This term, Year 6 students completed a Migration unit as they inquired into where they are in place and time. The unit began with a provocation around the school where students had to collect a small amount of their items in a short time and leave the classroom space. The concept of Migration and central idea of The movement of people is driven by many factors, resulting in societal change were then introduced.

Students were given the opportunity to attend the Melbourne Holocaust Museum where their ‘Hidden Program’ was delivered, designed as an introduction to the Holocaust for students aged 10 to 14. At the heart of this program, is the experiences of seven children that survived the Holocaust in hiding. Their stories allow students to hear first-hand the survivor’s perseverance and bravery, along with the acts of kindness and courage of others, that helped to save their lives. This program allowed our students to learn about the Holocaust through individual perspectives – and connect with Melbourne-based survivors through their testimonies and artefacts.

Throughout the unit, students researched a variety of migration schemes which all contributed to population growth in Australia, and the push and pull factors of migrating from certain areas to Australia. They investigated their own stories of migration through primary and secondary sources via members of their family, and were lucky enough to hear from a guest speaker about their own personal migration experience. Working alongside this unit was our novel study on Parvana’s Journey. This novel tells the story of Parvana's journey once she leaves Kabul, Afghanistan to search for her family. Key themes throughout the novel involve migration, resilience, optimism and family.

The unit culminated in a summative task which required students to produce a historical narrative from the perspective of someone migrating to Australia, which allowed students to apply the knowledge they had gained from the unit. These narratives were then presented during an open afternoon to parents and Mr Cooper, as well as Year 5 students the following day.

Here are some reflections from Grade 6 students following this Unit of Inquiry.

The Holocaust museum really changed my thinking about how lucky we are in a safe and stable Country. Kids of 0 to 18 getting taken from their family and likely not ever seeing them ever again. I have never been so grateful about everything l have from clothes and a bed to food and water l am so grateful for my life and how great my country is. - Arabella F, 6B

An excursion to the holocaust museum has changed my view on life. We went there to learn more about migration, leading into our inquiry. We learned about 7 children's perspectives of the Holocaust and their migration to Australia. It made me think about my life. I'm so grateful to be here today. The stories we heard and saw were heartbreaking, and shows how lucky we all are. - Asher R, 6A

This term's novel study was on Parvana's Journey. The story was based on an Afghan girl called Parvana. The story was set in Afghanistan during the war when the Taliban were bombing the country. Throughout the story Parvana made friends called Hassan, Asif and leila. The friends survived with the help of each other. The book was really inspiring and it made me feel more grateful for what I have. - Cara K, 6B

Since our experience at the holocaust museum I have felt a lot of empathy for the

people who faced many challenges to come to Australia. We learned about all the struggles they experienced for things that were out of their control, and how they felt forced to leave their homes. It has made me feel a lot more grateful and lucky to be in such a safe country. - Daisy H, 6B

Over the weeks in year 6 we read a novel called Parvana’s Journey. It was about a 13 year old girl travelling with her dad from Kabul, then the dad died so Parvana was left by herself. She pretended that she was a boy so that she could help bury her dad. Parvana was living in Afghanistan hiding from war. During the journey she was meeting new people starting off with a baby that she named Hassan, then a boy also 13 named Asif and lastly a younger girl named Leila. They all stuck together, traveling for months until they made it to a refugee camp. This made me think about how lucky we are in Australia because we don't have to beg for food and there is no war. - Emily R, 6B

Going into the holocaust museum as a non-Jewish member of our school I didn't have much knowledge of the holocaust but as we went through the museum the volunteers respectfully talked about the war in the 1930’s-40’s focusing on the impact it had on 7 young jewish children aged 5-16. I felt sympathy and sadness for all people impacted by the holocaust. - Freddie P, 6B

Our task was writing about migration and learning about migration and it has changed the way I think because I thought migration was just a holiday or just a new place but now I know that migrating is a lot harder than some people think, It’s a big change leaving your home and going to a new place with nothing. - Gabriella P, 6A

My perspective has changed greatly because now I understand the traumatising experiences of most people who have migrated/relatives that migrated and the blood, sweat, and tears they went through to try and live in a safer environment. - Jack C, 6A

I have chosen Parvana’s journey. I think Parvana is a great example of being grateful even though she didn't have the best food or water or shelter. I also learned that you should always be positive, not negative. In the end, Parvana was trying to find her family and she did, you also should never give up when things are tough. - Patrick H, 6A

One of many tasks we completed or participated in was when my Grandfather came in to talk about his fascinating migration story from Poland to Australia. I had already heard his story but this was much more detailed and certainly made me feel very lucky. - Toby O, 6A

In our unit of inquiry, we were learning about migration. We wrote historical narratives to show our understanding of what we had learnt in the unit. I wrote mine about the Holocaust and it made me realise that we should all be grateful for what our ancestors went through. I also realised that Australia is quite a safe and lucky country compared to some of the other countries in the world even at the present day. In summary, this unit has been good and we have all learnt a lot. - Hugo G, 6B

At the beginning of our inquiry unit the grade 6s had a task to share their own family migration story. I enjoyed listening to my dads migration story and the push and pull factors he faced. - Leni S, 6A

I've learned that not all migration schemes are about war. There are alot of schemes and they are to protect people and give them a better life than what they had before. - Milla, 6A

After our migration unit, I have realised how lucky I am to be born as an Australian. Our visit to the holocaust museum, reading Parvana’s Journey and writing our historical narrative, has all made me feel so grateful that I didn’t have to go through that and I’ve learned not to take what I have here for granted. - Riley Z, 6A

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