Celebrating Harmony Week: Everyone belongs

This lesson is an ideal opportunity to celebrate Harmony Week. Harmony Week is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism and the successful integration of migrants into our community. The central message is "Everyone Belongs," fostering inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background.

Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: The Harmony Barometer

30 minutes

Find Out: Poetry of Belonging

25 minutes

Take Action: The Harmony Heartbeat Mural

Learning intentions

We are learning to discuss and justify our ideas about diversity, respect, and belonging in a community.
We are learning to identify and use imagery, including simile and metaphor, to express feelings about connection and inclusiveness.

Success criteria

I can clearly explain my opinion on what makes a community inclusive and respectful.
I can create a short text that uses a simile or metaphor to describe belonging.

💡 Tune In: The harmony barometer

Step 1

Introduce the topic of Harmony Week by explaining its core message: diversity, inclusiveness, respect, and belonging for everyone in Australia.

Step 2

Explain that you will read a series of statements. Students should move to one side of the room if they strongly agree, the other side if they strongly disagree, or stand in the middle if they are unsure or have mixed feelings.

Step 3

Read the first statement:

"It is important that everyone in our community feels like they belong, no matter where they come from."

Allow students to move, then ask 2-3 students from different positions to briefly justify their stance (e.g., "Why did you stand there?").

Step 4

Read the second statement:

"Having people from many different backgrounds makes our community stronger and more interesting."

Repeat the movement and justification process, encouraging students to use appropriate interaction skills to clarify meaning and connect to their own experiences

Creating a Safe and Inclusive Classroom

The content of this lesson explores themes of diversity, inclusiveness, respect, and belonging. It is crucial to prioritise a safe, positive, and respectful learning environment that encourages active participation and cooperation. Students thrive when they feel valued and supported, and this environment empowers them to consider how they want to be treated by both teachers and peers.

🔍 Find Out: Poetry of belonging

Step 1

Explain that poets often use imagery to help readers feel emotions and understand ideas.

Introduce simile as a comparison using 'like' or 'as' (e.g., "My heart felt like a drum"), and metaphor as a direct comparison where one thing is another (e.g., "My heart is a drum").

Tell students you’ll read out a sentence. Their job is to decide whether it’s a simile.

👍 Thumbs up = Simile (uses like or as)

👎 Thumbs down = Not a simile (it’s a metaphor)

Belonging feels like a warm blanket on a cold day. 👍 Simile (uses like)
Being included is like being invited into a game. 👍 Simile (uses like)
Belonging is a warm blanket. 👎 Metaphor (direct comparison)
Our community is like a puzzle, with everyone fitting together. 👍 Simile (uses like)
Kindness is a bridge that connects us. 👎 Metaphor (direct comparison)
Working together feels like rowing a boat in the same direction. 👍 Simile (uses like)

Step 2

Explain that a stanza is a chunk of a poem. It’s a group of lines that belong together and share an idea or feeling, just like sentences in a paragraph work together.

Display a short poem or the examples below that focus on themes of diversity, inclusiveness, or belonging.

Model how to read it aloud, then identify examples of imagery, specifically looking for similes and metaphors.

Example 1:

We are colours in a painting,
Different shades, but one bright scene.
Side by side we make the picture,
Strong together, not unseen.

What to spot: Metaphor: We are colours in a painting (people compared to colours)

Example 2:

Our voices rise like morning birds,
Different songs, one sky above.
When we listen to each other,
We build a place that feels like love.

What to spot: Simile: voices rise like morning birds. Metaphor: build a place that feels like love.

Next, play ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman to the students, asking them to spot simile and metaphor.

Official lyric video of This Is Me performed by The Greatest Showman cast from The Greatest Showman soundtrack on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxugyZCfuw

Invite volunteers to share what the song lyrics make them think and feel, linking their responses back to the themes of Harmony Week.

Step 3

As a whole group, collaboratively brainstorm a list of words or phrases that describe what belonging feels like, or what a diverse and inclusive community is like.

Then, guide students to collectively craft a two-line stanza using at least one simile or metaphor from their brainstormed ideas, expressing a feeling of belonging or harmony. Write this worked example on the board.

✨ Take Action: The harmony heartbeat mural

Step 1

Explain that students will contribute to a collaborative artwork called 'The Harmony Heartbeat Mural'.

Their individual contributions will combine to show how many different voices and ideas create a beautiful whole, symbolising inclusiveness and belonging.

Step 2

Provide each student with a small, heart-shaped piece of paper (or a similar shape). Instruct them to individually write a two-line stanza (or short poetic phrase) that expresses what harmony or belonging means to them, using at least one simile or metaphor. Encourage them to draw on the ideas and techniques discussed in the 'Find Out' activity.

Step 3

Once complete, have students share their poetic phrase with a partner, explaining the imagery they used and why. This provides them with an opportunity to present and justify their ideas.

Step 4

Collect all the heart-shaped papers and work together to arrange them creatively on a large piece of butcher paper or a classroom wall, forming a large, collective 'Harmony Heartbeat Mural'.

Display the mural prominently to celebrate the class's diversity and shared understanding of belonging.

🌱 Story of Change: Welcome to Australia

Welcoming Australia is a national movement that seeks to cultivate a culture of welcome in Australia. They work to promote an inclusive, multicultural society by supporting refugees, people seeking asylum, and other new arrivals. Through advocacy, community engagement, and practical support, they empower individuals and communities to build a sense of belonging and bridge cultural divides.

Assessment opportunities

Observe student participation and justification of opinions during the 'Harmony Barometer' activity.
Collect students' two-line stanzas for the 'Harmony Heartbeat Mural' to assess their understanding and application of simile and metaphor.
Listen for students using key vocabulary during discussions.

Differentiation

Support: Provide sentence starters or a word bank for expressing opinions during the 'Tune In' debate. Offer partially completed poem templates for the 'Find Out' and 'Take Action' activities, with one line already containing a simile or metaphor.
Extension: Challenge students to identify sound devices (e.g., alliteration) in the provided poems during 'Find Out'. Ask them to write a four-line poem for the mural instead of two, incorporating multiple types of imagery.
Literacy Extension: Research another cultural celebration in Australia that highlights diversity. Write a short paragraph explaining how this celebration promotes inclusiveness and belonging, using at least one simile or metaphor to describe its impact.

Where to next

This lesson provides a strong foundation for exploring different types of texts that celebrate culture and diversity. Students could analyse narratives or songs that explore themes of belonging and identity, focusing on how authors use language to create emotional connections. They could also delve into persuasive texts related to social justice or community inclusiveness.

Key vocabulary

Diversity: The quality or state of being different or varied.
Inclusiveness: The practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalised.
Belonging: An affinity for a place or situation; feeling comfortable and accepted.
Respect: Due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.
Imagery: Language that creates mental pictures or sensory experiences.
Simile: A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., "as brave as a lion," "like a deer in headlights").
Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable (e.g., "He is a shining star," "The classroom was a zoo").

This lesson was created by Thea (👩‍🏫 Real Educator)
+ CoolPlus AI (🤖 Unreal Robot)

Colours of Connection: Crafting Harmony

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Prior Knowledge

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson