20927_Quick_themes_Harmony_Day

Quick themes (Harmony Day)
Published by R.I.C. Publications ® 2019
Copyright © R.I.C. Publications ® 2019
RIC–20927
Copyright Notice
A number of pages in this book are worksheets.
The publisher licenses the individual teacher
who purchased this book to photocopy these
pages to hand out to students in their own
classes.
Except as allowed under the Copyright Act 1968,
any other use (including digital and online uses
and the creation of overhead transparencies
or posters) or any use by or for other people
(including by or for other teachers, students or
institutions) is prohibited. If you want a licence
to do anything outside the scope of the BLM
licence above, please contact the Publisher.
This information is provided to clarify the limits
of this licence and its interaction with the
Copyright Act.
For your added protection in the case of
copyright inspection, please complete the form
below. Retain this form, the complete original
document and the invoice or receipt as proof
of purchase.
Name of Purchaser:
Date of Purchase:
Supplier:
School Order# (if applicable):
Signature of Purchaser:
Websites
In some cases, websites or specific URLs may be recommended. While these are checked and rechecked at the time of publication,
the publisher has no control over any subsequent changes which may be made to webpages. It is strongly recommended that the
class teacher checks all URLs before allowing students to access them.
View sample pages online
PO Box 332 Greenwood Western Australia 6924
Website: www.ricpublications.com.au
Email: mail@ricpublications.com.au
TWO-TIME WINNER OF THE
AUSTRALIAN PRIMARY PUBLISHER
OF THE YEAR AWARD

Happy harmony
Teacher information
This play is designed for a whole class to perform as a part of Harmony Day celebrations. The three types
of birds in the play are different types of parrots who decide to sing in harmony at the end of the play. The
words sung at the end of the play imitate one of the typical calls of each type of bird.
• Leader of cockatoos
• Leader of rosellas
• Leader of galahs
• Cockatoo
• Rosella
• Galah
Cast
• Yellow-tailed black cockatoos (five or more children)
• Crimson rosellas (five or more children)
• Galahs (five or more children)
• Cockatoos
• Rosellas
• Galahs
Costume suggestions
black clothing, yellow cheek patches (yellow stickers are suggested), yellow stickers to attach to
front of legs to suggest yellow inside tail
red clothing with blue material pinned on arms and back of legs to suggest blue wings and tail,
blue cheek patches (blue stickers are suggested)
pink clothing with grey material pinned on arms and back to suggest grey wings and back
Preparation
• Teachers should find some pictures and information about yellow-tailed black cockatoos, crimson rosellas and
galahs (the Internet can provide this) to share with the class before reading the play.
• At the end of the play, a piano or keyboard will be required to play three notes to indicate the pitch each group
needs to sing at. It is suggested that the rosellas sing on middle C, the galahs on E and the cockatoos on G. A
music specialist may be required to help the children practise singing in harmony.
Presentation
• This play could be presented in class or to an outside audience. Depending on the ability of the cast, the lines
can be learnt by rote with the teacher or read independently.
Stage space
• The stage space should suggest the Australian bush. The tree could be made from chicken wire and covered
in bark. Large sturdy stage boxes (or similar materials) should be used for the students to stand on to suggest
different levels of the tree.
• The cast should be in the following positions at the start of the play.
rosellas
cockatoos
galahs
Note: Harmony Day falls on 21 March.
QUICK THEMES
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au

Happy harmony
Scene A large tree in the Australian bush
One after the other, the three groups of birds fly on-stage, making
appropriate bird noises. The yellow-tailed cockatoos enter from
upstage centre, the crimson rosellas from stage right and the galahs
from stage left. They settle in their groups at different parts of the
tree. The calls fade as they begin to eye each other off.
Leader of
cockatoos Now listen, cockatoos …
Leader of
rosellas Now listen, rosellas …
Leader of
galahs Now listen, galahs …
Indicator 1: Reads and/or performs a play. Note: Harmony Day falls on 21 March.
All leaders Those other birds are not like us. It is best to stick to our part
of the tree.
Cockatoo Hello.
All the birds nod. Staying in their areas, they mime eating seeds
from both the tree and the ground, making bird noises as they do
so. Cockatoo, Rosella and Galah move forward as they feed, finally
bumping into each other in front of the tree.
Rosella I don’t think we’re supposed to talk to each other.
Galah I think that’s a shame. I know we’re all different, but it would
be fun to meet each other.
Cockatoo Are we really all that different? We’re all birds.
Rosella (holding out a wing) But we all look different.
Galah I think that makes things interesting! Imagine
how boring it would be if all birds looked the
same.
Cockatoo Or if we all sounded the same.
Rosella That’s true … hey, that gives me an idea. Let’s
see if we can get everyone together.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au QUICK THEMES

Happy harmony
Rosella beckons to Galah and Cockatoo and they form a huddle,
whispering together.
Cockatoo/
Galah (coming out of huddle) Great idea, Rosella!
Cockatoo, Rosella and Galah fly to stage left and stand in a row. The
noise dies down as the other birds stare and whisper.
Cockatoo Hello everyone. We’ve decided to become friends.
Rosella We think all of you should try to get to know each other too.
Galah And we have a good idea—we’re going to sing together.
Leader of
cockatoos Are you crazy?
Leader of
rosellas We all have different ways of singing.
Leader of
galahs It will sound terrible.
Cockatoo No it won’t.
Galah We can use our different calls to …
Cockatoo/
Rosella/
Galah … sing in harmony!
Cockatoo, Rosella and Galah return to their groups and whisper
instructions to them in huddles. The groups then face the front.
Rosella Ready everyone?
With the help of sound cues, the rosellas begin to sing ‘cussik-cussik’
on a low note. They keep repeating this as the galahs begin to sing
‘chi chi’ on a middle note. They keep repeating this as the cockatoos
begin to sing ‘kee-ow’ on a high note. All keep repeating their calls
until they receive a signal to stop.
All birds You can live in harmony too. Happy Harmony Day!
Indicator 1: Reads and/or performs a play. Note: Harmony Day falls on 21 March.
QUICK THEMES
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au

Indicator: Develpos an awareness of the theme behind Harmony Day; i.e. racial tolerance; similarities and differences
among people of the same and different cultures; living together in harmony, peace and understanding.
Note: Harmony Day falls on 21 March.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au QUICK THEMES

Harmony Day
Australia is a multicultural country. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people have lived here for many thousands of years.
In the last 225 years many millions of people have come from other
countries to live in Australia and millions of others have been born here.
Create the chatterbox to interview your class mates and other students in your
school about their backgrounds.
5
6
Ola - Spanish
4 7
3
ASIA
Who were the first
people living in
AFRICA
Which of these
foods do you like
best?
Australia?
Fried rice - China
Kebabs - Middle
East
Curry - India
Pizza - Italy
Aboriginal and
Torres Strait
Islander people
2
Can you say hello
in a language other
than English?
Ni hao - Chinese
Kia ora - Maori
Mahalo - Hawaiian
Merci - French
Tack - Swedish
Can you say thank
you in a language
other than English?
Where do pizza and
gelati come from?
1
Write a question:
Instructions: 1 Write a question and answer in boxes 7 and 8. 2 Cut out the
entire square. 3 Fold in half and open out, fold in half the other way and open
out. 4 Fold the four corners in to the middle (print down). 5 Turn over and fold
the four corners in again. 6 Fold in half (pictures facing out). 7 Put your fingers in
under the pictures. 8 Ask a partner to choose a continent, then a number, then
ask them the question.
in your family from
other countries?
Write a question: Are there people
Italy
Yes or No
Write your answer: Write your answer:
AMERICA
8
EUROPE
Indicator: Demonstrates understanding of multiculturalism in Australia by asking and responding to questions. Writes two questions relating to culture or multiculturism.
Note: Harmony Day falls on 21 March.
QUICK THEMES
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au

Elaboration 1: Understands the significance of Harmony Day.
Elaboration 2: Designs a T-shirt that expresses the sentiments of Harmony Day, using suitable colours, images and words. Note: Harmony Day falls on 21 March.
Harmony Day
Harmony Day is held on 21 March each year. People from many
different cultures call Australia home. This includes Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islanders, the traditional owners of our land, and those
who have come from other countries. The message of Harmony Day is
‘everyone belongs’. Australians from different backgrounds all help to
make Australia a better place to live in peace and understanding.
Design a Harmony Day T-shirt. Draw your design and colour it.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au QUICK THEMES