Humanities and social sciences / Year 7 / Inquiry and skills / Analysing

Curriculum content descriptions

Examine primary sources and secondary sources to determine their origin, purpose and reliability (ACHASSI156)

Elaborations
  • considering relevance and validity when choosing sources and gathering data and information about historical, geographical, social, economic and business issues or events (for example, the relevance of documents written at the time of an event; the validity of personal observations made during fieldwork)
  • differentiating between primary sources in history (those from the time of the event/person/site being investigated) and secondary sources (those that represent later interpretations)
  • comparing the different types of primary sources appropriate to history, geography, civics and citizenship, and economics and business, and explaining reasons for the differences
  • identifying who in a source is conveying information about a past or present event and suggesting whose voice may be absent (for example, women, children, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples, slaves, religious leaders)
  • using a range of methods to determine the origin, purpose and reliability of different sources, such as determining when the source was written, why it was written and by whom
  • discussing the difficulties in identifying the origin and purpose of some sources (for example, the Kimberley Bradshaw paintings)
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Authenticity (Texts),  Historical sources

Assessment

Year 7 history assessment - Investigating the ancient past: A history mystery

This is an assessment package that uses the Year 7 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 'Investigating the Ancient Past' (between 60 000BC–c.650 AD). Using the context ...

Video

World’s first bakers?

When did humans begin grinding seeds to make flour? Many people believe bread-making began in Egypt or Mesopotamia as long as 17,000 years ago. Archaeologists have recently found evidence that Indigenous Australians were producing flour 65,000 years ago. Were they the world’s first bakers?

Online

William Buckley

This is a website about William Buckley, an infamous convict that arrived in Victoria from England in 1803 and escaped European settlement. The resource presents: Buckley’s life after he escaped from settlement: details of the 32 years he spent with the Wathaurang people: and depicts his meeting with the colonising party, ...

Video

Untold Stories, Ep 14: Who was the first Anzac to step ashore the beaches of Gallipoli?

Since 1915, there has been debate over who was the first Australian soldier to step ashore at Gallipoli. The people of Maryborough, Queensland, claim it was Lieutenant Duncan Chapman. What evidence is there that Lieutenant Duncan Chapman was the first Anzac ashore? How has the community of Maryborough commemorated his life?

Video

Untold Stories, Ep 12: The submarine that ran amok at Gallipoli

Alec Nichols was a farm boy from the Sunshine Coast who joined the navy at the age of 18. During World War I, he was one of 35 men on the AE2 submarine that broke through enemy lines in the Dardanelles strait. After five days of sustained attacks from the Turkish navy, the submarine had to surface. The men were captured ...

Video

Understanding the past

In this resource Thomas Keneally addresses the importance of understanding Australia’s past with particular emphasis on Australia’s strong tradition of democratic action and democratic institutions.

Interactive

Treasures of American history - online exhibition

This is an online exhibition showing the objects, artefacts and images that make up some of the treasures of US history. The treasures shown in this exhibition document eight of the challenging situations and issues that have helped to shape the USA. Topics include: revolution and the new nation; slavery; western expansion; ...

Video

Tour of NSW Government House

This resource is a YouTube playlist containing a series of videos taken as a group of senior high school students are given a guided tour of NSW Government House in 2010. The tour covers primary sources such as architecture, furniture and images significant to the history of Australia and NSW.

Text

Thomas Keneally – more resources on Thomas Keneally

This resource is a page with web links to interviews, articles and book reviews. PDF

Video

Thomas Keneally – fascinating facts about Aboriginal people

In this resource Thomas Keneally speaks about the extraordinary things he discovered about Aboriginal people from a archaeological dig at Brewarrina.

Video

Thomas Keneally – Lachlan Macquarie

In this resource Thomas Keneally assesses Macquarie’s role in development of NSW.

Video

The use of images

In this resource Thomas Keneally reveals his reasons for choosing the images in 'Australians: Origins to Eureka'.

Video

The significance of Bennelong Point

In this resource Thomas Keneally speaks about the significance of Bennelong Point and the relationship between Governor Phillip and Bennelong. Learncast video.

Video

The significance of Bennelong

In this resource Thomas Keneally speaks about the significance of Bennelong and contrasts him with Pemulwuy.

Video

The research process

In this resource Thomas Keneally reveals the sources he used to uncover the details about early life in Australia.

Video

The history in the journey

In this resource Thomas Keneally speaks about telling the history of Australia using the journeys of people who lived it.

Video

The historical legacy of John Glover

English artist John Glover emigrated to Van Diemen's Land in 1831. He settled on a generous land grant called "Patterdale", near Deddington in northern Tasmania. Many of Glover’s artworks provide historical records of the people, plants and animals who lived in the area, as well as the changes wrought by European settlement.

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

The Snowy Mountains Scheme

How did the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme come to be Australia's greatest economic achievement in the decades following World War II? In this clip, discover what Australia hoped to accomplish through the scheme, and some of the sacrifices that were made for it. Also learn what life was like for migrants from war-devastated ...

Online

The First Fleet - dataset collections

The dataset provides information about 780 of the convicts transported to Australia on the First Fleet ships 'Alexander', 'Charlotte', 'Lady Penrhyn', 'Friendship', 'Prince of Wales' and 'Scarborough' in 1788. The dataset includes information on items such as the convict's name, occupation, crime, date of trial and term ...