History / Year 9 / Historical Skills / Explanation and communication

Curriculum content descriptions

Develop texts, particularly descriptions and discussions that use evidence from a range of sources that are referenced (ACHHS174)

Elaborations
  • developing a historical argument that identifies different possibilities in interpretation and argues a particular point of view with consistent reference to the evidence available
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Historical sources,  Creating texts,  Evidence,  Reasoning,  Explanations (Factual texts)

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.

Online

Research and adopt a veteran

This resource guides teachers through the process of researching the historical records of a Australian First World War veteran. School communities are encouraged to 'adopt' a local veteran. Part of the Bringing communities together series in response to the NSW State ANZAC Centenary.

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

Stateline TAS: Aunty Ida West: Tasmanian Aboriginal Elder, 1995

Imagine being told not to speak your own language to your family and friends. Even worse, imagine being told that your whole culture had vanished, when you know it has not. These challenges were faced by Aboriginal people in the 20th century. In this clip, discover how Aunty Ida West's background and life experiences forged ...

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

Gold rush

Walk through the streets of 1850s Ballarat at Sovereign Hill and learn about how the discovery of gold shaped the development of this region. What were the three distinct but overlapping eras of gold mining in Ballarat? How do staff at Sovereign Hill know what life was like for people during this time? Find out how the ...

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 history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in 1972 only to be forcibly removed a few months later. Why do you think the reporter compares the protest in Canberra to events in Louisiana and Mississippi in USA? What are the protesters chanting? See if you can find out what happened ...

Text

Bombs Away: The Tuggeranong Bombing Range

This site provides a collection of primary source documents, guides and information to support research on the local history of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory. 'Bombs Away' provides a brief history of the establishment of a live bombing range within the Territory in 1940 and local opposition to its creation. ...

Text

The first modern humans in south-east Asia

This is a multilayered resource about the theories and evidence of the origins of the first modern humans in south-east Asia. It has four sections: Theories; The sout-heast Asian fossil record; The appearance of sout-heast Asian features; and The first modern Indonesians. The Related sections, Related items and Related ...

Video

Nexus: Holden, the 'all-Australian car'

What made Holden cars symbols of Australia during the 1950s, 60s and 70s? During this period, more than any other vehicle, the Holden came to reflect changing lifestyles in Australia, and helped to define for many what it meant to be 'Australian'. Find out the impact that generations of Holden vehicles have had on the lives ...

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 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 ...

Video

Life As a Female Convict: Cascades Female Factory

The Cascades Female Factory was both a prison and a factory for female convicts in early Hobart. It was a place where convict women were forced to undertake labour in slave-like conditions to support the fledgling colony. Learn what life at the Female Factory was like for the inmates. What sort of work did the women do? ...

Online

Archives ACT: find of the month

This topic-based collection of primary source material provides a rich and varied source of official documents, guides and background information on the civic history of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory. Produced monthly, this eclectic collection covers topics including the history of monuments, architecture, ...

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?

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 ...

Interactive

Kamay – looking up

This resource explores the navigation techniques used during the journey of the Endeavour and contrasts these with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander navigational and astronomical systems that have been in place for many thousands of years. This learning sequence contains activities suitable for Year 7 - Year 10 science ...

Video

This Day Tonight: Two years after the 1966 Wave Hill walk-off

Visit Wattie Creek at Wave Hill station in 1968. It is two years into the historic strike known as the 'Wave Hill walk-off' led by the Aboriginal Elder Vincent Lingiari. In this black-and-white clip made at the time, listen to Vincent Lingiari and other strikers discuss what they are fighting for. The manager of Wave Hill ...

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 ...