Context
Areas of Integration - Outcomes Being Addressed
Learning Sequences: - audio files: |
References

Context

The unit from which this is derived was first developed by Stage 2 teachers using a range of learning activities previously devised and trialled by an ESL lecturer working with students and teachers in the classroom. It was originally designed to encourage and promote discussion among students and development of their language skills. Students are presented with a range of problem-solving situations that reflect the significant events of the colonisation of Australia. Through discussion, students make choices which they must then justify. The teacher assesses students by listening to how they articulate their choices, how they answer questions about the reason that events happened the way they did, and the historical consequences of those events.

This unit attempts to increase students' understanding of how it is possible for history to be presented from different points of view.

Another feature of the unit is the use of visuals. Conceptualising the past is difficult for Stage 2 students; visuals enable them to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the past. Visuals are also a mechanism for promoting classroom discussion which is both descriptive and critical.

The five learning sequences within this unit are both broad and detailed, and are intended to be taught over a two-year stage. Teachers could choose to begin at any of the learning sequences, depending on the students' prior knowledge and experience. As another way of helping to present the range of perspectives addressed in this topic, teachers might consider supplementing an existing unit with one or more discrete learning sequences from this new unit on Invasion and Colonisation.

The selection of the initial sequence of historical events has been designed to enable students to make comparisons between the cultures, and to appreciate their similarities as well as the differences between them before colonial contact took place. Year 3 students examine Aboriginal and European cultures before 1788, with the learning sequence concluding with Cook's journey and the concept of terra nullius. In Year 4, students begin to examine the early development of the penal colony and the often violent interactions between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultures.

Areas of Integration

The unit aims to promote student learning through the integration of outcomes across four key learning areas. The HSIE content of the unit provides the context for integration of English, Creative Arts and Mathematics outcomes.

Outcomes being addressed in this unit:

Talking and Listening

Talking and Listening
TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum.

Skills and Strategies
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations.

Reading

Reading and Viewing Texts
RS2.5 Reads independently a wide range of texts on increasingly challenging topics and justifies own interpretation of ideas, information and events.

Skills and Strategies
RS2.6 Uses efficiently an integrated range of skills and strategies when reading and interpreting written texts.

Context and Text
RS2.7 Discusses how writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they create a variety of worlds through language and how they use language to achieve a wide range of purposes.

Number

Whole Numbers
NS2.1 Counts, orders, reads and records numbers up to four digits

Data
DS2.1 Gathers and organises data, displays data using tables and graphs, and interprets the results

Measurement

Length
MS2.1 Estimates, measures, compares and records lengths, distances and perimeters in metres, centimetres and millimetres

Volume and Capacity
MS2.3 Estimates, measures, compares and records volumes and capacities using litres, millilitres and cubic centimetres

Time
MS3.5 Uses twenty-four hour time and am and pm notation in real-life situations and constructs timelines

Space and Geometry
Position
SGS2.3 Uses simple maps and grids to represent position and follow routes

Change and Continuity

Significant Events and People
CCS2.1 Describes events and actions related to the British colonisation of Australia and assesses changes and consequences.
Time and Change
CCS2.2 Explains changes in the community and family life and evaluates the effects of these on different individuals, groups and environments.

Cultures
Cultural Diversity
CUS2.4 Describes different viewpoints, ways of living, languages and belief systems in a variety of communities.

Environments
Patterns of Place and Location
ENS2.5 Describes places in the local area and other parts of Australia and explains their significance.

Visual Arts

Making
VAS2.1 Represents the qualities of experiences and things that are interesting or beautiful by choosing among aspects of subject matter.
VAS2.2 Uses the forms to suggest the qualities of subject matter.

Appreciating
VAS2.3 Acknowledges that artists make artworks for different reasons and that various interpretations are possible.
VAS2.4 Identifies connections between subject matter in artworks and what they refer to, and appreciates the use of particular techniques.

Drama
Performing
DRAS2.3 Sequences the action of the drama to create meaning for an audience.