History / Year 8 / Historical Knowledge and Understanding

Curriculum content descriptions

Significant developments and/or cultural achievements that led to Viking expansion, including weapons and shipbuilding, and the extent of their trade (ACDSEH047)

Elaborations
  • describing Viking craft with particular emphasis on the production of weapons (for example, swords, battle axes and helmets)
  • outlining the key role of gods such as Odin, Thor, Frey and Freyja in Viking religion and the adoption of Christianity during the Viking period
  • investigating the construction of longboats and their role in exploration, including innovations in keel and sail design.
  • describing evidence of Viking trade between Russia (Kiev) and the east (through Constantinople)
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Intercultural understanding Intercultural understanding
ScOT terms

Inventions,  International trade,  Scandinavian history,  Weapons,  Boatbuilding

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Vikings: the north Atlantic saga - online exhibition

This is an online exhibition rich in historical information, animations and source material about the Vikings in general and their westward expansion in particular. The exhibition, developed by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, contains three elements, two intended for students and one for teachers. ...

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Vindolanda

This resource is about the Roman garrison established at Vindolanda. It includes extracts from the Vindolanda tablets dating from the period AD 97-103, which documented details of everyday life for a Roman soldier on the north-west frontier of Roman Britain. The resource describes the discovery of the tablets and their ...

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Gladiators: heroes of the Roman amphitheatre

This resource is about Roman gladiators and their role in Roman society. It covers the origins of the gladiatorial system as a funerary practice to honour the dead, which gradually became entertainment. Topic headings in the resource include: Conscripts and volunteers; Rules and regulations; Fighting-styles; Barrack life; ...

Interactive

The chariot of Wetwang

The interactive resource is about the discovery of an Iron Age chariot in a grave in the Yorkshire village of Wetwang in 2001. It has three parts: an account of the discovery of the burial site and the contents of the grave; a detailed explanation of the reconstruction of the chariot; and a quiz to test the knowledge gained ...

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Rome's pivotal emperors

This resource is about the Roman emperors who greatly influenced the empire's structure and direction. It introduces six of the most important emperors: Augustus, Vespasian, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimus Severus and Constantine. Images of the emperors link to descriptive text about their lives and pivotal aspects of ...

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Roman religion: gallery

This resource is about Roman religion. It consists of nine images that link to text about the different practices and beliefs that existed in ancient Rome. It includes information on the state-recognised worship of traditional gods and about some of the diverse religions that were tolerated in ancient Rome as long as they ...

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Roman women: following the clues

This resource is about Roman women. It examines sources of evidence about the lives of women in ancient Rome, given that there is little written material describing their lives. Sources include examples from literature, state inscriptions, tombstones and the bases of statues, Roman paintings and sculpture, all of which ...

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Returning water to Hattah Lakes

The two short videos in this series highlight the value of Hattah Lakes and the importance of ensuring that sufficient water replenishes the lakes during dry times. The videos explain how dams and weirs upstream store flood water that would otherwise fill the lakes. A collaborative engineering project reduced the environmental ...

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TAR-RU: The story of Lake Victoria

This 46 minute video explores the environmental and cultural impact of a dam on Lake Victoria in south western NSW and current efforts to protect the significant Aboriginal heritage and environmental values of the area. It provides a comprehensive historical case study about the Aboriginal culture at TAR-RU and the effect ...

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Ben Chifley's Australia, 2008

This clip is an excerpt from the documentary 'Infamous victory: Ben Chifley's battle for coal', produced in 2008. This documentary about coal, communism and the Australian Labor prime minister who went to war against his own during the national miners' strike of 1949 is a Screen Australia Making History production, made ...

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Rogue nation, 2009: NSW in 1819, convict gulag or place of opportunity?

This clip is an excerpt from the 2009 documentary 'Rites of passage', the second of a two-part series entitled 'Rogue nation'. The clip begins with historian Michael Cathcart providing contextual information about England in the early 1800s. He says that in the midst of the industrial revolution, millions of people were ...

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Biography: Federation people: Alfred Deakin

Find out more about Alfred Deakin, the second prime minister of Australia and Federation leader. Examine two different types of biographies of Deakin: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: ...

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Biography: Federation people: Edmund Barton

Find out more about Edmund Barton, Australia's first prime minister and drafter of the constitution. Examine two different types of biographies of Barton: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: ...

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Biography: Federation people: Henry Higgins

Find out more about Henry Higgins, judge of the Arbitration Court. Examine two different types of biographies of Higgins: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Biography: Federation people: John Hopetoun

Find out more about John Hopetoun, an English lord and the first governor-general of Australia. Examine two different types of biographies of Hopetoun: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: ...

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Biography: Federation people: Isaac Isaacs

Find out more about Isaac Isaacs, the first Australian-born governor-general. Examine two different types of biographies of Isaacs: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Biography: Federation people: James Jefferis

Find out more about James Jefferis, a minister of religion and believer in Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Jefferis: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation ...

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Biography: Federation people: Charles Kingston

Find out more about Charles Kingston, premier of South Australia and a founder of Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Kingston: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: ...

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Biography: Federation people: Rose Scott

Find out more about Rose Scott, a fighter for women’s rights and an opponent of Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Scott: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how she was visually depicted in her time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation ...

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Biography: Federation people: Catherine Helen Spence

Find out more about the social reformer Catherine Helen Spence. Examine two different types of biographies of Spence: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how she was visually depicted in her time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.