Scholastic
RECOMMENDED FOR
• Upper primary
CONTENTS
1. About the book 1
2. Pre-reading questions 2
3. Classroom activities and discussion questions by key learning areas 2
4. Worksheets 4
TYPE OF TEXT
• Illustrated non-fiction
THEMES
• Australian history
• Australian politics
• Australian culture
• Identity
KEY CURRICULUM AREAS
• English
• Science
• History and politics
• Arts
• Design
• Society and culture
PREPARED BY
Random House Australia
PUBLICATION DETAILS
ISBN: 9780857980205 (paperback)
These notes may be reproduced free of charge for use and study within schools but they may not be reproduced (either in whole or in part) and offered for commercial sale.
Visit .au/teachers for information on other Random House Australia teachers’ resources and great books for the classroom.
Copyright © Random House Australia 2013
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Australia’s Greatest People & Their Achievements
Linsay Knight
ABOUT THE BOOK
In Australia's Greatest People and Their Achievements, you will discover many stories about great Australians who have helped shaped our nation.
Australia is a young country, but in the short time since our recorded history began we have achieved remarkable wealth and prosperity across many areas of life. From business to science, politics to sport, science to the arts, and entertainment to social justice, we are a country of achievers.
Many of the people in this book came from humble beginnings, but worked hard to achieve their dreams. These stories will show you that with hope and dedication, almost anything is possible.
Be inspired!
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
• Write down a list of ten Australians who you consider great. What are your reasons for your selection? Compare your list with others in the class.
• Looking at the cover background, what does this tell you about Australia as a nation?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES BY KEY LEARNING AREAS
English and visual literacy
• Interview a person from your local community and write a short entry about him/her, chronicling their life from when they were a child up until now.
• Observe the book’s overall text design. In what ways has the information and visual elements been ordered and constructed to convey meaning? (E.g. Each category is a different colour etc.)
• Choose a pull-out quote featured in the book. What does the tone and language in this quote reveal about the person it is attributed to?
Science
• Choose one person from the Nobel Prize Winner list on page 70. Research and write a short summary outlining how their achievement has contributed to science and medicine.
• The people acknowledged in the Science and Medicine category cover a range of scientific areas. Make a list of these terms and define what each of them mean. (E.g. microbiology, astronomy, etc.)
• Imagine you were a doctor or scientist. What area of science would you like to specialise in, and what would you like to achieve in that given area?
History and politics
• Visit a local museum and, as a class, make a list of new things you’ve discovered about the history of that area.
• Visit a historical site relevant to Australian colonial history (e.g. Botany Bay etc.), and imagine landing at this site for the first time. Describe your first impressions – the sights, smells and sensations you would experience.
• Dress up as an Australian pioneer mentioned in the book, and give a five-minute presentation – describing your area of expertise and main achievement – to the class.
• List the main political parties of Australia. Choose one party and research its history, outlining how the party has evolved throughout the years.
Arts
• Choose an artwork created by an Australian artist (e.g. The Drover’s Wife by Russell Drysdale, Still Life with Pink Fish by Margaret Olley , Sunbaker by Max Dupain etc.) and consider the visual philosophy behind the work.
• Create a self-portrait of yourself using whatever medium you’d like (e.g. pencil, paint, charcoal etc.). What were your reasons for choosing this medium to?
• Listen to Joan Sutherland’s operatic rendition of ‘Home Sweet Home’ (). What do you think this song is about?
• Write a poem about what you think being Australian means to you, and recite this to the class.
Design
• In groups of four, construct an iconic Australian structure (e.g. Harbour Bridge, Parliament House etc.) out of matchsticks and plasticine and present this to the class.
• Imagine you were entering a competition to design a new city in Australia. Draw a rough sketch of how you’d like your city to look and explain the idea behind your design.
• Design an article of clothing and present your drawing to the class. What do you think makes your design unique to others’?
Society & culture
• Who is your favourite Australian celebrity (e.g. actor, singer, entertainer, sporting hero) and why? What is it about their work and achievements that you think make him/her a national icon?
• Pretend that you are starting up your own business. As part of your plans, list the following:
o The product/aim of your business
o The name of your business
o Your target market
o How you would sell your product
Present your business plans to the rest of the class and compare your ideas. Which business would you support?
• What do you think could make society a better place? Focus on a social concern that you’d like to improve (e.g. social welfare; environmental awareness) and present a 3-minute speech to your classmates on how you think this can be solved.
WORKSHEET: Prose Analysis
Read Dorothea Mackellar’s classic poem on Australia titled ‘My Country’ (1905), which was originally called ‘Core of My Heart’.
‘My Country’ by Dorothea Mackellar
The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!
A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die –
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold -
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.
An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land –
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand –
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.
1. What literacy devices does the poet use to convey how she sees ‘her’ country? List these down and find examples of each.
2. Mackellar’s language alludes to the natural landscape of Australia, in particular, the rural outback. How do these descriptions compare to the more metropolitan areas of the country? Write down a list of adjectives that you would associate with the city.
3. Choose a description from this poem and provide a visual interpretation of it through a sketch or painting.
WORKSHEET: Language
In Australia’s Greatest People & Their Achievements, a range of different terminology specific to the different categories – Pioneering Australians, Politics, Science and Medicine, Architecture and Design, Fine Arts, Literature, Entertainment, Sport, Business and Social Justice – are used. Can you link the below terms to their most relevant categories?
|Term | |Category |
|circumnavigation | |Social Justice |
|Federal Parliament | |Architecture and Design |
|ophthalmology | |Entertainment |
|Pritzker Prize | |Pioneering Australians |
|impressionism | |Sport |
|published | |Science and Medicine |
|cinema | |Business |
|entrepreneurial | |Literature |
|philanthropy | |Fine Arts |
|batsman | |Politics |
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Australia’s Greatest People & Their Achievements Linsay Knight
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