Territories: FOUNDATION - HASS - Engage
A possum disturbs Old Dog, and a ‘cranky’ magpie swoops at anyone who steps into the backyard. Little J and Big Cuz share a room and when Little J steps on Big Cuz’s art project, a disagreement over territory ensues. The result is a clear dividing line to mark their individual territory. But they discover they have to compromise on a shared space, and cooperate in order to move in and out of the room, and to get past the swooping magpie in the backyard. Their joint, inventive solution wins high praise from the class at ‘show & tell’.
Engage - Pose questions about past and present objects, people, places and events
Theme - MAPS
After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 12 ‘Territories’, engage students with the following activities to support their understanding about place, maps and boundaries.
Provide a selection of picture books for students to read/view individually and/or as a class where the story includes characters that go on a journey. If the illustrations include a map, don’t show this map to students yet. Here are just a few suggestions:
- Donaldson, J. & Monks, L. (illustrator.) (2010). What the ladybird heard. (video) London Macmillan Children's
- Emmerton, S. & Elliott, J. (2004). My mob, going to the beach. Thuringowa, Qld : Black Ink Press
- Hutchins, P., Rosie’s walk. (animation) (Story book reading) Bodley Head Children's Books, London
- Lester, A. (2015). Are we there yet?. (video) [Melbourne, Victoria] : Penguin Australia
- Richardson, T. & Houston, B. (2012). My home Broome. Broome, WA : Magabala Books
- Utemorrah, D. & Lofts, P. (2004). Dunbi the owl. (video) Sydney : Scholastic Press
Invite students to select one of the stories and then draw an imaginary map showing where the character/s travel from and to. As a class, have students pose and respond to questions about what a ‘map’ is, what it is used for, who uses a map, and why a map is important to people. Ask students to suggest different types of maps they encounter in their daily lives, e.g. road maps, house maps, maps showing states, countries, etc.
Suggested resource on maps and mapping:
- Mapping - Basic Map Drawing Skills, Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria (GTAV).
- Fieldwork Initiative, Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria (GTAV)
- Guide to using picture books in Geography K–10 (Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria (GTAV))
Explain and explore the concept of a map and have students imagine a map that draws their journey from home to school. If possible, have students access Google maps to find their home and have the students trace their journey to school with their finger. Invite students to make a map of their journey (real or imagined). Suggested map drawing resource: Scribble Maps.
The student maps could be hand drawn, or made of fuzzy felt shapes, or paper shapes on large sheets of paper. Students can add miniature cars, animals or farmyard elements evident in their story. Students could include places mentioned in the text and/or moments of significance.
Have students decide to use symbols and other markers to show how they move through this mapped landscape, such as drawn footprints, dotted tracks or a line of counters, arrows or seeds.
Display and discuss examples of how Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples used their artworks as maps of their Country and developed symbols to communicate where food, water and significant places could be located. For example:
- Hunting story, Birrikitji GUMANA
- The Great Snake story (1962), Mithinarri GURRUWIWI
- Papunya Painting: Out of the desert
- David Bosun
- Symbols and their Meaning in Aboriginal art, Trephina Sultan Thanguwa
- Symbols in Aboriginal Art
- Aboriginal art and use of symbols
- Aboriginal Art Symbols
When students have completed their maps, have them share a story with a friend in the class, using their map as a visual aid. Encourage students to use their map to create new stories, perhaps adding significant local landscape features and places from their own experience.