Themes of family, multiculturalism, and resilience – along with ethical dilemmas, Jerry’s healthy respect for mathematics, and the problematic use of ICT by almost everyone – makes Hardball the perfect children’s series to explore the General Capabilities through.

Set across the backdrop of colourful Western Sydney, Hardball traverses the highs and lows of pre-teen life. When Mikey moves from New Zealand to Western Sydney, he finds himself in the thick of the ultra-competitive schoolyard game of handball. Mikey is befriended by Jerry and Salwa, who join forces to train him to become a handball weapon of precision and skill. Their goal is to defeat the reigning champion, Tiffany, and take home the western suburbs crown.

The series sees Jerry lie to good pal Mikey ‘for his own good’, Tiffany posting questionable content from Salwa’s social media account, and Salwa struggling with self- and social management in school contexts. These storylines and more illustrate General Capabilities content for primary students in an engaging and age-appropriate way. 

The Hardball Teaching Toolkit outlines three learning tasks for each of the General Capabilities, all aimed at Years 3-6 students. All tasks also align with content in the Australian Curriculum: English.

This resource is available now as a free download from the ACTF website. Teachers, we would love to hear your feedback on the resource, and how you are using Hardball in your own classroom.

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