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| About Explore Australia | ||||||
| Main areas of exploration | ||||||
| Scroll this page down to learn more about each of the main areas of activities for exploration in this project | ||||||
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| A Snapshot of Australia - A nation of Oceania |  | |||||
| This segment briefly shows everyday scenes from all parts of Australia. The video shows the huge variety of features of the land; it traces the peopling of Australia from the first Aboriginal occupation about 60,000 years ago until today’s multicultural immigration policy; it explores the typical way of life of the Australian people today; it looks at the key elements of Australia’s economic activity; and shows how Australia has been involved over time in world events, and in the Arab region. | ||||||
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| VIDEO THEMES | ||||||
| — Land — People — Lifestyle — Economy — Australia and the World | ||||||
| PRINT WORKSHEETS | ||||||
| — Video worksheet — Climate and geography — Economy and trade | ||||||
| CD-ROM ACTIVITIES | ||||||
| — How much do you know about Australia? quiz — Video questions — An interactive atlas of Australia — Improve your English | ||||||
See video | ||||||
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| Top End Teenagers - Comparing cultures by looking at young people’s lives |  | |||||
| This case study shows a week in the life of some Australian teenagers in Darwin, Australia’s northernmost major city. We first see the young people at school. Their school has a strong emphasis on caring for the environment, especially the coral reefs that fringe parts of Australia. We also see the students at home with their family, and on the weekends when they do the things they enjoy most — such as visiting a crocodile park, playing sport, and visiting the local multicultural market on the beach. We hope that students in Arab countries will enjoy seeing how teenagers like themselves live in another country. There are many similarities, as well as some differences, which the case study shows. | ||||||
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| VIDEO THEMES | ||||||
| — Homes — School — Family life — Recreation — Ecological sustainability | ||||||
| PRINT WORKSHEETS | ||||||
| — Video worksheet — Creating a sustainable environment | ||||||
| CD-ROM ACTIVITIES | ||||||
| — Video quiz — Asking questions of the students — Create a coral reef poster — Can you save the coral reef? Game? — Improve your English | ||||||
| See video See video worksheet Go to Interactives page | ||||||
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| Sydney - Exploring Australia’s largest city | ||||||
| This segment shows two young migrants to Australia from Lebanon, George and Elita, as they discover their new city. We see them exploring the historic streets and harbour area, visiting cafes and shopping areas, catching up with friends, meeting with teachers to plan their courses for the future, and even visiting a mosque as part of an exploration of Sydney’s religious areas. They discover that while there are physical and cultural differences between Sydney and major Arab cities, there are also many similarities. It is easy for Arab migrants to feel comfortable and at home in this biggest city in Australia. | ||||||
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| VIDEO THEMES | ||||||
| — Cities — Business — Education — Lifestyle — Multiculturalism | ||||||
| PRINT WORKSHEETS | ||||||
| — Video worksheet — Australian cities — Are you a good business adviser? | ||||||
| CD-ROM ACTIVITIES | ||||||
| — What does Sydney tell us about itself? — Can you help create sustainable cities in Australia? — Can you help Frida market her designs? — Using bore water — Improve your English | ||||||
| See video See video worksheet Go to Interactives page | ||||||
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| A Farm in the Outback - A geographical study of a desert farm | ||||||
| This segment shows life on an Australian outback farm in a desert area. It should not exist there, but can because it is able to use artesian water (water from under the ground). We see how the family on the farm protects the land at the same time that they use it to produce top quality cattle; how the family uses technology to overcome isolation; how the young girl, Shannon, has classes in her own home thanks to the school of the air; how she soon learns to manage the cattle and drive cars so that she can help her parents; and how, even in this remote area, a sense of community is still strong. We have chosen this particular farm because it is a good example of how important artesian water is for much of Australia’s arid inland. | ||||||
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| VIDEO THEMES | ||||||
| — Artesian water — Family life — Sustainable farming — Distance education — Remote communities | ||||||
| PRINT WORKSHEETS | ||||||
| — Will it be a successful farm? — Video worksheet — Using bore water | ||||||
| CD-ROM ACTIVITIES | ||||||
| — Where is the farm? — Will it be a successful farm? Using evidence — Can you run a sustainable outback farm? — Can you get the beef ‘from paddock to plate’? — Using bore water — Improve your English | ||||||
| See video See video worksheet Go to Interactives page | ||||||
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| My Island Home - Caring for a coastal environment |  | |||||
| This case study shows a day in the life of Hannah, a secondary school student who is on a Work Experience program with the Phillip Island Nature Park. We see her carrying out a variety of tasks associated with the environment generally, and especially with the ‘star attraction’ of the Park, the Little Penguins. Every morning these tiny creatures waddle into the water to find food, and each evening they return to their burrows, watched by hundreds of local and international tourists. We see that behind the joy that this event brings to people is a strict commitment to actions that protect and enhance the environment, and the penguins’ habitat. | ||||||
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| VIDEO THEMES | ||||||
| — Conservation and the environment — Tourism planning | ||||||
| PRINT WORKSHEETS | ||||||
| — Video worksheet — Planning a tourist and conservation park | ||||||
| CD-ROM ACTIVITIES | ||||||
| — Video questions — Can you save the Little Penguins through research? — Disaster! Can you help the penguins caught in the oil spill? — Improve your English | ||||||
| See video See video worksheet Go to Interactives page | ||||||
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| White Dotted Stingray - Old and new cultures of an Aboriginal boy | ||||||
| This segment shows the mix of ancient and modern in Australia. Young Gabirri Yunupingu takes us on a visit to his community in Gove, near the northern tip of Australia. He shows us how he is learning to live in a traditional way — learning fishing skills, passing on Dreamtime stories, learning the special dances that are part of his indigenous culture — while at the same time being educated and living in the modern world. Eventually he will become a leader of his people, and a bridge for them between the two worlds. | ||||||
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| VIDEO THEMES | ||||||
| — Aboriginal people — Traditional and modern Aboriginal culture — Aboriginal history | ||||||
| PRINT WORKSHEETS | ||||||
| — Video worksheet — The Indigenous people of Australia — Creating a poster about Aboriginal Australia — A Dreamtime story | ||||||
| CD-ROM ACTIVITIES | ||||||
| — Help Gabirri map Indigenous culture — Talking to Gabirri — Sequence the rock art — Symbols of the Aboriginal flag — Improve your English | ||||||
| See video See video worksheet Go to Interactives page | ||||||
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