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Listed under:  History  >  Historical periods  >  Ancient history
Video

Ancient Roman Empire

This unit of work is organised around four inquiry questions about life in the ancient city of Pompeii based on the archaeological findings and evidence of the times. The unit includes five animated videos supported by structured inquiry questions and activities.

Video

Foreign Correspondent: Mayan heritage

Discover ruins of a lost civilisation of the Maya at Tulum, on the Yucatán Peninsula in south-eastern Mexico. See what has become of the civilisation's cenotes, its ancient water resources, as a Maya descendant speaks of his sadness at what has happened to the land of his forebears.

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 ...

Online

Investigating the Ancient Past

Stage 4 Depth Study 1 - a unit of work developed around the skills used by historians and archaeologists.

Online

The development of farming in Ancient Societies

This is a unit of work about the development of technologies in farming from ancient societies to present day. Topics explored include: technology in the ancient world; life in Mesopotamia; agricultural changes in Australia; and timeline of technology used in agriculture. The resource includes: a teacher guide; an extract ...

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.

Online

Learning from Confucius

This learning sequence explores the life and importance of Confucius. Through research, students examine the historical context of the achievements and significance of Confucius and how his sayings are relevant today.

Online

Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire

This learning sequence explores the ancient world of India with a particular focus on the Mauryan Empire, the edicts of King Ashoka and the Greek invasion of India.

Video

Migrations and technological creativity

This 6 minute video discusses the migrations that occurred in the ancient world. It follows migration from Africa about 90,000 years ago, across all continents until the last migrations into the Americas about 15,000 years ago. The video explores the emergence of technologies and their impact on the environment including ...

Interactive

Laptop wrap – critiquing Carter

In this laptop wrap resource students research, describe and evaluate the discovery and excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter and his team.

Interactive

Ancient Egypt

This is an online interactive resource about ancient Egypt developed by the British Museum. The resource has ten sections: Egyptian life; geography; gods and goddesses; mummification; pharaoh; pyramids; temples; time; trades; and writing. Each section contains three elements: 'Story', 'Explore' and 'Challenge'. The 'Challenge' ...

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

Laptop wrap: Historical investigation

This resource is a page with a focus on conducting historical investigation, focusing on defining a topic, and including supporting activities and links to resources.

Online

Ancient China: staff room

This is a rich teacher resource about ancient China. It contains 15 background information sheets; 11 lesson plans for whole-class discussions to introduce particular topics; four inquiry grid worksheets for gathering information; and nine follow-up lesson plans for activities that extend the content. The staff room resource ...

Audio

Radio National: Stand and deliver: public speaking and democracy

Have you ever heard the words 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears'? They come from the great orator Mark Antony talking about the death of Caesar in Shakespeare's play 'Julius Caesar'. Listen to this audio interview with classics scholar Dr Kathryn Welch to find out what we can learn from the first public speakers, ...

Interactive

Laptop wrap: Conservation of Pompeii and Herculaneum

This resource is a page with a focus on the issues of conservation as relating to Pompeii and Herculaneum with supporting activities and links to resources.

Video

River Valley Civilisations: The role of the Nile in Ancient Egypt

Like other early civilisations, the rise of Ancient Egypt was dependent on the fertile land around a river. By learning about and adapting to the conditions of the Nile River, ancient Egyptians were able to increase their agricultural productivity to support a large population. Why was this vital for a civilisation to flourish?

Video

River Valley Civilisations: Ancient Chinese civilisation

The basin of Huang He, or the Yellow River, is considered the birthplace of Ancient China. What did this ancient civilisation have in common with other ancient civilisations? New advances in science and technology are traits of a civilisation. How did iron smelting revolutionise farming for the ancient Chinese?

Video

Why was agriculture so important?

This 10 minute video in 2 parts offers an overview of the development of agricultural practices in ancient societies. Part 1 discusses the limitations of foraging for food, and the advantages of farming - the domestication of animals and plants for nutrition. This move to agriculture meant humans changed also - technologically, ...

Video

Where and why did the first cities appear?

This 10 minute video in three parts offers an overview of the development of the agrarian civilisations in the ancient world. Part 1 looks at how, as peasant villages spread, farmers developed more productive methods of farming, particularly the use of large animals for ploughing and transport, and irrigation. Part 2 looks ...