WELCOME BACK ADVENTURERS!

LET’S FIND OUT IF KINOIA WILL BECOME A MAGIC SPINNER!

SPIN BLOW THROW…ROW!

Theme: All together now
As you have been venturing with Nei Kinoia, you have been flying on a magical canoe. But do you know what you use to paddle a canoe? You might remember seeing one of the young people using one in the video of the canoe. Yep, it’s an oar!
Has anyone used an oar to paddle a canoe or kayak or boat? What does it look like?
Just like dancing, singing and living in Kiribati is a community experience, so is paddling a canoe. Try paddling a canoe together as a class!
- Sit together in a circle as a class and imagine you are sitting in one big canoe
- Choose one person to start miming using an oar to row the lagoon through the water. As they row, using clear and strong movements and a clear voice, they can repeat ‘Row, buena, row!’. Buena means ‘row’ in iKiribati.
- The person next to that person starts rowing and chants in time with the first person.
- Then the next person joins in and so on until everyone in the circle is chanting and rowing the canoe together. Enjoy rowing the canoe together!
- For a challenge, to stop rowing, you could reverse the process, having a person at a time stop chanting and rowing the canoe and sitting quietly, and then the next and so on, until the last person is left chanting and paddling who then eventually stops. Then you can all enjoy the stillness together of sitting gently in a canoe that is floating on the lagoon.
CURRICULUM LINKS:
The Arts / Drama
AC9ADR6D01 Explore ways to combine the elements of drama to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in improvisations, devised drama and/or scripted drama

Themes: Kiribati singing is the best sound in the world; All together now
Can anyone remember how Nei Kinoia described Kiribati singing in Episode 2? She described it as “The happiest sound in the world”.
Song and music are important to Kiribati people. They use songs to pass stories down through generations.
There are some new songs created in Kiribati culture, but there are songs that have been around for a really long time. This means that iKiribati people’s grandparents, grandparents, grandparents knew exactly the same song.
Singing and creating music is done together, like in the video below.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW and observe how everyone sings together and the movements the singers do as the dancers dance – even the audience joins in!
Notice how you feel when you hear everyone singing together. As a class, brainstorm songs from your own culture, that are passed down through generations to tell stories. Identify if these songs are sung in special buildings or locations. Western culture examples include:
Nursery rhymes such as ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’, bush ballads like ‘Once a Jolly Swagman’ or the Australian national anthem
If possible, play or sing a selection of the songs you have identified, explaining:
- what stories the songs tell
- why the songs are important to your culture
- who taught you the song
- where the song is sung and why this place is important to your culture
CURRICULUM LINKS:
Health and Physical Education
AC9HP6P01 Explain how identifies can be influenced by people and places, and how we can creative positive self-identities
The Arts / Music
AC9AMU6E01 Explore ways that the elements of music are combined across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts
AC9AMU6D01Develop listening/aural skills and skills for manipulating elements of music to achieve expressive effects when composing, singing and playing instruments
AC9AMU6P01 Perform music in a range of forms they have learnt and/or composed in informal and/or formal settings

Te mwaneaba is one of the most important buildings in Kiribati. It translates to be mean the ‘community house’.

Te mwaneaba is where the community leaders meet to make decisions for everyone. Significant events, celebrations and formal occasions are all held at te mwaneaba. Everyone in the community has a place that is reserved for their family and there are even places reserved for visitors.

You can learn more about te mwaneaba in the interview with Rikitiana Katimango below.

IT’S TIME TO JUMP INTO YOUR CANOES!

EPISODE CHECKLIST:

Set up your canoe
Check everyone is in their place in the canoe
Check your navigation points (North, South, Ocean side, Lagoon side)
Place the speakers on the North side if possible
Make sure you have Kinoia carefully concealed
Be sure you have your gifts for the Spirit

EPISODE FIVE:

SPIN BLOW THROW…ROW!

In their ‘The Flying Canoe’ adventure journal, students draw and/or write an immediate response to the episode.
Share responses with teacher, elbow buddy, table group, and class.
CURRICULUM LINKS:
English:
AC9EFLE02 Respond to stories and share feelings and thoughts about their events and characters
Elaborations: using drawing and beginning forms of writing to express personal response to stories, poems or films
Health and Physical Education
AC9HPFP03 Express and describe emotions they experience
The Arts / Drama:
AC9ADRFE01 Explore how and why the arts are important for people and communities
Themes: Kiribati singing is the best sound in the world; All together now
Do you remember the song the Spirit of the North sang about the moon in this episode?
- Use the link to the video to sing the “Moon Song” together.
- You could sing the song in rounds and/or add simple movement to the song. Like you’ve observed in the videos so far, people in Kiribati often sing and dance together.
- You might like to sing the song in assembly or to visitors to the class.
<CLICK HERE> to download the lyrics to the Moon Song.
CURRICULUM LINKS:
The Arts / Dance
AC9ADA6E01 Explore ways that the elements of dance are combined to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in dance across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts
AC9ADA6D01 Develop and practise technical and expressive skills using safe dance practice and the elements of dance
AC9ADA6C01 Manipulate the elements of dance and/or choreographic devices to choreograph dances that communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning
AC9ADA6P01 Practise and perform dances using technical and expressive skills in informal and/or formal settings
Music
AC9AMU6E01 Explore ways that the elements of music are combined in music across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts
AC9AMU6D01 Develop listening/aural skills and skills for manipulating elements of music to achieve expressive effects when composing, singing and playing instruments
AC9AMU6C01 Manipulate elements of music and use compositional devices to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning when composing and practising music for performance, and notate, document and/or record the music they compose
AC9AMU6P01 Perform music in a range of forms they have learnt and/or composed in informal and/or formal settings

WHY IS STORYTELLING IMPORTANT TO KIRIBATI CULTURE?

Themes: All together now
While Marita was in Kiribati, she spoke with a man called Maio Buratio who was from the Curriculum Development Resource Centre.
Maio knew of another story about a Flying Canoe - an old story that originated from the northern atolls of Kiribati.
With permission and guidance from the story holders, Maio shared this story of The Flying Canoe.
The Flying Canoe in Kiribati translates to 'te wa ni kiba' - which is what Kiribati people call 'the airplane'!
In Kiribati it is important to share stories but it is just as important to respect where the story originated. Stories must be shared correctly and with purpose. This is how Kiribati culture has been carefully looked after and stayed so strong for over 1000 years.
<CLICK HERE > to watch the video of Maio Buratio telling a different version of The Flying Canoe.
Make a verbal or written reflection and response considering:
- Which story you preferred and why?
- What were the similarities and differences in the story? Consider, plot, character and setting.
- Why is it important to be respectful of cultural protocols when telling and retelling stories
- Share your responses with your elbow buddy and the class.
- Respectfully explore and share stories from your own and other cultures, including First Nations Australians
- Individually, in pairs or small groups choose a story from your own culture and transform it into an immersive and interactive aural story (similar to ‘The Flying Canoe’) using music and sound effects to enhance mood and meaning
- Share your stories with class members
CURRICULUM LINKS:
English
5 AC9E5LY05 Use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and question to build literal and inferred meaning to evaluate information and ideas
AC9E5LE01Indentify aspects of literary texts that represent details or information about historical, social and cultural contexts in literature by First Nations Australian, and wide-ranging Australian and world authors
AC9E5LE03 Recognise that the point of view in a literary text influences how readers interpret and respond to events and characters
AC9E5LE05 Create and edit literary texts, experimenting with figurative language, storylines, characters and setting from texts students have experienced
6 AC9E6LY05 Use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and question to build literal and inferred meaning and to connect and compare content from a variety of sources
AC9E6LA08 Identify author’s use of vivid, emotive vocabulary, such as metaphors, similes, personification, idioms, imagery and hyperbole
AC9E6LE01Identify responses to characters and events in literary texts, drawn from historical, social or cultural contexts, by First Nations Australian, and wide-ranging Australian and world authors
AC9E6LE05 Create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, experiment with literary devices
Health and Physical Education
AC9HP6P01 Explain how identifies can be influenced by people and places, and how we can creative positive self-identities
The Arts / Drama
AC9ADR6E01 Explore ways that the elements of drama are combined to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in drama across, cultures, times, places and/or other contexts
AC9ADR6D01 Explore ways to combine the elements of drama to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in improvisations, devised drama and/or scripted drama
AC9DR6C01 Develop characters and situations, and shape and sustain dramatic action to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in improvised, devised and/or scripted forms
AC9ADR6P01 Rehearse and perform improvised, devised and/or scripted drama in informal and/or formal settings
Music
AC9AMU6C01 Manipulate elements of music and use compositional devices to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning when composing and practising music for performance, and notate, document and/or record the music they compose
AC9AMU6P01 Perform music in a range of forms they have learnt and/or composed in informal and/or formal settings