Learning About Culture, with a Writing Focus

Stage 3 have continued to work on their first Unit of Inquiry, with the central idea – ‘A recognition and appreciation of beliefs and cultures can lead to greater understanding and respect’, with a literacy focus on informative writing.

As part of their writing focus, the boys in Years 5 and 6 were tasked with writing several information reports on various cultures, both from an Australian Aboriginal perspective and a culture of their own choosing, with the end goal of being able to compare and contrast a variety of cultures.

This involved teaching the boys some key research skills, in order to identify the information that was necessary for a good information report on a range of cultures of the boys’ choosing – Maori, Sami, French Polynesian, Native American, Scottish, Scandinavian, Greek, to name but a few. The boys focused their research on what were considered to be four of the ‘key elements’ that make up a culture – languages, norms, values and symbols.

The boys also spent time dissecting what a ‘good’ information report actually looks like, examining the key features and trying to incorporate them into their own writing. This was initially done collaboratively as the boys worked together to draft and publish an information report on Australian Aboriginal culture, before moving onto writing their own reports, each time going through a researching, drafting and final publishing stage.

It has been a great first unit for the boys, as they have explored their own cultural backgrounds, the backgrounds of their peers and continued to learn about appreciating the diversity of the world around them.

Sam Watson – Year 5 Teacher