Humanities and social sciences / Year 5 / Knowledge and Understanding / History

Curriculum content descriptions

The nature of convict or colonial presence, including the factors that influenced patterns of development, aspects of the daily life of the inhabitants (including Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples) and how the environment changed (ACHASSK107)

Elaborations
  • investigating colonial life to discover what life was like at that time for different inhabitants (for example, a European family and an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language group, a convict and a free settler, a sugar cane farmer and an indentured labourer) in terms of clothing, diet, leisure, paid and unpaid work, shopping or trade, language, housing and children’s lives
  • mapping local, regional and state/territory rural and urban settlement patterns in the 1800s, and noting factors such as geographical features, climate, water resources, the discovery of gold, transport and access to port facilities that shaped these patterns
  • discussing challenges experienced by people in the colonial era and the enterprising or sustainable responses made to these challenges (wind energy, food preservation, communication, accessing water)
  • exploring how the colony was governed and how life changed when Governor Macquarie established the rule of law
  • investigating the impact of settlement on the local environment and its ecosystems (for example, comparing the present and past landscape and the flora and fauna of the local community)
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Intercultural understanding Intercultural understanding
Cross-curriculum priorities
ScOT terms

Social history,  Lifestyles,  Human impact,  Colonies,  Human settlements

Interactive

Resistance

This resource is a virtual tour of the Resistance exhibition at The National Museum of Australia showing different responses by Aboriginal people to British colonisation. See videos and enlarged views of objects and texts in the exhibition.

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Old Government House Parramatta virtual tour

This resource is about exploring Governor Macquarie’s preferred residence while learning more about the early colony through this virtual tour of Old Government House at Parramatta.

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Gold rush: level 2

Dig for gold on the Ballarat goldfields in 1865. Try your luck at alluvial or shaft mining. Buy a miner's permit, tools and enough supplies to last a month. Discover how hard life was on the goldfields. Explore a map showing the countries migrants left to join the gold rush in Australia. Find out which towns developed due ...

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Rainforest: use compass points

Use compass points and a scale to find places on a map. Understand abbreviations such as N, W, SW and E. Follow instructions to find four locations. As you go, look up the meaning of tricky words.

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Discovering democracy: people power

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore the struggles for equal rights in Australia. Look in particular at the Eureka Stockade, 1891 Shearers' strike and the Freedom Ride. Complete a related task.

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Sites2See: The Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples

This resource links to video coverage and key websites related to the apology to Indigenous Australians by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 13 February 2008. Selected sites provide background information to the apology and personal stories about what happened to members of the Stolen Generations, with a focus on reconciliation.

Interactive

Gold – shaping our identity

This is a task-based resource for students to explore the social, economic, political and environmental impact of the gold rush in Australia in the 1850s. The resource includes videos, SMART notebooks, worksheets and links to further interactive resources. It includes support notes for teachers and/or supervisors in distance ...

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Sites2See: Explore the Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive

This resource consists of selected links to the Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive (LEMA) with research suggestions, syllabus advice and supporting activities, including a virtual tour of Old Government House, Parramatta. The LEMA Project provides material for the historical investigation of the lives and times of ...

Interactive

Sites2See: HM Bark Endeavour

A resource page about the HM Bark Endeavour, the ship used by Captain James Cook in his first voyage of discovery. The page includes selected links to information about the scientific, political and cultural impact of the Endeavour's journey. Suitable for teachers and students.

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Syllabus Bites: Explore a source

This resource is a webpage with information, study guide and resources on the process of analysing and evaluating historical sources to support Stage 3, 4 and 5 HSIE and the Australian Curriculum: History.

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Sites2See: Reconciliation

This resource is a one-page guide to the people, processes, information and events around reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians, with links to music, video and digital resources and activities.

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Patrick Brennan: the legend of Ned Kelly

Play the role of a reporter in 1881. Produce a feature article for a newspaper about the life of Ned Kelly. Review a brief history. Interview his friends and enemies. Gather evidence of social and political influences that affected Ned Kelly’s life. Compile an article that explores the myth and decide whether Ned Kelly ...

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World heritage: Kakadu information display

Look at descriptions of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. Help a park ranger to sort facts and pictures for an information display. Use a model structure, sample text and images to build a description for visitors. Include sections on the park's location, wildlife and cultural importance.

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Sites2See: Gold

This resource is a page supporting the Stage 3 unit 'Gold!' with selected links to information, interactive games, challenges, videos, a podcast, related literature and activities for students and teachers, including the task-based resource Gold: Shaping our identity.

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Decimal currency

This interactive slideshow from the Royal Australian Mint provides a series of high resolution images and brief descriptions of the transition from pre-decimal to decimal currency in Australia.

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Perspectives on Kamay

This resource explores the perspectives of the Aboriginal people of Kamay Botany Bay and the men aboard the HMB Endeavour upon their meeting in 1770. It will also help students to understand the history of Australia's Aboriginal peoples and why their stories of the past are equally important to hear. Note to Aboriginal ...

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Standing on Country

The purpose of this resources is for students in Stages 2 and/or Stage 3 to create meaningful Acknowledgements of Country collaborating with your local Aboriginal community; local Aboriginal Language group and/or Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG). The Standing on Country resource includes lessons with comprehensive ...

Interactive

The Orb

The Orb is a collection of multimedia learning resources about Tasmanian Aboriginal histories and cultures. It explores the interconnections between people, Country, culture, identity, and the living community. The multimedia resources have between three and five sections in which Tasmanian Aboriginal people share their ...

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Australian coin history

This interactive slideshow from the Royal Australian Mint provides a series of high resolution images and brief descriptions of currencies from Indigenous barter systems to modern Australian currency. A downloadable fact sheet on Australian coin history is accessible from selected pages within the slideshow.

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Environmental and Zoo Education Centres – primary school resources

A collection of digital resources for primary school teachers and students to support teaching and learning from home, with a particular focus on geography, science and history. The resources were developed by Department of Education teachers from 25 Environmental and Zoo Education Centres in NSW and include Google Sites, ...