Focus Question: How did Australia grow from the days of a colonial colony to the beginnings of a nation?
This topic provides a study of colonial Australia in the 1800s. We will look at the founding of British colonies and the development of a colony. We will learn about what life was like for different groups in the colonial period and examine significant events and people, political and economic developments, social structures and settlement patterns.
Week 2- BTN The First Fleet
To begin our unit on Australian Colonies, we are going to view the following video from Behind the News on the topic of the First Fleet:
1. When is Australia Day? 2. Complete the following sentence: The day marks the anniversary of... 3. Describe life in Britain in the 1700s. 4. Why were prisoners transported to the colonies? 5. What sorts of crimes were committed by people who were transported? 6. How many ships transported convicts in the First Fleet? 7. What do you think life would have been like on board the ships in the First Fleet? 8. New _______________ was the name give to mainland Australia. 9. Who was the commander chosen to lead the colony? 10. Name three facts you learnt watching the BtN First Fleet story.
Convict love tokens Love tokens were made by convicts while they were waiting to be transported. They were made of copper coins and given to people they were leaving behind.
Your task is to design your own convict love token that has a message to a loved one. You could base you design on an original convict love token found online, but with your own personal touches!
Week 4 and 5: Research/Writing Task- First Fleet Convicts
Your research task for this week is to choose a convict who was a part of the First Fleet travelling to Australia. You need to research this convict and present your information in the form of an information report.
You need to be aiming to hand write a page in length, remembering to proof read and edit your work.
Happy researching!
p.s. In case you cannot remember the features of an information report that we discussed, here is a little something to assist you!
Timeline of significant events that lead to the British colonisation of Australia
Week 6- Research Tasks: Factors that lead to British Colonisation/Consequences of Colonisation
yThere were 3 main factors that lead to the British Colonisation of Australia. These included:
Economic factors
Political factors
Social factors
In your groups, you will be assigned one of these reasons for colonisation to research. You must present your research to the class in the form of dot points in your theme books. Your heading needs to be "Factors that lead to the British Colonisation of Australia". Your subheading is then the factor that your group has assigned. As a class, we are going to use these dot points to create a class mind map. Each group must include 3 sources of evidence used in their research- maybe a website, a picture, a timeline etc.
Consequences of the British Invasion on the Aboriginal people
Once you have completed this, and you are waiting for the class to come together to create the class mind map, here is your second research activity:
You need to research and create your own mind map of the invasion by the British, and the impact this had on the Aboriginal people. In the middle of your mind map put the heading: "Consequences of the British Invasion on the Aboriginal People". You then need to place the points that you've found in your research around your mind map. We will add points found by each group.
Week 7 Writing and Research Task
Write a recount from the perspective of an Aboriginal person at the time that the British arrived in Australia. What sorts of things were happening? How would you feel about them and why?? Type it into a word document, with the heading “Recount: An Aboriginal Perspective”, add a border. Make sure you write "By:_____" and your name at the bottom of your page, as I will be printing them off for you to glue into your Journal books.
Your work should be no longer than a page in length, and needs to be saved under Collaboration > Year 6 > 6S 2016 > Aboriginal Recount. ***MAKE SURE YOU SAVE YOUR NAME IN THE TITLE!!***
Here is a Recount poster to guide you with your writing!
Week 9 & 10- Research Task and Presentation
Gold
As a class, you have been chosen to be the curator of a new Gold Museum that is being set up to let children today learn about the history of gold in Australia.
Your museum must hold exhibits that explain the following things:
The properties/ uses of gold and the history of the discovery of gold in Australia,
Life on the goldfields for women
Life on the goldfields for the Chinese
The Eureka Stockade (reasons why it happened, what happened that day, result of the day- what imapcts did it have afterwards?)
Bushrangers (choose 2 or 3 to research)
Miss Brimelow will assign these topics to be completed in pairs with your table partner. There will be more than one group researching each topic. When you have been assigned your topic, it is your job to research it together and present your findings to the class in weeks 10 and 11, in time for the museums grand opening! Your museum should be created using a combination of presentation tools. It can be made up of documents, powerpoints, speeches, and slideshows.
You may like to look at the link below for some websites that may be helpful in your research :)
While you are working on your presentation, it can be saved into Collaboration>Year6>6S2016>Goldresearchtask
You need to make sure your group members names are in the title!
Once you have completed your research and your presentation is ready, your team must post it to our class Edmodo page so we can access it easily at presentation time.