Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy
Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy Consultant Program
Teachers of Indigenous Students Network (TISN)
Useful Links
Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy Consultant Program
The Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy Consultant Program focuses on developing classroom programs to meet the learning needs of Indigenous students identified as requiring further support in the areas of literacy and numeracy.
The program also provides professional development support and advice to teachers about cultural awareness.
The role of the Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy consultant is to:
- develop specific learning plans for Indigenous students in the program in consultation with school staff
- support schools in the development of Personalised Learning Plans
- provide inclusive resources for teachers, including lesson ideas and teaching/learning strategies
- provide appropriate professional development workshop sessions for teachers
Teachers of Indigenous Students Network (TISN)
The Teachers of Indigenous Students Network (TISN) commenced in 2002. TISN supports teachers to provide quality educational programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
The Network provides:
- Regular meetings with guest speakers addressing specified topics
- Time for teachers to network with colleagues
- Opportunities to share successful classroom teaching and learning strategies
- Current literature on topics such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, quality pedagogy, etc
- Resource displays to support classroom teaching and learning
- Professional conversations on a range of topics.
Useful Links
Reconciliation Australia 
website promotes 'Building relationships for change between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians’. Reconciliation Australia is an independent non-profit body, providing a national focus for the process of reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community.
The Indigenous Australia site of the Australian National Museum Online has background information on Indigenous Australia including an Indigenous Australia Timeline, a Stories of the Dreaming section, virtual tour of the Museum and sections for students and teachers.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Website (NATSIEW) NATSIEW is a large and growing collection of approximately 2000 internet resources concerned with the education of, and information about, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NATSIEW is an initiative of the state and territory coordinators of Aboriginal and Islander education.
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
Indigenous Cultural Affairs Magazine
Message Stick (ABC Indigenous Online)
Useful resources for teachers of Indigenous students 
(11kb)
High Interest Indigenous Readers With Lower Literacy Demands
This Koori Middle Years Link Project website gives lots of books from different schemes that have a Koori link and are listed as “High interest books with low literacy demands”.
Reading Discovery (Ashton Scholastic) has an Indigenous Collection written and illustrated by Aboriginal authors and artists. Students relate well to both cultural content and language. Non Indigenous students also enjoy these books greatly. Each title is levelled to approximate Reading Recovery level. Guided reading packs also contain teacher notes and blackline masters.
“Indij Readers for Little Fullas and Big Fullas” cover a range from simpler to more complex texts written by Indigenous people including primary school students. See following websites for a glimpse:
www.indijreaders.com.au/content.indij_ brochure.pdf
www.abc.net.au/message/blackarts/words/s936382.htm
“Papunya School Book of Country and History” is more difficult but an interesting resource for schools www.abc.net.au/message/blackarts/review/s658524.htm
Muuruun Series of 6 books – quite simple but in traditional and urban settings www.peta.edu.au/resource/pub/English/
A local ACT resource developed recently is a set of 5 books written and illustrated by local families “Tales from Ngambri History”. To order these books, contact the Ngunnawal Land Council – (02) 6297 4152.
