The Rainbow Serpent

Connecting to prior knowledge

A note for teachers

Before you begin, you might like to read Magabala Books’ advice on teaching Indigenous content, which is useful for any educator using First Nations texts in the classroom.

The terms ‘Dreaming’ and ‘Dreamtime’ are often used interchangeably while discussing Aboriginal cultures, but these terms (which have been translated into English from Aboriginal languages) possess vastly different connotations.

‘Dreaming’ is the term commonly used today to refer to the spiritual beliefs, creation stories, and cultural practices of the many and varied Aboriginal nations across the country now known as Australia. Prior to this, ‘Dreamtime’ – a term popularised by colonial settler anthropologists – was (and sometimes still is) used in a similar fashion. It is now widely acknowledged, however, that ‘Dreamtime’ denotes a distant and mythical past, failing to properly convey the non-linear, ongoing nature of Aboriginal spirituality and the countless Aboriginal people who adhere to these beliefs today.

Having said that, the term ‘Dreaming’ is also not perfect. The Conversation has published a three-part series about English translations of words and stories pertaining to Aboriginal spirituality. It is highly recommended that you consult these resources before you explore these complex ideas in class:

• ‘Dreamtime’ and ‘The Dreaming’ – an introduction
• ‘Dreamtime’ and ‘The Dreaming’: who dreamed up these terms?
• ‘Dreamings’ and dreaming narratives: what’s the relationship?

Ultimately, individual creators and communities will use terms that suit them and where they are on Country. Where possible, you should seek to have a conversation with the creator of the text OR a representative from your local community about which term would be appropriate to use.

The Rainbow Serpent was published in 1975 and the author uses the term ‘Dreamtime’. This resource, however, uses the more contemporary ‘Dreaming’.

Yarning circles

Yarning circles are a way of conducting business and setting up learning and teaching experiences. They have been used by Aboriginal peoples for many thousands of years, and there are similar practices in many cultures around the world.

Begin the lesson with an Acknowledgment of Country and discuss its importance. Show students the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia and locate the name of the language group that is spoken where the lesson is taking place. Explain that the language group boundaries are not always fixed and can change over time. Some are still being researched.

Introduce the concept of yarning circles to students. You might talk about the importance of developing community, learning from peers, being respectful, and recognising equality of input. Discuss what skills/rules are needed for a successful yarning circle (e.g. respect, listening, no judgement). Come up with some class guidelines for this. Try to incorporate the rules your students already know and understand from a general classroom setting. Display the guidelines for all to see.

Initiate a yarning circle to explore what students already know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. You could prompt them to talk about stories or books they have encountered, well-known public figures (e.g. authors, musicians, athletes), or significant dates like NAIDOC Week, National Reconciliation Week, or Indigenous Literacy Day. You could even discuss Australian English words that have been borrowed from Aboriginal languages. Encourage students to take turns sharing their thoughts.

Finish by reflecting on the yarning circle itself. What did students find interesting about this process? Ask if any changes or additions should be made to the class guidelines. Amend as needed.

NOTE: You can find some excellent resources about yarning circles under More Resources, including a learning sequence by Junior Landcare.

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Exploring the text in context of our community, school and ‘me’

If you haven’t already, explain the concept of Dreaming and Dreaming stories to students (Deadly Story has a good overview). Then introduce The Rainbow Serpent by Lardil artist and storyteller Dick Goobalathaldin Roughsey.

Display the book, opening it up to show the image that wraps around the front and back covers. Use the see-think-wonder routine to encourage students to share their thoughts, observations and questions about the cover. Point out the author’s name. If you have the 2011 edition of the book, you will see the words ‘Australian Children’s Classics’ in the bottom right corner; discuss what that means. Then look at the imprint page for the date of publication (1975).

There is some information about the Rainbow Serpent on the inside back cover. This provides an introduction to the text and text type.

Take a moment to introduce the author using the notes beneath the blurb. You may be able to locate other books by Roughsey in your school library.

Read The Rainbow Serpent aloud. Take time to discuss students’ thoughts and questions throughout. Pause to encourage observations, predictions, summarising, sequencing, comprehension, monitoring, and reflection skills.

Don’t try to answer every question, but take note of any key wonderings that arise from the reading. Record these somewhere visible for students to refer to later.

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Rich assessment task

Part 1

Give each student an A4 sheet of paper. Ask them to write the word ‘Dreaming’ in the middle of the page. Encourage them to record words, phrases, or images that they associate with Dreaming and Dreaming stories, along with any new understandings they have gained from the yarning circle and reading. Also encourage them to record any questions that have arisen for them.

Part 2

Initiate a yarning circle. Invite students to share their posters with the rest of the class, and to use the ‘I used to think … now I think …’ routine to reflect on their learning.

Part 3

Ask students if any of their questions or wonderings from the first reading have been answered through the yarning circle. Identify any that were NOT answered and keep these displayed for the remainder of the unit.

DIFFERENTIATION: Students may opt to research these additional wonderings in their own time.

Finish by leading a discussion around students’ understanding of Dreaming, Dreaming stories, and Aboriginal cultures. Prompts may include:

• What do you already know about Dreaming stories?
• What do they teach us?
• Can you think of other Dreaming stories you might have heard or read?

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Responding to the text

For more information about the Rainbow Serpent, read the overview on the publisher’s website.

Close reading

NOTE: For the purpose of tracking page numbers, the first double-page spread is considered pp. 2–3.

As with other lessons, you might like to begin with an Acknowledgment of Country. Students should be familiar with the protocol.

Read The Rainbow Serpent aloud again. Stop after the first double-page spread. Ask:

• What was your first reaction to the text on these pages?
• How does the illustration enhance the text?
• Is the illustration what you expected?
• What is the key point for the reader on these pages?
• Consider the author’s word choices. What interesting words can you see?
• What is the impact of the punctuation (semicolon)?

Continue reading, pausing briefly on each double-page spread so that students can scan them silently. Once you have finished reading, organise the class into small groups. Allocate ONE double-page spread to each group and have them discuss the allocated pages. Use the same questions as above, omitting the final point about punctuation. You may need to display them for easy reference.

Invite the groups to share their responses with the whole class. Then ask students to remain in their groups to discuss the book as a whole. Prompt the discussion with such questions as:

• Where does the story take place?
• Who are the main characters?
• What happened?
• What is the outcome?
• How did each of the characters feel at various times in the book? Focus on Goorialla and the Bil-bil (Rainbow Lorikeet) boys.
• What do you know about Dreaming stories?
• How do Dreaming stories connect the land to its people and animals?

Regroup as a whole class to share ideas.

Optional extension

Pose the following questions:

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Yarning circles revisited

Revise the purpose of yarning circles and the agreed class guidelines for conducting them (Literature > Connecting to Prior Knowledge > Yarning Circles). Use these principles to hold some smaller group discussions about students’ responses to The Rainbow Serpent. Prompt them by asking:

• What questions or puzzles do you still have after reading the text?
• What are you wondering about?
• What does the text make you want to explore?

Regroup to share the ideas from this discussion. Record the different responses that emerge. Students who are familiar with Dreaming stories will bring a different perspective to the group.

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Exploring plot, character, setting and theme

Demonstrate the link between stories, cultures, and behaviours by working through the following questions and activities.

How is the text organised – is it a narrative? It has features such as a beginning, a middle, an event, and a conclusion. Ask students to map the narrative ‘arc’ according to this model.

Is The Rainbow Serpent different to a narrative? If yes, how? If no, why not?

Identify the text type (Dreaming as a type of narrative) by listing the text features and the purpose (function) of the writing on each page. Look for where the pages seem to ‘shift gears’, i.e. do another job.

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Rich assessment task

Guide students to reflect on their learning by asking the following questions:

• What is the big idea in this story?
• Identify two or three contributing ideas.
• Who are the important characters?
• What is the significance of Goorialla teaching the young men to dance?
• Why did the Bil-bil boys change into beautiful parrots?
• Comment on the conclusion to the text.

Recording the responses for future reference. It will be important to return to this list to confirm and clarify ideas after more interaction with the text.

Together, identify any ideas or events from the text that students are still wondering about. Record and display any questions that students would like answered.

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Examining text structure and organisation

As with other lessons, you might like to begin with an Acknowledgment of Country. Students should be familiar with the protocol.

Display The Rainbow Serpent and explain that it is a type of narrative.

Watch the Dreaming story about the Butu Wugun (Black Crow) and the Wilbung (Magpie) shared by the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre as part of their 2020 NAIDOC Week program. Common Ground’s First Nations Bedtime Stories is another excellent source of Dreaming stories with accompanying educational resources.

Display the following template outlining the parts of a narrative:

Fill out the template as a class, using the story of The Rainbow Serpent to guide you.

Ask students:

What are the features of Dreaming stories that make them similar to a narrative? What features are different?

In many Dreaming stories, native Australian fauna are used to portray messages about how to live or how things came to be the way they are. Read The Rainbow Serpent again and identify where these messages are present in the story.

Invite students to form small groups and explore other Dreaming stories from your school library. Titles might include:

• Cunning Crow* by Gregg Dreise
• The Eagle Inside* by Jack Manning Bancroft, illus. Bronwyn Bancroft
• Scaly-tailed Possum and Echidna* by Cathy Goonack, illus. Marlene, Myron and Katrina Goonack

* Reading Australia resource available

You could also read out some Gunaikurnai Dreaming stories, such as Tidilick OR the story of the Southern Cross. Stories from other communities are available under More Resources.

In their groups, students will divide an A3 sheet of paper into quadrants and label each section according to the narrative template above (Characters, Setting, Problems, Solution). Based on memory alone, they will identify each part of the narrative in the text(s) they have read, making notes in the relevant quadrant.

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Allow the groups to reread their Dreaming story and add more detail/information to their narrative template. Then invite them to present their work to the rest of the class. They should identify the name of the story they read and take turns explaining the main parts of the story in order: setting, then characters, then problem, then solution.

Add each of these words to the class vocabulary chart.

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Examining grammar and vocabulary

Review the class vocabulary chart. You may have recorded some or all of the following terms:

Verbally quiz students on their understanding of these terms (or any others you may have recorded).

Explain that you are going to create new vocabulary charts using words from both The Rainbow Serpent and other Dreaming stories. Display two sheets of butcher’s paper labelled ‘Nouns’ and ‘Verbs’ respectively.

Nouns

Revise what a noun is. Ask students to turn to pp. 2–3 of The Rainbow Serpent and identify the nouns:

Discuss why these words are nouns and why some have capital letters. Ask students to work with copies of the book (or a related book from this unit) to find TEN other interesting nouns and add them to the ‘Nouns’ chart using sticky notes. Stop and discuss any words they are unsure of.

Verbs

Revise what a verb is. Ask students to turn to p. 4 of The Rainbow Serpent and identify the verbs:

Discuss why these words are verbs. Explain that most verbs can be acted out. Ask students to work with copies of the book (or a related book from this unit) to find TEN other interesting verbs and add them to the ‘Verbs’ chart using sticky notes. Stop and discuss any words they are unsure of.

Bump it up!

Go through some of the verbs on the vocabulary charts. Facilitate a discussion around words that are new, evoke feeling, or are confusing.

Introduce the idea of ‘bumping up’ vocabulary: taking a word and replacing it with a more interesting one (e.g. jogged > trotted). Choose a verb from the vocabulary chart and go around the room asking each student to ‘bump it up’. For example:

Discuss whether bumping up the word adds interest, gives the reader more detail, and/or changes the meaning of the sentence.

Also discuss the importance of respecting language variation and change. It isn’t necessarily that one version is more correct than others. It’s more important to think about what language belongs to which context, and how interactions within that context influence the way language is used.

Now ask if students think they could add something to a verb to make it more interesting. Gather prior knowledge around the idea of an adverb. Show students this short video and check their understanding. You can then work together to come up with a list of adverbs that will enhance the meaning of the original verb. For example:

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Rich assessment task

As a class, read the publisher’s synopsis of Scaly-tailed Possum and Echidna. Brainstorm what information the publisher wants to share quickly with the reader in two sentences. Answers may include the main idea, character(s), or location/setting; an interesting fact about the book; and a comment on the illustrations.

Using this as a model, ask students to write an overview of The Rainbow Serpent. Make sure they have access to copies of the book for reference.

Encourage students to proofread and edit their work. They should aim to write only two or three sentences. Collect the overviews and display them around the classroom.

Finish by exploring some alternative depictions of the Rainbow Serpent by different Aboriginal artists.

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Dramatic performance

As with other lessons, you might like to begin with an Acknowledgment of Country. Students should be familiar with the protocol.

On pp. 14–15 of The Rainbow Serpent, the Bil-bil boys search for shelter from the rain, but are turned away by both their grandmother (the Star woman) and Goorialla.

Ask students if they can think of a time when they needed help but couldn’t find it (you could also simply ask them to imagine themselves in such a situation). What sort of things did/would they think and feel if:

• They only had a limited amount of time to find help?
• They asked a friend for help, but that friend turned them away?

Students can think-pair-share on these questions for a few minutes.

Now turn to pp. 16–17, when Goorialla invites the Bil-bil boys into his humpy before swallowing them and running away.

Ask students if they can think of a time when they were worried about getting in trouble (you could also simply ask them to imagine themselves in such a situation).

• Might they feel like running away from the situation? Why?
• What are the consequences of running away versus staying to take responsibility for their actions?

Again, students can think-pair-share for a few minutes.

Now combine pairs to form groups of four. Each pair will share their thoughts and feelings from the previous exercise. Working within their groups, students will choose ONE of the aforementioned scenarios to focus on: searching for help OR worrying about getting in trouble. They will then produce a short performance (one or two minutes long) that explores how a person in that scenario might think, feel and act.

Each group will need to decide on a specific sequence of events to help illustrate their scenario (e.g. getting lost at a shopping centre, accidentally breaking a window while playing). As this is an original performance, students should NOT attempt to recreate the plot or characters from The Rainbow Serpent. They can resolve their scene however they like, including with a genuine offer of help OR a decision to accept responsibility for their actions (or not).

Give students time to come up with a short script and rehearse their scene. Each group will then present their performance to the rest of the class. Alternatively, they can film their performance and submit it to you for viewing at a later date.

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Exploring illustrations

Talk about the role of illustrations in picture books. There are some useful ideas in this BookTrust article.

Use The Rainbow Serpent to demonstrate how illustrations add to a reader’s understanding of the text. Choose a double-page spread and read the text. Then, as a class, brainstorm what details are in the illustration that are NOT evident in the words on the pages. On pp. 6–7, for example, students may notice the colours and details of the lily lagoon, the position and colours of Goorialla, and so on.

Place students in small groups with copies of the text. Invite them to turn through the pages to explore the illustrations. As they do so, ask:

Are there any illustrations that confused you? Which ones and why?

Discuss the importance of perspective, audience, and prior knowledge when interpreting illustrations alongside text.

Now allocate a double-page spread to each group and allow time for them to discuss the details and important elements in the illustration. You can then turn to each of the spreads in the order they appear in the book, pausing so that the responsible group can share their ideas from the discussion. Help students to make connections between the illustration and the text below.

Students can then complete a T-chart demonstrating their developing understanding of the text:

Finally, ask students to open their books to the last double-page spread (pp. 28–29). Working independently or in pairs, they will write their own descriptive sentences about the illustration.

Remind students to think about word choice, particularly nouns, verbs and adverbs. You can prompt them by drawing attention to different elements:

• Look at the people and animals. Do they seem content?
• Look at the colours of the sky. What time of day might it be?
• Look at the vegetation. What time of year might it be?

Finish by asking if students can identify any of the animals, birds, and plants in the illustration. Are there eucalyptus trees? Brolgas? Red kangaroos? Others?

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Responding to the text

Many books have a blurb on the back cover that introduces the text and entices the reader. Share some examples of blurbs for books you have read in class, or for other books by Aboriginal authors, such as Cunning Crow by Gregg Dreise. Invite students to think-pair-share after each one. Prompt them by asking:

Did the blurb make you want to read the book? Why or why not?

If you have the 2011 edition of the book, draw students’ attention to the words ‘Australian Children’s Classic’ on the front cover. Revise what this means.

As a class, discuss:

• What makes this book appealing after 50 years?
• How would you entice someone to read this book?

Finally, in small groups, ask students to write a new blurb for The Rainbow Serpent. Remind them to think about the text and the illustrations, what they liked, and how the book made them feel during and after reading.

If you have access to Sam’s Bush Journey, written by Sally Morgan and Ezekiel Kwaymullina and illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft, read it to the class for enjoyment. This would be a great way to develop their understanding of how stories and knowledge are passed down through the generations, and how we can learn from them.

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Rich assessment task

Students can use the following pro forma (or similar) to reflect on what they have learned from studying The Rainbow Serpent. Prompt them to show how their thoughts, ideas, and vocabulary have developed over the past few weeks.

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