Gooniyandi seasons calendar

Educational value

• This is a valuable information resource for early childhood teachers planning the implementation of the geography and history curriculums. It is particularly relevant to the year 1 content description in geography about the seasons of places and the ways Aboriginal peoples describe them. It may also have some relevance to the year 1 history content description that refers to how the present, past and future are signified by changes such as the seasons. With considerable teacher scaffolding, the image of the Gooniyandi seasonal calendar may perhaps be suitable for year 1 children to work with.
• The resource is especially valuable for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum priority. It is particularly supportive of the priority's central theme of identity, linked to, among other things, Aboriginal peoples' deep knowledge traditions; in this case Gooniyandi knowledge of the wind, weather and seasons, key plants and animals, and the environmental indicators of when to hunt and collect various foods.
• The seasonal calendar and the rich information it contains are of value for the science curriculum in year 4, particularly for content descriptions about the life cycles of living things and about how science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships. Parts of the life cycles of various animals and plants are described in the calendar. Aboriginal use of environmental indicators is well documented in northern Australia and is based on sustained observation to identify patterns and relationships.
• The resource is also of use in year 4 geography, particularly for content descriptions about the custodial responsibility Aboriginal peoples have for Country and the sustainable use of resources and, more generally, about the resources provided by the environment. The calendar gives a rich picture of the resources provided by environments in the Fitzroy and Margaret Rivers areas of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Year level

1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7

Topics Calendars Land custodianship Weather Environmental management Sustainable development Habitats Animal reproduction Living things Attitudes Seasons Plant reproduction Breeding cycles Natural resources Curiosity Scientific inquiry Observations (Data) Environmental stewardship Predictions (Science) Lifestyles Local winds Patterns Similarity (Classification) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Interdisciplinary research