Lesson Plan
Lesson 8: How Immigration Shaped Australia
A 60 minute lesson in which students will investigate the experiences of democracy and citizenship for migrant groups in Australia.
This lesson plan includes the following resources:
Preparation
Allow an additional 1-2 lessons for students to complete the independent task.Lesson Plan
Tuning In
- Read the narrative text, I’m Australian Too by Mem Fox. Alternatively, watch and listen to the story being read aloud on YouTube. After reading, ask the students:
- What literary devices did the author use to make the text engaging?
- What similarities exist between the characters in the text?
- What differences exist between the characters in the text?
Teacher Instruction
- Inform the students that although Australia provided a safe new home for many people around the world, immigration did provide some challenges for Australian society in the 20th century.
- Display an enlarged copy of the Australian Immigration Posters. Read through the first five posters (Internment Camps, Employment, Assimilation Policies, Racism and Mandatory Detention). Ask the students to describe how they would have felt experiencing these aspects of immigration policy as an immigrant or refugee in Australia.
- Inform the students that immigration also stimulated improvements to Australian society. Read through the two remaining posters (Anti-Discrimination Legislation and Multiculturalism). Ask the students to determine how these two aspects of immigration policy have positively impacted their lives.
Guided/Independent Learning
- Inform the students that they are each going to investigate one of the aspects of immigration policy explored through the posters. Allow the students to choose which aspect they would like to investigate and provide them with the appropriate poster to inform their initial research.
- Provide the students with a copy of the Note Taking Graphic Organiser to assist them in recording their research. Alternatively, help the students to draw up an appropriate graphic organiser for their research in their workbooks.
- Allow the students time to research their chosen aspect of immigration policy, using both the posters and the Internet for information. Once the students have finished their research, allow them to present their findings using a medium that suits them. Some examples include:
- drawings
- poster
- PowerPoint presentation
- Google Slides
- a speech.
Wrapping Up
- Allow the students to present their information about their chosen aspect of immigration policy to the class or a small group.
Differentiation
Extending Students
- Encourage more capable students to research another aspect of immigration policy that helped to shape Australia.
Supporting Students
- Allow students with lower literacy levels to work with a partner, or in a small group, to complete the independent task.
Assessment Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
- used strategic whole class or individual questioning
- observed student participation during learning activities
- recorded student progress on a checklist
- annotated student work samples
- collected and reviewed student work samples
- facilitated whole class or peer feedback sessions
- encouraged student self-reflection
- administered formal assessment tasks.
NSW Curriculum alignment
- HT3-3
Identifies change and continuity and describes the causes and effects of change on Australian society
- HT3-4
Describes and explains the struggles for rights and freedoms in Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- HT3-5
Applies a variety of skills of historical inquiry and communication
Australian Curriculum alignment
- ACHASSI133
Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and conventions
- ACHASSI127
Examine different viewpoints on actions, events, issues and phenomena in the past and present
- ACHASSK135
Experiences of Australian democracy and citizenship, including the status and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, migrants, women and children
- ACHASSI123
Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary sources and secondary sources
- ACHASSI129
Evaluate evidence to draw conclusions
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