To see Mr Aiston and class's original post, click below...

Stories Around the Campfire

Hello Mr Aiston and class,

Stories of Vikings sailing long distances for trade and raid would be interesting. Their belief in Valhalla and Odin alone would capture our imaginations. Thor was always a favourite character of mine.

For children in Australia, stories of Vikings might also be shared but, as a scout, spooky stories designed to scare everyone were very popular. With the rich Aboriginal cultures in Australia, a class campfire might also add stories from various Aboriginal language groups. Did you know there were many Aboriginal language groups/dialects in Australia, each with their own culture and heritage? The sad part is many dialects and stories have already been lost. Here is a link to a map of Aboriginal language groups...

Indigenous Language Map

The traditional owners of the land in my area are the Yuin people. The map allows you to magnify parts using your mouse. Here's a discovery task...

Can you find the Yuin people's area?

(hint: It's coloured yellow and is on the bottom right area of mainland Australia.)

One of my favourite stories from the Aboriginal Dreaming speaks of the Rainbow Serpent. The Rainbow Serpent is a creation story explaining how the mountains, valleys, animals and plants came into being. If you would like to hear one of the Dreaming stories about the Rainbow Serpent, here is an excellent You Tube clip with which to watch and listen (in full screen mode would be good)…

This video clip is not mine. It appears on You Tube.

Here is a photo I have taken of a rainbow lorikeet. Could it be one of the brothers?

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

There are so many stories from around our great world, so many we have already lost to the past. We could spend a lifetime trying to discover them all.

It makes me wonder, what stories will you add to human history? I think everyone has stories to tell. I'm sure you've already written some in class. Every new story we create can add to all those coming before.

@RossMannell

Teacher (retired), N.S.W., Australia