History
Concepts for developing understanding
The content in the history sub-strand provides opportunities for students to develop historical understanding through key concepts including sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance. The curriculum in this year provides a study of colonial Australia in the 1800s. Students learn about the reasons for the founding of British colonies in Australia and the impact of a development or event on one Australian colony (continuity and change, cause and effect). They examine what life was like for different groups of people in the colonial period (sources), and explore the reasons for their actions (cause and effect, perspectives, empathy). They examine early migration, settlement patterns, people and their contributions, significant events, and political and economic developments (sources, continuity and change, significance, empathy). Students are also introduced to the concept of sources as they analyse sources to compare information and points of view in the past and present (sources, perspectives).
Inquiry Questions
- What do we know about the lives of people in Australia's colonial past and how do we know?
- How did an Australian colony develop over time and why?
- How did colonial settlement change the environment?
- What were the significant events and who were the significant people that shaped Australian colonies?
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
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Australian Gold Rush: Gold Fever – Teaching Presentation
A teaching presentation that explores the origins of the Australian Gold Rush.
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Impacts of Colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Posters
Posters highlighting the main impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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Australian Gold Rush: Eureka Stockade – Teaching Presentation
A 16-slide teaching presentation about the events leading up to and including the Eureka Stockade and the positive and negative impacts it had on Australian politics and people.
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Australian Gold Rush: A Digger's Life – Teaching Presentation
A 17-slide teaching presentation that explores the challenges, hardships and glory of a life spent digging on the Australian goldfields.
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Australian Gold Rush: Map Where It's At - Worksheet
A fun mapping activity for students to pinpoint gold finds and gold rush locations between 1851 to 1893 on a map of Australia.
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Gold Rush Writing Prompt – A Letter From the Goldfields
Download this Gold Rush writing prompt where students explain life on the Australian goldfields during 1852.
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Australian Gold Rush: A Golden Democracy – Teaching Presentation
A 13-slide teaching presentation about the political struggles gold miners faced in their efforts to obtain wealth.
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Australian Gold Rush: Melting Pot – Teaching Presentation
A 10-slide teaching presentation that explores immigration and diversity during the Australian Gold Rush and how it shaped the multicultural Australia we know today.
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Australian Gold Rush: First Nations – Teaching Presentation
An 11-slide teaching presentation discussing the impact the Australian Gold Rush had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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The Establishment of Australia's Colonies PowerPoint
A 32 slide editable PowerPoint to use in the classroom when learning about the establishment of British colonies in Australia.
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Australian Gold Rush - Timeline Banner
A timeline to display the gold rush in Australia from 1821 to 1867.
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Australian Gold Rush: That's Gold! – Teaching Presentation
A 13-slide teaching presentation that includes interesting facts about gold, why it is such a prized metal, and how its use shaped modern currency and trade.
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British Colonies in Australia - History Word Wall Vocabulary
45 British Colonisation in Australia related vocabulary cards.
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Problems in the Australian Colonies PowerPoint
A 19 slide editable PowerPoint to use in the classroom when learning about the problems that took place in the colonies of Australia.
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Australian Gold Mines: Y-Chart – Template
A Y-chart template students can use to reflect on what working on the goldfields looked like, sounded like and felt like.
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Location of Australian Goldfields Poster and Mapping Task
A set of posters and worksheets to use in the classroom when locating Australian goldfields.
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Impacts of Colonisation Word Wall
A Word Wall of the Impacts of Colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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Why Teach About Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Toys? Poster
An educational poster providing a rationale for teaching Australian children about traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander toys.
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Australian Gold Rush: Eureka Stockade Still Frame – Worksheet
A worksheet that enables students to design and share a story using still frame images.
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Australian Gold Rush: Race to Eureka – Game
An interactive gold-panning game in which students explore scenarios of reward, penalisation and inequality.
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Australian Gold Rush – Flip Book
A flip book designed to integrate interesting facts about Australian history into a unit of learning.
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Australian Gold Rush Display Banner
A classroom display banner to use on your 'Australian Gold Rush' display board.
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Significant Women of Australia's Colonisation Fact Sheets
4 profile posters to display and use in the classroom when learning about significant women in Australia.
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Gold Mining Methods
5 posters outlining gold mining techniques used during the Australian Gold Rush.
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Australian Gold Rush: Living Wax Museum – Project
An inquiry project in which students research personalities from the Australian Gold Rush and portray them as part of a Living Wax Museum.
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I Am Sorry – Poem and Discussion Questions
A poem to promote thoughtful discussion around issues of reconciliation on National Sorry Day.
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Life on the Goldfields Poster
A poster highlighting information about what life was like on the goldfields.
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Australian Early Settler Word Wall Vocabulary
Vocabulary associated with Australian Early Settlers.
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Australian Gold Rush - Immigration Poster
A poster explaining the increase in Australia's population during the Gold Rush.
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What is Gold Poster
A poster highlighting information about gold.
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Why Teach About Early Contact in Australia? Poster
An educational poster providing a rationale for teaching Australian children about early contact in Australia.
- Free Plan
Gold Miners' Bulletin Project
A creative writing newspaper project in which students design and write the front page of an imagined newspaper from the Australian Gold Rush era.