History / Year 8 / Historical Knowledge and Understanding / Overview of the ancient to modern world

Curriculum content descriptions

key features of the medieval world (feudalism, trade routes, voyages of discovery, contact and conflict) (ACOKFH009)

Elaborations
  • identifying the major civilisations of the period (Byzantine, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Ottoman, Khmer, Mongols, Yuan and Ming dynasties, Aztec, Inca); where and when they existed; and their extent (for example, the Vikings through Europe, the Mongols across Eurasia, and the Spanish in the Americas)
  • locating the major trading routes (including the Mediterranean; the Silk Road; the sea route between China, India and the east coast of Africa; and the Columbian Exchange) on a map and identifying the nature of the trade/contact (for example, along the Silk Road – slaves, spices, silk, glassware, spread of knowledge and diseases)
  • describing beliefs about the world and the voyages of discovery (European and Asian), the nature of the voyages and the redrawing of the map of the world
  • explaining the significance of land ownership in the practice of feudalism and the nature of feudalism in Europe (for example, knights) and Japan (for example, samurai)
General capabilities
  • Intercultural understanding Intercultural understanding
ScOT terms

Conflict (Human relations),  Classical antiquity,  Feudalism,  Exploration,  First contact,  Distribution (Marketing)

Video

How did the world become interconnected?

This 10 minute video in 3 parts offers an overview of the growth of information networks through developments in the technologies of communication and transportation. Part 1 discusses how writing, inventions of paper and printing improved communication between societies and the development of transport and courier systems ...

Video

Systems of Exchange and Trade

This short (4 minute) video offers an overview of the history of world trade, focusing on the beginnings during the time of agrarian civilisations. The four great civilisations of the Romans, the Kushans, the Parthians and the Han Chinese were the key players, with their development of roads, ports and coin systems. The ...

Video

Why did civilisations expand?

This short video offers an overview of why civilisations expanded, by looking at the past for commonalities and patterns. The need to expand is one such pattern with massive empires growing then collapsing. Expansion was necessary to pay for increasing infrastructure, government and the military, and internal resources ...

Text

Sample Teaching and Learning Outline: Humanities and Social Sciences Year 8

Find ideas and relevant links for teaching Year 8 History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Economics in this resource.

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 ...

Image

Unmasking the Maya: preserving the culture

This resource is chiefly about the preservation of the Maya culture in the USA. It covers the Maya Indians today, the rich ancient Maya culture that existed from 500 BCE to 1519 CE, when the Spanish conquered them, and those Maya who emigrate today to the USA in search of a better life. The resource presents the Monkey ...

Online

Australia's Trade through Time

Using an interactive timeline created by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, this Teacher guide provides 12 series of learning experiences that engage students in the analysis and interpretation of data about Australian trade from 1900 to the present day. Students study videos, tables, images and texts in order ...

Audio

Radio National: Peter Lalor's Bakery Hill speech

What events led to the attack on the Eureka Stockade (Eureka rebellion) on the Ballarat goldfield in 1854? This audio clip examines the famous Bakery Hill speech by activist Peter Lalor. Listen to Dr Anne Beggs-Sunter discuss the effect that the speech had on the assembled miners. Find out why this is considered a key event ...

Video

National treasures, 2004: Gallipoli boat

'Gallipoli boat' is an episode of the series 'National treasures' produced in 2004. The episode features Lifeboat 6, a small lifeboat that was retrieved from Gallipoli five years after it had landed at Anzac Cove. The boat is now held at the Australian War Memorial. Warren Brown describes the difficult conditions on the ...

Online

Indigenous Stories about War and Invasion

This is a website about Indigenous experiences of invasion and war during the British invasion, World War I and World War II. The resource is presented in three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are eight story objects that tell the stories of individuals, events and ...

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.

Interactive

The Curators Table

This is a web-based and iPad compatible resource aligned with Years 6 and 9 Australian Curriculum (AC): History; it encourages students to think and act like historians. Primary and secondary sources - such as posters, video and personal letters – as well as a chronology have been brought together to support learning about ...

Interactive

Syllabus Bites: Ancient India

This resource is a webpage with information, study guide and resources on the depth study, The Asian world: India, to support the Australian Curriculum in History.

Interactive

Sites2See: Gallipoli

This resource features the ABC resource 'Gallipoli: The First Day' which uses diaries, photos and interview clips, 3D graphics and videos to bring a new perspective to the first hours of the campaign. Includes additional activities and resources for study.

Text

Looking after the land

This is a resource about the environmental, climatic, natural disaster and pest challenges faced during settlement in Australia. It includes details about land management techniques; extreme and unique weather conditions, including floods and droughts; bushfires; animal and plant pests; and water management. Text, images, ...

Interactive

Syllabus Bites: The First Emperor

This resource is about the role of Qin Shi Huang in Ancient Chinese history. The resource first examines how the state of Qin emerged from the Warring State period as the dominant force before considering the achievements of Qin Shi Huang, such as the measures he took in unifying China. His tyrannical behaviour is then ...

Interactive

Syllabus bites – Ancient China

This resource outlines the geography, social structure and daily life of Ancient China. Includes links to interactive web resources and quizzes.

Text

Life on the land

This is a resource about life on the land in Australia in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It includes details about land grants allocation, the establishment of Australia's first farms, the condition of the land, the processes used to farm the land, and case studies about the early farming families in Australia. The ...

Assessment

Year 8 history assessment - Medieval eclipse

This is an assessment package that uses the Year 8 Australian Curriculum history achievement standard to gather evidence about how well students have demonstrated what they know, what they understand and what they can do for the depth study 'The Western and Islamic World: Medieval Europe' (c.590–c.1500). Students use researched ...

Video

Life in Medieval Europe: Working for a living in Medieval England

Imagine being transported to England in the middle of the 13th century. What was life like for common people? Who had the power to control the lives of others? In this clip, learn about the feudal system, which was widespread in Medieval Europe. This clip is first in a series of five.