Oranges and lemons

• Indigenous peoples' lives are intricately connected with the land. It has long been the basis of their languages, cultures, economies and social organisations. Find out about the local custodians and language groups of the land that your school occupies. Make contact with local Indigenous people: those from traditional owner groups, as well as other groups who now live in the area. Be aware that many Indigenous Australians have been displaced and dispossessed of their land and this can be a sensitive issue, so approach the topic with understanding and respect. You may need to do your own research first. Make contact with local Indigenous staff in your school, district or region (most jurisdictions in each state and territory have Indigenous positions to support this work).
• The story of the colonisation of Australia is often told from a European perspective. The Europeans brought with them new methods of subsistence, establishing permanent settlements using introduced materials, tilling the land and bringing with them strange, new animals that were not permitted to be hunted, but devastated the land and much of the local food and water. Introduced species of both animals and plants have had long-lasting consequences on the Australian environment and on Indigenous peoples' lives over time. As a class, discuss some of the impacts these technologies and methods of farming have had on the Australian environment and the continuing impact this has on Indigenous peoples' lives over time.
• Ask the class to investigate local plants and research their many uses, including as food sources, medicines, goods, materials, artwork, ceremonial uses and technologies. Discuss how an intricate knowledge of the local environment and the seasons was (and still is) important. Indigenous peoples continue to have strong connections with the land and intricate understandings about their environment and its seasons. Research these knowledges and talk to Indigenous people you know. Develop some oral histories from your local area about the country, places and people and its history.

• Have students imagine that they are the Aboriginal boy in this clip, watching Sam as he completes his chores. Write an account of the work and chores that Sam completes in a day. Additionally, write an account of the day in the life of an Indigenous boy who helps Sam. This account should be based on the students' research on traditional Indigenous life, reflective of the time (late 18th century).
• Both accounts should include drawings/images of uniquely Australian flora and fauna that the boys encounter in a day.

Student Activity Sheet H22.6: Indigenous perspectives

• The origins of many nursery rhymes are associated with historical events, although more than one plausible explanation is often given for the circumstances of composition of any individual nursery rhyme. 'Oranges and lemons' has been a popular nursery rhyme among many generations of children. Sung to a tune which is reminiscent of the ringing of bells, the rhyme refers to the bells of churches in the neighbourhoods of London. A range of explanations has been offered for the origins and meaning of the rhyme, the more macabre suggesting that it alludes to public executions, others advancing that it describes the marital problems of King Henry VIII. The way that the lyrics of nursery rhymes change over the centuries is a good illustration of the mutable nature of oral traditions, and the variety of explanations advanced for any individual rhyme demonstrates the problems facing historians when accounting for the past.
• Ask students to find the lyrics of the short and long versions of the nursery rhyme 'Oranges and lemons'. As a class, discuss why more than one version of the rhyme exists.
• Ask students to research the origins and meaning of the nursery rhyme 'Oranges and lemons'. A good starting point is the account provided in Opie and Opie The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (see below). You may also like to try 'Nursery rhymes - origins, lyrics & history!', http://www.rhymes.org.uk/index.htm.

• In small groups, ask students to choose a nursery rhyme that they remember from their early childhood. Ask them to write down the lyrics they remember and to find if other versions of the rhyme also exist. They should list these versions if they do.
• Ask students to research the origins and meaning of the nursery rhyme they have chosen. They should complete the table provided in Student Activity Sheet H22.5.

Student Activity Sheet H22.5: Nursery rhymes

• 'Oranges and Lemons' is an English nursery rhyme and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches all within or in close proximity to the City of London. Explain that Sam's knowledge of the song shows his connection to his home country, England, and his status in particular as a Londoner (not a farm lad). 
• Students can listen to the whole song at the following website:
  Museum of Childhood, 'Oranges and Lemons', http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/childrens_lives/nursery_rhymes/oranges_&_lemons/
• Refer students to Student Activity Sheet E22.5 Children's nursery rhymes and ask students to read the lyrics of the song. Ask them to find the various places mentioned on a map of central London. Sam is from London. Read Sam's story in the book My Place and focus on the part when he says that when he climbs the big tree he pretends he can 'see all the way to Shoreditch', where the rest of his family live. Ask students to find Shoreditch on the map.
• 'Oranges and Lemons' can be played as a game. Ask the students to form pairs and sing the song. As they do so they are to walk through an arch made by two of the players (made by having the players face each other, raise their arms over their head, and clasp their partners' hands). The challenge comes during the final lines:

Here comes a candle to light you to bed.

Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.

Chop, chop, chop, the last one's dead!

• On the word 'dead', the children forming the arch drop their arms to catch the pair of children currently passing through, who are then 'out' and must form another arch next to the existing one. In this way, the series of arches becomes a steadily lengthening tunnel through which each set of two players have to run faster and faster to escape in time.
• Discuss with students how the song works as a communication device between Sam and the Aboriginal boy. The music to the song is non-verbally communicated. The Aboriginal boy would have learned the common nursery rhyme from contact with other settlers. Ask students to suggest other situations in which music can act as a 'common language'.

• Ask students to write a short poem or song lyrics about 'their place'. It could be sung to the tune of 'Oranges and Lemons' and should mention street names, significant buildings or natural features that are evident in 'their place' and show their sense of belonging.

Student Activity Sheet E 22.5: Children's nursery rhymes

• As a class, view Episode 22 | 1798, and focus on how Sam is taught to be afraid of Indigenous people. Focus on Mr Owen's comment in the first clip Farm lad, that 'behind every stand of trees, there are eyes that have no love'. Ask students to list ways in which the filmmaker attempts to make Sam and the audience feel frightened of Indigenous people. Refer students to Student Activity Sheet E22.6 Feeling frightened.
• Explore other ways Indigenous peoples are represented in books, in pictures or illustrations, in the media, in films, etc. Look at a range of texts from past and present and compare these by asking some of the questions below:

1. Do all groups express their point of view or is only one viewpoint given?
2. Are readers made aware of the positive roles played by Indigenous people through history and today?
3. Do photographs come with captions that include the name of the person or group saying where they are from?
4. Are all people represented in the storyline, the text or the illustrations?
5. Are people portrayed as being in control of their own lives and able to resolve challenges?
6. Is the diversity of Indigenous cultures referred to?
7. Are specific Aboriginal languages and cultures referred to, or is there an implicit assumption that there is one 'Aboriginal culture'?

• Please note: many texts prior to the 1980s may use stereotypical images and language to present an often negative view of Indigenous people or position them as problematic. Be sure to examine the texts carefully using the questions above to guide you.
• Find an article in the newspaper about Indigenous people and identify the positive and the negative language used to describe Indigenous groups or individuals. Ask the questions above and discuss how Indigenous people are represented in the media today.
• Focus students' attention on the fact that although Sam used to be frightened of the Aboriginal boy, that fear has been replaced by friendship and respect. Ask students to describe:
• What happened to Sam to cause him to change his attitude?
• What visual evidence there is that shows Sam and the Aboriginal boy are friends at the end of the episode?
• If this episode has been viewed by students, point out that in Episode 21 | 1808, the older Sam is still friends with an Aboriginal man. Note Sam's comment in that episode that there 'were no problems at all' with Indigenous people.
• How is tension built in the clip where Sam is looking for the lost goat in the bush? What technical and framing devices are used by the filmmaker to create Sam's anxiety and frustration about finding the goat?

• Divide the class into pairs. In each pair, one person takes the role of Sam and one the role of the Indigenous boy. The pairs can role-play a conversation between Sam and his new friend in which they discuss their thoughts and feelings about each other, their lifestyles, their daily duties, their roles and responsibilities, their daily diet, and so on. 
• Explore the documentary Reel Injun, about the representation of American Indians (Native Americans) in film through the history of cinema in America:

1. Reel Injun: on the trail of the Hollywood Indian, www.reelinjunthemovie.com/site/
2. YouTube, 'Reel Injun Promo', www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqVmqK5Nbuk

• Consider how Australian Indigenous people have been represented in films over time and how that is changing today.

The following websites may be useful:

1. Australia.gov.au, 'About Australia: Indigenous film', http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/indigenous-film
2. Australian Screen, 'Indigenous Australia' http://aso.gov.au/education/indigenous/

• In small groups, choose one of the films mentioned in the websites above, or choose another Australian film from your library or research online. Watch the film, a promo or a clip from the resource and reflect on how Indigenous people are represented in the film using the questions below as a guide:

1. Do all groups get to express their point of view or is only one viewpoint given?
2. Do members of the group have a range of emotions and behaviour or do they all act the same?
3. Are Aboriginal people shown taking part in the society in a variety of ways, or are they presented only in particular or limiting roles, eg hunting, fishing?
4. Are people represented with a range of skills, or are they restricted, eg Indigenous people are good at sport or art.
5. Are viewers made aware of the positive roles played by Indigenous people through history and today or is there a focus on the negative?
6. Do the images include the name of the person or group, including where they are from?
7. Are all people represented in the storyline? Do we get to know them as people?
8. Are the Aboriginal people portrayed as being in control of their own lives and able to resolve their own challenges?
9. Is the diversity of Indigenous cultures referred to or acknowledged?
10. Are specific Aboriginal languages and cultures referred to?

• Share your reflections with the class and discuss.

Student Activity Sheet E22.6: Feeling frightened