7EN - Biography - Famous Indigenous Australians: Home

This inquiry will focus on the lives of famous Indigenous people, Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians. Students will learn about the features of biographical writing.

 I  Introduction : Briefly describe who the person is and what notable thing(s) they have done.

II Personal Information

1. Birth date and birthplace
2. Family life
3. Education
4. Occupation(s)
5. Death date and location

Include a timeline of the person's life.

III Accomplishments

1. What has the person accomplish that makes him/her memorable
2. What contribution did they make to society.

IV  Qualities that made the person interesting

1. What are some qualities that make the person worth reading about

V  Your Choice

1. Choose something about your person to write about

VI Bibliography

1. Use the correct form of bibliography citation for books and other written sources you used. 

Use general search terms. You can choose the option of "Search other sources" and Oliver will search through a variety of resources. Choosing the "Advanced search" will allow you to limit to specific formats or collections e.g. Non-fiction narrative. Both of these options are right next to the search box:

Online encyclopaedias are great for short, concise and reliable information. It may be best to access these articles from the Online encyclopaedias page through the Hale portal. Don't forget Britannica has ready made citations for you to use.

Variety of reading levels Quality resources including text, images, videos and ‘Web’s Best Sites’ Read aloud facility Size your font up or down Ready-made citation

• Famous Aboriginal Athletes
• Indigenous Australia  - Biography
• Australian Biography
• Australian Dictionary of Biography

It is important to refine your search terms as your understandings grow and information gaps become more obvious. Make sure you regularly review your focus questions or task sheet guidelines. It is best to use Google Advanced Search to narrow your search further and save yourself time. Employ some advanced Google modifiers to avoid wasting time.

A online collection of magazine and newspaper articles as well as interview transcripts, images and videos. You can sort your results by publication, full text versions and even date. Online databases are available through the portal and many require specific login details.

Both EBSCOhost and Gale INFOTRAC have specialized databases so use these first. 

Suggested articles would include:

• Cathy Freeman - Beginning of a Legend
• David Unaipon - Person of note
• Vincent Lingiari - A land of broken dreams
• Anthony Mundine - Man OH man

Make sure you ask for help early if you cannot find enough information on your famous indigenous Australian. Approach a teacher librarian and she may be able to point you to some resources you might not have thought of.

A collection of preloaded information sheets are available for LS boys. These include:

It is important that you show your teacher you used a variety of reliable resources. Use the online Reference Generator available through the Portal to create your citations. Make sure you alphabetically sort them afterwards.

A sample bibliography for Cathy Freeman using 3 of the above resources would look like:

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Cathy Freeman 2015. Britannica School. Retrieved 7 September 2015, from http://school.eb.com.au/levels/middle/article/607136

Freeman, C 2007, Born to run : my story, Penguin, Camberwell, Vic.

Korff, J n.d., Famous Aboriginal people & role models, Creative Spirits, accessed 7 September 2015, <http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/famous-aboriginal-people-role-models#toc1>.