Across Country: The Traditional Games Trail
Category: Games & Activities · 6-page printable PDF · Ages 3-4, 5-6 · Free for ConnectedPE members
Across Country is a team board game that sends small groups along a 24-space trail of twelve traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games, sourced from Yulunga. Teams roll, land on a colour and draw a Game card to play on the spot: Aim & Roll (Kolap, Weme, Gorri), Catch & Hit (Marn-grook, Boogalah, Kai wed), Run & Dodge (Buroinjin, Tambil tambil, Kangaroo jumping) and Team & Think (Keentan, Wana, Memory game).
Yarn spaces draw one of five talk-it-through cards that ask teams to sort games by skill, compare them to modern sports and notice who stays in the game. Pass It On rewards naming the nation or place and Waterhole builds in a rest. Every game is logged, and a team needs all four colours before it can enter the Gathering Place and teach its favourite game to the class.
Six pages: A3 or A4 board, two sheets of cut-out game cards, Yarn cards, a team log and a teacher guide with set-up, look-fors, a respectful-practice note and equipment table. Pairs with Sports Around the World PE Passport Stations and Group Games.
What students learn
Students play twelve traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games drawn from Yulunga, using throwing, rolling, catching, kicking, volleying, dodging, hopping and keep-away skills with increasing control, and working fairly so that everyone stays in the game. Through Yarn cards and the Team Trail Log they sort games by the skills they use, compare two games using same and different, connect them to modern sports and playground games, and name and locate on a map the nation or place each game comes from. At the Gathering Place each team teaches its favourite game to the class in three clear steps, consolidating communication, cooperation and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.
Topics: traditional games, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Yulunga, board game, cross-curriculum priority, throwing, catching, dodging, teamwork, game sense, reflection, NAIDOC, inclusive
Curriculum links
- AC9HP4M01
- AC9HP6M01
- AC9HP4M05
- AC9HP6M05
Related PE resources
- Robo Movers — Ages F-2, 3-4
- Game Down! — Ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10
- Drop the Beat — Ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10
- Water Warriors — Ages F-2, 3-4
- Sun Safe Heroes — Ages F-2, 3-4