Bringing them home education module
Teaching and learning materials
The teaching and learning activities have been designed so that they are accessible by teachers in a broad range of curriculum areas across all Australia states and territories.
Activities have collated under two key learning areas; Society and Environment and English. Under these headings, activities fit more directly into a range of subjects for students in Years 5 to 11.
Materials have been categorised in order to help teachers link the appropriate activity in their subject area. Teachers may however wish to use the materials interchangeably.
Society and Environment
These activities provide a general introduction to the laws, policies and practices in place in Australia that authorised Indigenous children to be separated from their families. The personal testimonies of the people who gave evidence to the Inquiry are placed in the broader social context. A timeline poster has been produced to complement this chapter.
Activities to provide an overview
Activities that introduce students to different sources from the Bringing them home report.
- Personal Stories: Comparison Activity
- Bringing them home DVD Activity
- The Effects Across Generations - Three Level Guide Activity
Activities to explore Australian Indigenous History
- Timeline Activity
- Timeline Research Activity
- Note-taking Activity
- Using Sources Activities (Quotes, Statistics, Media)
- Local History Research Activity
Activities to help students understand the different laws and policies
1. State and Territories Laws and History Comparison Activity
2-9. State and Territories Laws and History Investigation Activity
Activities to help students understand civic responsibility
English
Plays, novels and film can be used as a starting point for students to develop an understanding of the experiences of Indigenous children who were separated from their families. This understanding is developed by using techniques of performance and textual analysis. Worksheets have been developed to complement various texts on state and territory school resource lists.
Activities to help students examine relevant literature
Resources
Extensive background material is available to support and complement the activities below.
- Bringing them home the report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families
- Glossary
PDF or 
Word - Community Guide PDF or Word
- Download a poster PDF
- Us Taken-Away Kids magazine
- DVD - Bringing them home
- Recent speeches on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Resource sheets summarising each area of the Bringing them home report
- About the Inquiry
- Timeline - Track the history
- The effects across generations
- What Indigenous people experienced
- Personal stories
- Australia: A National Overview
- The laws: Australian Capital Territory
- The laws: New South Wales
- The laws: Northern Territory
- The laws: Queensland
- The laws: South Australia
- The laws: Tasmania
- The laws: Victoria
- The laws: Western Australia
- The history: Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales
- The history: Northern Territory
- The history: Queensland
- The history: South Australia
- The history: Tasmania
- The history: Victoria
- The history: Western Australia
- Canada
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- Links for further study and research on this topic
It is also recommended that teachers consider the sensitivities around teaching controversial issues prior to distributing materials. Discussion around topics such as forced removals continues to generate a high level of emotion in many communities.
