Suggestions for linking your teaching of History with literacy at levels F-6

1. Historical Inquiry and Literacy
Primary Conference
Brush Up Your Australian History
May 2014
Marion Littlejohn

2. Year 3
Level Description
Community and Remembrance
Moving from the heritage of their local area, students explore the historical
features and diversity of their community as represented in symbols and
emblems of significance, and celebrations and commemorations, both locally
and in other places around the world.
Key inquiry questions
• Who lived here first and how do we know?
• How has our community changed? What features have been lost and what
features have been retained?
• What is the nature of the contribution made by different groups and
individuals in the community?
• How and why do people choose to remember significant events of the
past?

3. My Place traces the history of
one small part of Australia and
the people who have
lived there, from the Dreaming
until the present day. As time
passes children describe their
homes, their families, their
pets, and their
special celebrations.
The constant sources of
renewal in the landscape are
the big tree and the creek (or
canal).

4. http://www.abc.net.au/abc3/myplace/

5. http://www.anzacwebsites.com/publications/books.htm
Books that deal with the Gallipoli campaign and the Anzac legend: lists and links to suppliers

7. Local statues

8. Year 4
Level Description
First Contacts
Beginning with the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,
students examine European exploration and colonisation in Australia and
throughout the world up to the early 1800s. Students examine the impact of
exploration on other societies, how these societies interacted with newcomers,
and how these experiences contributed to their cultural diversity.
Key inquiry questions
• Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
• What was life like for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the
arrival of the Europeans?
• Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
• What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal and/or
Torres Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?

9. This is the story of a goat and a
young boy on board The Endeavour,
experiencing the voyage of a lifetime
as they sail around the world.
Based on information from the
journals kept on board The
Endeavour, The Goat Who Sailed The
World provides an amazing insight
into the tough reality of the life of
the early explorers.

10. The Goat Who Sailed the World Pharaoh
They Came On Viking Ships Valley of Gold
Hitler's Daughter A War for Gentlemen
Tom Appleby Convict Boy Macbeth and Son
Walking the Boundaries Somewhere Around the Corner
The Dog Who Loved A Queen A Rose for the Anzac Boys
The Camel Who Crossed Australia Queen Victoria's Underpants
Oracle A Waltz for Matilda
Nanberry: Black Brother White A Day to Remember
Pennies for Hitler
Queen Victoria's Christmas The Girl From Snowy River
Other Historical stories by Jackie French

12. Year 5
Level Description
The Australian Colonies
The Year 5 curriculum provides a study of colonial Australia in the 1800s. Students
look at the founding of British colonies and the development of a colony. They
learn about what life was like for different groups of people in the colonial period.
They examine significant events and people, political and economic developments,
social structures, and settlement patterns.
Key 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?

13. Download Teaching kits from
http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/education/

14. The Settlement of Victoria
A Year 5 AusVELS: History Unit
S.T. Gill, Surveyors, in The Australian Sketchbook, Hamel & Ferguson (1864), Gold
Museum Collection
Sovereign Hill Education 2012
Classroom Activities
http://education.sovereignhill.com.au/teachers/teaching-kits/

16. WHO? WHAT? WHEN?
WHERE? WHY? HOW?
Deeper Inquiry Questions
•What do you see?
•What do you think about that?
•What does it make you wonder?
Key Inquiry Questions begin with

17. How reliable is this as a piece of historical evidence?
Where is this scene?
When was this drawn?
Why do you think Gill
drew this sketch?
Is this a primary or
secondary source?
]
John Alloo's Chinese restaurant, main road, Ballarat. 1855-56
Image courtesy of The Gold Museum Ballarat
What is happening in the scene?Who can you see?

18. Using these images, in any order, create a
story that tells the adventure of a character
from the Victorian goldfields.

19. Using these images, in any order, create a
story that tells the adventure of a
character from the Victorian goldfields.

20. Select 4 – 6 contemporary images from the 1850s.
Use them to illustrate the adventure of a fictitious
character on the Victorian gold fields.

21. Year 6
Level Description
Australia as a nation
The Year 6 curriculum moves from colonial Australia to the development of
Australia as a nation, particularly after 1900. Students explore the factors that
led to Federation and experiences of democracy and citizenship over time.
Students understand the significance of Australia’s British heritage, the
Westminster system, and other models that influenced the development of
Australia’s system of government. Students learn about the way of life of
people who migrated to Australia and their contributions to Australia’s
economic and social development.
Key inquiry questions
• Why and how did Australia become a nation?
• How did Australian society change throughout the twentieth century?
• Who were the people who came to Australia? Why did they come?
• What contribution have significant individuals and groups made to the
development of Australian society?

22. The night the Prime Minister announced on
the radio that Australia was at war Lola was
nine years old. Her mum cried. Although the
fighting was far away our lives were
changed forever. We had air raid drills at
school and knitted socks to send to the
soldiers. American soldiers arrived and the
first hamburger shop opened. We held
concerts for the War Effort and rolled
bandages for the Red Cross. Lola's brother
George went off to fight and nothing was
the same for those of us who stayed at
home.
“In Flanders Fields’ is the
amazing story of a young soldier
at war. Peering through a
periscope, he sees a small robin
caught helplessly in the wire.
Cautiously he steps out of the
trench, on to ‘No Man’s Land’,
and heads towards the trapped
bird……
Based on a true story from
World War 1.
Picture story books are useful for reluctant readers.

23. More challenging books
of Historical fiction are
useful to engage
confident readers.

24. $ 30 00 each
Order online at
http://www.teachersuperstore.com.au/product/australian-curriculum/all-you-need-
to-teach-history/
These stimulating books provide a comprehensive
toolkit for teaching Australian Curriculum: History.
- See more at:
http://www.teachersuperstore.com.au/product/a
ustralian-curriculum/all-you-need-to-teach-
history/#sthash.vhHiSTld.dpuf