First Nations Australians are advised that this task is based on stories of the Stolen Generations.

Help your students to develop their understanding of the Stolen Generations and comprehension skills with the Message in a Bottle Craftivity task, which they will complete following the reading of a story, such as ‘Stolen Girl’ by Trina Saffioti, ‘Took the Children Away’ by Archie Roach or ‘The Burnt Stick’ by Anthony Hill.

This task requires students to infer what a character from the story might write to their family if they had the opportunity to send a secret message in a bottle to them.

Each student will compose their letter and accordion-fold it along the dotted lines. Then, they will cut out the bottle template, including cutting it along the dotted line to make two parts. Finally, glue is added to the grey tabs of the letter which is attached to the back of the bottle pieces so that the letter can be hidden behind the bottle or be revealed when the two bottle pieces are pulled apart.

We recommend that you print the bottle page on cardstock. Colour and black and white versions of this resource have been included.

If you require alternate texts related to the Stolen Generations, see the list below. While these texts can be used across year levels, consider the needs of your class before using a text recommended for an older age group. Please note that some of these suggestions may not suit the requirements of this particular task.

Recommended texts for Year 4 students:

• Stolen Girl by Trina Saffioti
• Sorry Day by Coral Vass
• Found by Bruce Pascoe

Recommended texts for Year 5 students:

• Who Am I? by Anita Heiss
• They Took the Children Away by Archie Roach
• Stories for Simon by Lisa Miranda Sarzin

Recommended texts for Year 6 students:

• The Burnt Stick by Anthony Hill
• Sister Heart by Sally Morgan
• Rabbit-Proof Fence film