Indigenous Symbol Craft Mats
This is a terrific multi-purpose resource to have when studying Indigenous Australia or as a NAIDOC Week activity. It will also make a terrific permanent addition to your classroom as an investigation table activity.
Print and laminate these mats onto A4. Students can use play-dough, natural materials or sand tracing to explore, trace and create the symbols. You may also choose to print multiple copies per page and use them as flashcards for wall displays or for children to use as inspiration for their own drawings.
Designed in collaboration with Bunya Designs.
Please note: some of these symbols may vary by region but they are generally understood to have the same or similar meaning.
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Learning goals
- We are learning to identify the people in our family, e.g. mother, father, grandparent, where they were born and raised and the relationships between family members.
- We are learning to identify how stories of families and the past can be shared, e.g. photographs, books, toys, medals, jewellery, artwork, stories, museums.
- We are learning to understand how places change and how they can be cared for by different groups.
- We are learning to understand the weather and seasons of places and the ways in which different cultural groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, describe them.
- We are learning to identify how changing technology affected people’s lives (at home and in the ways they worked, travelled, communicated and played in the past).
- We are learning to understand the ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples maintain special connections to particular Country/Place.
Curriculum alignment
AC9HSFK01
9
The people in their family, where they were born and raised, and how they are related to each other
AC9HS2K04
9
The interconnections of First Nations Australians to a local Country/Place
AC9HS1K04
9
How places change and how they can be cared for by different groups including First Nations Australians
AC9HS2K02
9
How technological developments changed people’s lives at home, and the ways they worked, travelled and communicated
ACHASSK049
8.4
The ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples maintain special connections to particular Country/Place
ACHASSK046
8.4
How changing technology affected people’s lives (at home and in the ways they worked, travelled, communicated and played in the past)
ACHASSK032
8.4
The weather and seasons of places and the ways in which different cultural groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, describe them
ACHASSK013
8.4
How the stories of families and the past can be communicated, for example, through photographs, artefacts, books, oral histories, digital media and museums
HTe-1
old
Communicates stories of their own family heritage and the heritage of others
HTe-2
old
Demonstrates developing skills of historical inquiry and communication
GE1-1
old
Describes features of places and the connections people have with places
GE1-2
old
Identifies ways in which people interact with and care for places
GE1-3
old
Communicates geographical information and uses geographical tools for inquiry
HT1-4
old
Demonstrates skills of historical inquiry and communication
HT1-3
old
Describes the effects of changing technology on people’s lives over time
VCHHK065
The effect of changing technology on people’s lives and their perspectives on the significance of that change
VCGGK067
Weather and seasons and the ways in which different cultural groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, describe them
VCGGK066
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Country/Place on which the school is located and why Country/Place is important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the ways in which they maintain special connections to particular Country/Place
VCHHK059
Differences in family structures of families and the role of family groups today, and what they have in common and how these have changed or remained the same over time
Australian Curriculum covers QLD / SA / WA / NT / TAS / ACT.