Humanities and social sciences / Year 5 / Inquiry and skills / Researching

Curriculum content descriptions

Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary sources and secondary sources (ACHASSI095)

Elaborations
  • finding information about the past in primary sources (for example, maps, stories, songs, music, dance, diaries, official documents, artworks, artefacts, remains of past industry, newspapers of the day, advertisements, rule lists, interview transcripts)
  • finding geographical information in primary sources (such as fieldwork and photographs) and secondary sources (such as maps, plans and reports in digital and non-digital form)
  • using geographical tools (for example, a globe, wall map or digital application such as Google Earth) to collect information (for example, to identify the environmental characteristics of the major countries of Europe and North America)
  • conducting surveys to gather primary data and summarising the key points or particular points of view relating to an issue (for example, interviewing recipients of awards such as Order of Australia medals; surveying the views of conflicting parties in a planning or environmental dispute)
  • finding data and information that supports decision-making processes when investigating an economics or business issue including online, observation and print sources (for example, interviews, surveys, case studies)
  • finding out how to conduct ethical research with people and communities, including the protocols for consultation with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, behaviours in sacred or significant sites, and considering sensitivities of people
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Data collection,  Ethics,  Human settlements,  Geographic location,  Information management

Online

Burke and Wills: Then and Now

This is a website about a journey in 2010 that retraced the 1860 Burke and Wills expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Topics include: the landscape, the route, the flora and fauna, Burke’s tree, aboriginal bush foods and various interviews with experts and involved individuals. The resource is presented ...

Online

Seeing the Land from an Indigenous Canoe

This is website about the significant contribution Aboriginal people made in colonial times by guiding European explorers and colonists, stock and goods across the Victorian river systems. The resource includes introductory information and 31 Story Objects in the format of videos, audio, images and text. Each object also ...

Online

History in place

This is a website about the History in Place program which aims to use digital technology to connect teachers and students with their local history or heritage. The resource has three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are 16 Story Objects, all videos that were produced ...

Online

Eureka stories

This is a website about the Eureka Stockade uprising and trials of 1854 to 1855. It uses primary and secondary source materials to explore some of the causes and actions that fueled the uprising. The resource is presented in three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are ...

Online

Digital Stories of the Land

This is website that presents a collection of digital stories about the connection people have with their surroundings, in particular the land. The resource has three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are 11 Story Objects, all videos that present personal stories of ...

Video

Carey Bros Queensland

This is a video about the operation of the Carey Brothers meat production business. Introduced by Greg Carey, the video shows beef cattle at the company's abattoir as he lists the numbers of cattle, lambs and pigs processed in a typical week and the numbers of staff employed at the plant. He praises the resilience of the ...

Video

Biomes that produce our food, industrial materials and fibre: producer video

This is a video about the mixed farming operations of Boonderoo Pastoral Company in South Australia. The farm is introduced by owner Lachie Seears who describes its size, family history and how region's Mediterranean climate allows him to diversify across a range of valuable commodities including Angus cattle, cross-breed ...

Text

Journeys and Connections

This resource displays objects related to stories of migration to Australia. Students locate and research relevant objects in their own community and create a digital story of migration. The resource uses objects from the Australian Journeys exhibition at the National Museum of Australia.

Video

Meet the Fremantle Port Hostesses

In the 1960s, Marie Novak and Pauline Noble worked for the Fremantle Port Authority as hostesses, welcoming new migrants who arrived by ship. Why were hostesses needed? How do Marie and Pauline describe their time as hostesses? Compare the migration experiences of Marie's and Pauline's families. How did their backgrounds ...

Video

This Place: Burringurrah - the boy who ran from initiation

Charlie Snowball tells the story of Burringurrah, a landform named after a boy who ran away from tribal initiation. Also known as Mount Augustus, Burringurrah in Western Australia is often claimed to be the world’s largest rock. What other significant rock features is Australia known for?

Video

Impact of European settlement on Aboriginal Tasmanians video

Aboriginal Tasmanians had inhabited Tasmania for over 40,000 years before the arrival of European settlers. What do you think life was like for Aboriginal Tasmanians before then? Why might have they embarked on a war, called the 'Black War', once settlers began arriving in Tasmania, despite existing relatively peacefully ...

Video

The British arrive in Tasmania

Learn why, in 1803, the British established a colony in Tasmania, at Hobart Town. Find out about the hardships faced by the convicts and early colonists and the early industries that helped some of them prosper. Find out about the effect that displacement had on the local palawa people.

Video

The convict voyages

What do you think it was like for convicts on their voyage from England to Australia? Would you be surprised to discover that their life expectancy on board a convict vessel was actually higher than that of free settlers? Watch this video to discover why this might be, and learn about the convicts themselves.

Video

Birds and totems

Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man Bruce Pascoe shares his delight in encountering birds on Country. Bruce explains the significance of Umburra, or black duck, and his obligation to care for the species. Bruce explains that his brothers and sisters look after other animals, such as kangaroos, bream, wallabies, flathead and ...

Video

This Place: Birian Balunah - the birthing of the rivers

Paula Nihot shares a story told to her by Yugambeh Elder Patricia O’Connor. It's the story of Wanungara, queen of the mountains, and her daughters Princess Toolona and Princess Caningera, and how their complicated relationships and choices explain the geography of the region.

Video

Pocket Compass, Ep 5: An immigration nation

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull once described Australia as an 'immigration nation'. What do you think he meant by that? Do you agree? |Watch four very different people speak about their experiences as first- and second-generation migrants. What were some reasons they or their parents migrated to Australia?

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 ...

Video

Catalyst: What is a megafire?

Join Catalyst reporter Anja Taylor as she visits the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico and discovers the impacts of recent megafires on the landscape there. What is a megafire? And how is a megafire different from a regular wildfire? How have recent fires permanently transformed the landscapes that Anja and Professor Craig ...

Text

Cotton Australia fact sheets

This library provides a series of one to two page fact sheets on a range of topics related to the Australian cotton industry including: an overview of the industry, history of the cotton industry in Australia and in the world; economics of Australian cotton; biotechnology; climate challenges and cotton; properties of cotton ...

Video

Walking on Aboriginal land

Benjamin Church works for the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Watch as Ben welcomes visitors through the Welcome to Country ceremony. Why do people place leaves in the fire? What does that signify? As Ben takes his visitors through the Royal Botanic Gardens, he explains the importance of land to Aboriginal people.