English / Year 8 / Literature / Literature and context

• TLF-IDM017919

Many hip hop artists have expressed concerns about the world through their music. The Northern Territory's Kylie Sambo is no exception. Listen to her protest against the construction of a nuclear waste dump on her people's lands in Muckaty, near Tennant Creek. Could you write or record a story about yourself and/or your ...

• TLF-IDM021485

In 'Brolga' we explore the importance and meaning of a 'dreaming-body' to Indigenous Australians. The belief of the Aboriginal people is that there was a time where supernatural beings roamed the face of the earth. Many were like the animals we see around us today, like the kangaroo, emu, goanna and the king brown snake, ...

• TLF-IDM021479

'Bat and Butterfly' is about Aboriginal moieties and what happens if you do not follow Aboriginal law. In central Arnhem Land there are two moieties, Yirritja and Dhuwa. Yirritja families must marry Dhuwa and vice versa. In this story the man, however talented he may be, behaves like a coward when he abducts a girl from ...

• TLF-IDM019994

What inspires you to write? For Robert Adamson, the natural world outside the confines of his prison cell was a major source of inspiration. Remembering and writing about the fish in the Hawkesbury River and the birds flying overhead helped him to endure the hardships he faced in prison. Has the act of writing ever helped ...

• TLF-IDM015818

The stories we tell reveal a lot about our culture and what we value. Explore the story of the Be man, which comes from Dalabon country in the Northern Territory. This animated story is about two brothers who investigate a mysterious visitor to their home.

• TLF-IDM015836

Do you know a poem with the line 'I love a sunburnt country'? The poem is 'My country' by Dorothea Mackellar. Find out what inspired Mackellar to write this famous poem and how she felt about teenager Christine Roberts basing a song on it. This is a black-and-white clip from a 1967 current affairs program This Day Tonight.

• TLF-IDM015745

How do storybook writers, illustrators and cartoonists find their inspiration? Find out how May Gibbs, a famous Australian author and illustrator, used the Australian bush to create the children's classic 'Snugglepot and Cuddlepie' and the 'Gumnut Babies'.

• TLF-IDM015585

Did you know that before colonisation there were about 250 distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait lslander languages being spoken across Australia? Today, however, the majority of these languages are endangered. Listen to a number of significant Australians discussing the Aboriginal language situation in Australia today. ...

• TLF-IDM020847

Watch as Aunty Joy Wandin Murphy describes her experiences growing up in Australia as an Aboriginal woman, and how this has influenced and continues to inspire the work she does. What does she hope to achieve by sharing her story and the culture and language of the Wurundjeri people, Woiwurrung?

• TLF-IDM013908

This is a 13-page PDF file presenting a list of 43 books and films that explore the history, stories and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across different times and walks of life. The comprehensive list includes autobiographies, personal stories and reflections, fiction and non-fiction books ...