Year 4 unit overview — Australian Curriculum: History
School name / Unit title / Duration of unitSt Francis Xavier School / Places Then and Now / One term
Unit outline
In this unit, students will study life in ancient Australia and the original human inhabitants of Australia. Students will study some of the significant places in Australia. They will learn about Aboriginal custodianship of the land, and about caring about special places within Australia.
Key features of the unit include;
· How Aboriginal groups relate to the land
· Mapping activities
· Research how artists depict the Australian artists depict the Australian landscape
Student will understand;
· Australia is a unique part of the world with its own significant natural and built features
· Many types of environment exist in Australia
· Different Australian places hold significance for different people
· We have a responsibility to care for our environment (Sustainability)
· Aboriginal people are the traditional custodians of the land in Australia
· Overtime many people have made significant contributions to building our heritage
· Australian communities are constantly evolving to reflect culture, lifestyle and environmental change
Questions that shape the inquiry include:
What was life like for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?
How has the natural environment changed in Australia since European settlement?
Identify curriculum /
Content descriptions to be taught / General capabilities and crosscurriculum priorities
Historical Knowledge and Understanding / Historical Skills
The diversity and longevity of Australia’s first peoples and the ways Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are connected to Country and Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) and the implications for their daily lives. (ACHHK077 / Chronology, terms and concepts
Use historical terms (ACHHS082)
· using historical terms when talking about the past (for example ‘penal’, ‘transportation’, ‘navigation’, ‘frontier conflict’, ‘colonisation’)
· identifying the origins of place names in Australia (for example those named by French explorers, Aboriginal place names)
Historical questions and research
Pose a range of questions about the past (ACHHS083)
· generating questions about the diversity and antiguity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the nature of contact in early Australia (for example 'Who?' 'What?' 'When?' 'Where?' 'Why?' questions)
Analysis and use of sources
Perspectives and interpretations
Identify different points of view (ACHHS085)
· exploring different stories about contact experiences and early penal life to discover the thoughts or feelings of the people at that time (for example convicts, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, convict guards, free settlers)
Explanation and communication / Literacy
· Use appropriate historical language specific to the topic.
Numeracy
· Create labels, graphs, grids, maps to display information and find patterns.
ICT competence
· Use a range of digital technologies to assist with investigating the concepts.
Critical and creative thinking
· Use thinking skills to completegroup activities and open-ended tasks.
Ethical behaviour
· Consider how the decisions ofpeople impact on Earth’s surface.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
· Demonstrate alternative ways of knowing and sharing.
Sustainability
· Discuss land clearing and the loss of habitat for animals.
Relevant prior curriculum / Curriculum working towards
In the Australian Curriculum: Science at Year 1
Science Understanding
Earth and space sciences
· Observable changes occur in the sky and landscape.
In the Australian Curriculum: Science at Year 3
Science as a Human Endeavour
· The content descriptions for Science as a Human Endeavour are the same for Year 3 and Year 4.
Science Inquiry Skills
· The content descriptions for Science Inquiry Skills are the same for Year 3 and Year 4. / In the Australian Curriculum: Science at Year 6
Science Understanding
Earth and space sciences
· Sudden geological changes or extreme weather conditions can affect Earth’s surface.
In the Australian Curriculum: Science at Year 5
Science as a Human Endeavour
Nature and development of science
· Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena.
· Important contributions to the advancement of science have been made by people from a range of cultures.
Use and influence of science
· Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to solve problems that directly affect peoples’ lives.
· Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions.
Science Inquiry Skills
Questioning and predicting
· With guidance, pose questions to clarify practical problems or inform a scientific investigation, and predict what the findings of an investigation might be.
Planning and conducting
· With guidance, select appropriate investigation methods to answer questions or solve problems.
· Decide which variable should be changed and measured in fair tests and accurately observe, measure and record data, using digital technologies as appropriate.
· Use equipment and materials safely, identifying potential risks.
Processing and analysing data and information
· Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate.
· Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in developing explanations.
Evaluating
· Suggest improvements to the methods used to investigate a question or solve a problem.
Communicating
· Communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways, including multi-modal texts.
Bridging content
Both the Australian Curriculum: Science at Year 4 and the Year 5 Essential Learning: Earth and beyond focus on changes to Earth’s surface due to natural processes and human activity.
Achievement standard
By the end of Year 4, students explain how and why life changed in the past, and identify aspects of the past that remained the same. They describe the experiences of an individual or group over time. They recognise the significance of events in bringing about change.
Students sequence events and people (their lifetime) in chronological order to identify key dates. They pose a range of questions about the past. They identify sources (written, physical, visual, oral), and locate information to answer these questions. They recognise different points of view. Students develop and present texts, including narratives, using historical terms.
Links to other learning areas
In the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics at Year 4
· Construct suitable data displays, with and without the use of digital technologies, from given or collected data. Include tables, column graphs and picture graphs where one picture can represent many data values.
Assessment / Make judgments /
Describe the assessment / Assessment date / Attributes of student work that demonstrate the achievement standard include:
· posing questions about their world
· recording observations and measurements and identifying patterns in data, including cause-and-effect relationships
· identifying changes to the observable world
· predicting possible outcomes from investigations
· evaluating and reflecting on investigation processes and recommendations
· describing situations where history understanding can influence their own and others’ actions.
Students are given opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding through both formative and summative assessment. The assessment is collated in student folios and allows for ongoing feedback to students on their learning.
Year 4 teachers make decisions about the length of time required to complete the tasks and the conditions under which the assessment is to be conducted.
The teaching and learning experiences throughout the term provide opportunities for students to develop the understandings and skills required to complete these assessments. As students engage with these learning experiences the teacher can provide feedback on specific skills.
Through negotiated learning each student will have the opportunity to show their understanding of the investigation using a medium of their choice.
E.g. Powerpoint, poster, formal speech
Investigation
What was life like for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans? / Assessment will occur after the learning sequence
Teaching and learning / Supportive learning environment /
Teaching strategies and learning experiences / Adjustments for needs of learners / Resources /
Map of Australia
· Explore a variety of maps of Australia. Identify states, territories, regions, cities and landmarks (natural an built environments).
Australia’s Landmarks
· Collect photos of the natural and built environments of Australia. (E.g. Uluru, Great Barrier Reef, Twelve Apostles, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Port Arthur Convict Settlement) In addition, recognisable Australian natural environments such as outback Australia, tropical rainforest and alpine regions.
Regions of Australia
· Using an Atlas, students will point out the features of Australia such as state borders, towns and cities, mountains and rivers.
Australian Place Names
· Explain to students that many Australian places take their names from either the Aboriginal languages of the original inhabitants or from the colonists who often named them after prominent people in British society or places they were fond of back home in Britain.
Aborigines and the land
· Explain to students that many parts of Australia are significant to one or more Aboriginal groups. Dreaming stories tell how parts of the country were originally formed. The land also provided food, shelter and sacred places. The Aboriginal people respected the land.
Mapping Activity
· Explain to students that compass directions and scale are useful map features that help us to determine the direction and distance required to reach a destination.
The Australian Landscape in Art
· Display examples of Australian landscape art. E.g., Tom Roberts, Federick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton, Russell Drysdale
The Built Environment
· Describe the difference between the natural environment and built environment. Identify how basic needs are met by different features of the built environment.
Caring for Australian Places
· How can we care for significant places in Australia? How can we treat these places with respect?
Your Place
· Explain to students that they will be learning about Australian places past and present. Share picture books listed in the resource section with students. Similar to the maps found in ‘My Place’, students can represent the area in which they live.
Traditional custodians of the land
· Use available resources including documentaries, websites, information books and illustrated dreaming stories to learn about the coming of change to Australia.
· How should we acknowledge the traditional custodianship of this land?
· Can we learn about caring for the environment from the ways of Indigenous people?
· Do Aboriginal people today still retain an affinity with the land?
The environment – then and now
· Explain to students that the British arrival in 1788 had an enormous impact on Australia’s environment which has continued to undergo change with the passing of time. In particular, students should try to find out the extent of the forests, the quality of freshwater in the rivers, the state of the beaches, the diverse range of animal species and the extent of the Indigenous population.
· Group Investigation – Maths Challenge; record information on a table and a graph. Topics to choose from; marine life in a river, diverse range of animal species within a forest
Influence of migrants on the district
· Explain to students that migrant families have settled in many places around Australia. Their job skills and cultural traditions have played key roles in shaping the identities of Australian communities.
Community timeline
· Explain to students that a timeline is a graphic representation of events that have occurred over a period of time. A timeline can be useful for studying the development of a community.
History of the school
· Explain to students that each school shares a proud tradition with its past and present pupils. In class students will research history of Saint Francis Xavier School Goodna. / Section 6 of the Disability Standards for Education (The Standards for Curriculum Development, Accreditation and Delivery) states that education providers, including class teachers, must take reasonable steps to ensure a course/program is designed to allow any student to participate and experience success in learning.
The Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cwlth) is available from: <www.ag.gov.au> select Human rights and anti-discrimination > Disability standards for education. / Web
· websites for videos on erosion, dust storms and floods
· free images
· Google Earth
· websites for factsheets, interactive worksheets
· State Library of Queensland photographs
· free images
· worksheets
· word wall
Texts
· ‘My Place’ Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins
· ‘Where the Forests Meets the Sea’ Jeannie Baker
· ‘Window’ Jeannie Baker
· ‘Belonging’ Jeannie Baker
Equipment
· assorted soil samples
· trays
· sand
· water, watering can
· sticks, plant matter
· jars
Safety equipment
· completed risk assessment for activities that use electrical items and sharp objects
Use feedback /
Ways to monitor learning and assessment / Teachers collaboratively plan the teaching, learning and assessment to meet the needs of all learners.
Before the model presentation, teachers discuss task-specific descriptors of the quality of student performance. Teachers individually mark all student responses, applying the shared understanding achieved through this calibration process.
Feedback to students / Teachers plan opportunities through the teaching strategies and learning experiences of the unit. Teachers provide ongoing feedback and encouragement to students on their strengths and areas for improvement. Through particular learning experiences students can reflect on and discuss with their teachers and peers what they are able to do well and what they need to do to improve.
Reflection on the unit plan / At the conclusion of the unit, all teachers who have been involved in planning, teaching, learning and assessment come together to reflect on the successes and challenges of the unit. They come with their personal reflections through answers to the following questions:
· What worked well in this unit?
· What was a stumbling block?
· How would you refine it?
· What trends and gaps in learning have you identified?
· How will you build on these learning experiences next term and beyond?
Queensland Studies Authority 11 May 2011 DRAFT | 1