NAIDOC WEEK 2013 ASHDALE PS

What is NAIDOC Week about? NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’.

What are some of the ways the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people used the land?

Let’s Get Thinking How many of you have seen kangaroos in the wild? What sorts of interactions might kangaroos have with living and non-living things? What do kangaroos need to survive?

OO-Roo Today we are going to play a game about kangaroos in the wild to see how kangaroo numbers change year by year depending on the availability of resources such as food, water, shelter and space.

The Game Your class will play a game to find out how the number of kangaroos change each year. Some students will pretend to be the food, water, shelter or space that the kangaroos need for survival. Other students will pretend to be the kangaroos. A few students will pretend to be a disease or a predator that can kill kangaroos. Each round of the game will represent one year.

Each year, the kangaroos will search for food, water, shelter and space they need for survival. Those kangaroos that find what they need and avoid disease and predators will live and produce joeys that survive. Those that do not will die. A few might die each year because of disease and predators. During the next round, the unsuccessful kangaroos will become food, water, shelter or space. We will count up how many kangaroos survived at the end of each year (round).

As you play the game watch how the number of kangaroos changes year by year as the amount of available food, water, shelter and or space changes.

Getting Ready for the Game Your teacher will tell you whether you will begin the game as a kangaroo or as an available resource. Kangaroos will stand along one side of the room and the resources will stand on the other. All players will stand with their backs to the opposite side of the room. ¼ of the class will begin as kangaroos in the first year. What the Kangaroos Do Before each round, each kangaroo will decide whether to look for food, water, shelter or space and will make the sign of that need. Once the sign is made, a kangaroo cannot change what it will look for. What Resources Do Before each round (year), each student who represents a resource will choose to be food, water, shelter or space and will make the sign of that resource. Once the signs are made, you cannot change what they represent. Your teacher will secretly assign one student to represent a disease and another to Represent a ‘roo hunter’ (aboriginal hunter), in addition to representing a resource.

Playing the Game When your teacher says ‘go’, both lines will turn and face each other. Whilst you continue to make the sign of what they need, kangaroos will move across the playing area and try to collect those resources from the opposite line. When a kangaroo finds a matching sign for food, water, shelter or space, it will take its match back to the kangaroo side. This will show that the kangaroo met its need and successfully reproduced that year. They will then both become kangaroos in the next round (year). Any kangaroo that doesn’t fins a matching sign will die and become part of the resources in the next round. If a kangaroo finds a matching disease or hunter, they will die too. Those students who represent the resources will stay in line until a kangaroo needs them. If no kangaroo needs them, those students will continue to be a resource in the next round (year). After each round (year), your teacher will count and record how many kangaroos are left. Then everyone chooses a different sign, and your teacher assigns different students to be a disease and a hunter.

LET’S PLAY ! FOODWATER SHELTER SPACE Round Kangaroos at start of year Kangaroos at end of year RECORD

Reflection What happened to the number of kangaroos when there was plenty of food, water, shelter and space? What happened to the number of kangaroos when there was a shortage of food, water, shelter and space? In the bush what did the kangaroos use for food, water and shelter? What might cause the availability of food, water and shelter to change from year to year? Which kangaroos would be the most likely to be killed from disease or predators?