentorship in sports and education.
  • Noel Pearson – Leadership in Indigenous policy and law.
• Each group answers:
  • How did this leader mentor others?
  • What qualities made them a strong mentor?
  • How does their story connect to tūpuna and ako?
• Groups present their findings to the class in a "mentor chat" format (students discuss as if they are explaining to a younger sibling).

4. Reflection Task (15 mins) – How Can You Be a Mentor?

• Ask students: “How might you mentor someone in your life?”
• Provide sentence starters to guide writing:
  • "I can be a mentor by..."
  • "A mentor I look up to is... because..."
  • "Mentorship is important because..."
• Students write a short reflection (5-8 sentences) on how they can mentor others in their own lives.

---

Differentiation Strategies

🔹 For support: Pair students with a peer mentor for the writing reflection task. Provide sentence starters.
🔹 For extension: Students research an Indigenous leader of their choice and present findings the following lesson.

---

Assessment Opportunities

✅ Teacher observations during discussions.
✅ Student group contributions in the mentor profile activity.
✅ Written reflections demonstrating understanding of mentorship.

---

Resources & Materials

• Picture profiles of Indigenous leaders.
• Sentence starters for student reflection.
• Digital or physical mind mapping tools for discussion.

---

Wrap-Up & Next Lesson Preview

• Remind students that mentorship is an ongoing process; even they can be mentors!
• Ask: “Who could you mentor this week, and how?”
• Preview Lesson 10: Celebrating Indigenous Leadership – student presentations and final reflections.

---

Teacher’s Note:

This lesson is designed to be highly interactive, student-driven, and reflective. Encouraging deep personal connections to mentorship helps embed First Nations perspectives in a meaningful way. ✨