Tips and insights
Admin SEVEN STEPS
National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.”
– Reconciliation Australia

The dates for National Reconciliation Week remain the same each year: 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision, two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey.

The theme for 2024 is Now More Than Ever. It is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will – and must – continue.

Say Yes: A Story of Friendship Fairness and a Vote for Hope

Book cover for 'Say Yes' by Jennifer Castles

Say Yes: A Story of Friendship Fairness and a Vote for Hope is a powerful children’s book about the landmark 1967 Referendum. The story centres around two little girls and the Constitutional restrictions imposed on Australian Aboriginal people.

Told from the perspective of these two best friends, it helps to explain what this historic referendum meant to Australian society.

Celebrate National Reconciliation Week and help your students understand why the 1967 Australian Referendum was so important by focusing on this beautifully illustrated book in your class this week.

Read it together with your students and then demonstrate how it follows the basic story structure with the Seven Steps Story Graph.

AUTHOR Jennifer Castles
STEP Step 1: Plan for Success
PURPOSE Teach
RESOURCE TYPE Story Graphs
YEAR 3–10

  • Demonstrate how this picture book follows the basic narrative structure using the Seven Steps story graph.
Download Story Graph

Teacher Hub Resources

One of the best ways to learn is to see examples. We’ve plotted a range of First Nations books on the Narrative Story Graph and Informative Writing Graph.

Story Graphs – First Nations Histories & Cultures
These books relate to the cross-curriculum priority ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures’.

Text Type: Narrative and Informative
Step: Step 1: Plan for Success
Purpose: Teach
Year: F – 10

View Teacher Hub resource

This resource covers the following texts:

  • Big Rain Coming – Katrina Germein
  • Collecting Colour – Kylie Dunstan
  • Crow and the Waterhole – Ambelin Kwaymullina
  • My Country – Ezekiel Kwaymullina & Sally Morgan
  • Nanberry: Black Brother White – Jackie French
  • Stories for Simon – Lisa Miranda Sarzin & Lauren Briggs
  • Ubby’s Underdogs: Heroes Beginnings – Brenton E McKenna
  • When I Was Little, Like You – Mary Malbunka

To access these resources on Teacher Hub, become a Seven Steps member. 

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