Citizenship learning through Geography

 Dear parents and carers,

 

What?

This term our HASS focus will be citizenship and geography. We will be learning about the relationship of our city, Launceston, to one of our Sister Cities in Asia.

Ikeda, Japan

Our class will be learning about our connections to different places. We will look at areas such as tourism, cultural differences, and life for Year 6 students in this part of the world. We will also look at individuals' experiences of life as a new citizen of Australia, migrating from a country in Asia. This will also help us learn more about Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia, one of the cross-curriculum priorities of the Australian Curriculum.

Why?

Australia has many connections with countries in Asia, and it influences our lives in tourism, food, entertainment and manufacturing (Medcalf, 2018). Learning more about Asia will prepare students to continue fostering these connections in the future, better preparing them for global business and education (Schultz et al., 2009).

It is my hope that our class will become more empathetic and appreciative of the connections between these two places (ACARA, 2018). In comparing the similarities and differences in citizenship between Australia and Asia, we will gain an understanding of our role as citizens both locally and globally (Gerritsen & Riello, 2015).

Students will be developing their skills in personal and social capability, and intercultural understanding. These general capabilities are important for students to be able to participate fully as active citizens our our world.

How?

As a gift to Launceston in 1965, Ikeda gave an exhibit of Japanese macaques. We will visit the exhibit in City Park and discuss questions about the park.

• Why was this gift given?
• What part does City Park play in our culture in Launceston?
• Are there any other Asian influences here we can see?

We will explore the relationship between Launceston and Ikeda using sources like historical records and newspaper articles to learn about education and tourism partnerships.

We will be considering how our lives have been impacted by Asia. For a whole day, students will be creating a log of the parts of their day that were possible because of Asia. For example, did you read an anime comic in recess or go to karate practice after school?

Students will also have the opportunity to write letters to a Japanese pen-pal at our sister school.

Using their log and information on connections between the cities, students will create a poster on how their life as a citizen of Australia has been impacted by Asia. This will encourage deep analytical and creative thinking as students consider the connections between their culture and the rest of the world (Walton, Priest, & Paradies, 2013).

How can you help?

• Alongside your child, think and discuss about the impact of Asia on Australia
• Assist in logging parts of the day with Asian influence
• Share with your child your experience of being a citizen of Australia and how you have been impacted by other cultures

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2018. HASS. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/

Gerritsen, A., & Riello, G. (2015). The global lives of things: the material culture of connections in the early modern world. New York, NY: Routledge.

Medcalf, R. (2018). Reimagining Asia: From Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific. In International Relations and Asia’s Southern Tier (pp. 9-28). Springer, Singapore.

Schultz, L., Guevara, J. R., Ratnam, S., Wierenga, A., Wyn, J., & Sowerby, C. (2009). Global connections:‘a tool for active citizenship’. Development in Practice, 19(8), 1023-1034.

Walton, J., Priest, N., & Paradies, Y. (2013). Identifying and developing effective approaches to foster intercultural understanding in schools. Intercultural education, 24(3), 181-194.