Categories
Drama Early Childhood Ecosystems English F-2 First Nations Knowledges and Perspectives Geography Habitats Human Impact Science

The Long Way Home

Bright the Sugar Glider gets blown away from her home in a storm. With the help of Digby the Wombat and other friendly animals, can she find her way back again?
Help young children develop empathy, connect with their local environment, value our native creatures, and consider ways they can help to protect their homes.

Image from Freepik (www.freepik.com)
Long Way Home_Full lesson plansDownload
Long Way Home_Open StoryBox Participant BookletDownload
Long Way Home_Animal Masks_Leroy Sams for Open StoryboxDownload
Long Way Home_Postcard templateDownload
Long Way Home_Animal outlines_Sue Davis for Open StoryboxDownload
Long Way Home_Map _Sue Davis for Open StoryboxDownload
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Author: Sue Davis, Kathryn Murray, John Nicholas Saunders, & Hannah Brown

Sue Davis is an Adjunct Associate Professor with CQUniversity, Hannah Brown is Head of Drama at Sacred Heart High School Hammersmith, Kathryn Murray has an international education consulting business and John Nicholas Saunders is a lecturer at Australian Catholic University. At the time of this program’s development, Sue and Kathryn were working at CQUniversity, and John and Hannah were working for Sydney Theatre Company.

Year Level

Early Years
Primary F-2

EYLF Outcomes

Identity
Community
Wellbeing
Learning
Communication

Learning Areas

Drama
Geography
Science
English

Sustainability areas

Ecosystems
First Nations Knowledges and Perspectives
Habitats
Human impact

Workshop description

This unit provides students in Early Years and Primary (F-2) with opportunities to explore concepts of home, place, nature, sustainability, and belonging. The selected storybook can be used as the springboard for children learning more about a range of Australian native fauna. Habitat loss is one of the greatest threats to our biodiversity. Thus, it is important for children to learn about our special native species and also build their awareness of the environments that are the ‘homes’ needed for our birds and animals.

The unit uses drama strategies such as Teacher in Role (TiR) and process drama to help students consider who else shares our world. Students play roles of park rangers and different animals, create soundscapes, and embody the landscape itself. They also work with puppets, masks, postcards, and natural artefacts such as shells, feathers, and gumnuts. This unit helps students to develop empathy, connect with their local environment, value our native creatures, and consider ways they can help to protect their homes.

Timeframe

6x 1-hour sessions (can be extended)

Resources

  • The Long Way Home by Emily Rodda & Danny Snell*
  • TiR costume signifiers (e.g. hat for park ranger, tie for news reporter)
  • Native animal finger puppets or toys
  • Printed PDFs (see attachments) of Animal/Bird Masks, Postcards, and Animal Outlines.
  • Bright’s gifts: Shells, feathers, gumnuts, driftwood, reeds
  • Arts/craft supplies (paper of different sizes, pencils, crayons, tape, etc.)
  • Clipboards and maps of school/site

*The Long Way Home is no longer in print. We are currently seeking permission to house a PDF of the text on our site. In the meantime, if you wish to try this unit but don’t have a copy of the book, please contact danielle.hradsky@deakin.edu.au

The Open Storybox Project, using the pretext ‘The Long Way Home’ was developed by CQUniversity and Sydney Theatre Company in 2014. It has been adapted by Danielle Hradsky for the Time to Act Curriculum Library. For educators interested in understanding the broader context of the original project or going further with this unit, we have attached the Participant Booklet.