Teacher's Notes

This Interactive website is designed for use by classes in years 8 or 9.

Before allowing children to begin this Interactive Website on Australia’s Colonial History, the class teacher may want to prompt a brainstorming activity focusing on what the students’ prior knowledge of the topic is.

Students may search the website at their own pace or complete the activities on a scheduled timeline as decided by the teacher.

The website opens onto an Introduction Page, which gives a brief summary of the information on the Colonisation of Australia that the website contains as well as a list of resources used. The teacher may find it useful to peruse this resource list prior to the lesson in case they find extra information that they would like to use.

As well as an Introduction Page, there are four main Information pages relating to Australia’s Colonisation that are provided on the website. These cover The First Fleet, The Early Colonies, The Convicts and Indigenous Interaction. Each of these pages gives a general overview of information pertaining to its subject. Students will have to read this information before they can complete activities. This may be read individually or as a class, but either way it is designed to allow students to practice their reading skills as well as their comprehension skills, as they will be asked to reflect on the information they have read during the activities. Each Information Page has links to further readings and activities with more information on the topics they cover. Some also have their own activities.

The Convict Page has:

A Glossary of Convict Terms and a crossword to revise these terms. This activity is designed to extend student vocabulary and understanding of the topic and also to involve the student in problem solving.

A link to the lyrics and music of the song Botany Bay. This is followed by three questions on the song which focus on comprehension of the meaning and emotions of the song and the adjectives/themes used to build this emotion.

The Indigenous Interaction Page has:

A poll used to encourage students to question their understanding of Indigenous Colonisation. This poll asks for the students’ opinions on whether Kevin Rudd’s apology was enough to compensate for European Colonisation and the harm that it caused the Aboriginal People. This activity is designed to promote critical thinking and the development of one’s own opinions as well as the ability to be able to place oneself in another’s shoes.

There are four Key Activities provided on the website. They are numbered, but do not need to be completed in the order given. These activities have a focus on enhancing student literacy as well as revising the content on the website.

Task 1: Letters Home

This task asks students to write a 500 word letter home in the role of Captain Arthur Philip, a sailor or a convict. Students are asked to use the information they have received from the Information Pages to aid them in their writing. There are two letter transcripts provided on the page for the students to read, one written by a marine and one by Captain Philip. An example of a convict letter is provided on the Convict Page under the profile of Margaret Catchpole.

Alternatively, the student may choose to write a piece of poetry or prose from the point of view of an Indigenous Australian on the topic of European Colonisation.

This task is designed to enhance student literacy through writing and reflection. The students are being asked to demonstrate their comprehension of the material they have received to create a piece of writing. Through placing themselves in the shoes of another they are demonstrating imagination, creativity and the ability to sympathise with different experiences. This task also asks them to clearly demonstrate their knowledge of different writing styles such letters, poetry and prose.

By the end of the task students should have demonstrated their overall knowledge of the First Fleet, the convicts, the settlers or the Indigenous peoples of Australia in reagrds to colonisation and the part they played in it.

Task 1: First Fleet Wordsearch

This task asks students to complete a wordsearch of the names of the eleven ships in the first fleet. The students are expected to be quizzed on this information at a later time.

This task has been designed to promote word recognition among students and allow students to draw links between the information regarding ships contained on the site and which of these were in fact members of the First Fleet.

Task 2: Put the Convicts to Work

This task asks students to complete an Interactive Activity based on the convicts sent to Port Arthur in Tasmania. This Activity ultimately involves students assigning a group of convict men to the different jobs available to them as convicts.

Students demonstrate problem-solving and critical analyses through the choices that they make as to which job a convict is best suited to, based on their past, skills, age and behaviour.

By the end of the task students should have an understanding of the contributions convicts labour made to colonial Australia and the skills that they brought as well as the tasks that they performed and historical information on the typical stories of convicts.

Task 3: Indigenous Interaction Video

This task asks students to watch a video about the Indigenous and their first encounters with the Europeans Colonists. After students have watched the video they are asked to answer a range of questions.

These questions have been designed not only to confirm that the students have listened and comprehended the material in the video, but also to encourage them to interpret why the aboriginals would have behaved in certain ways towards the Europeans and what significance this had.

By the end of the task students should have a good understanding of how the Aboriginal People felt about the Europeans and how they initially interacted with them as well as the significance of the colonisation of Australia for the Indigenous peoples.

Task 4: Letters Home

This task asks students to write a 500 word letter home in the role of Captain Arthur Philip, a sailor or a convict. Students are asked to use the information they have received from the Information Pages to aid them in their writing. There are two letter transcripts provided on the page for the students to read, one written by a marine and one by Captain Philip. An example of a convict letter is provided on the Convict Page under the profile of Margaret Catchpole.

Alternatively, the student may choose to write a piece of poetry or prose from the point of view of an Indigenous Australian on the topic of European Colonisation.

This task is designed to enhance student literacy through writing and reflection. The students are being asked to demonstrate their comprehension of the material they have received to create a piece of writing. Through placing themselves in the shoes of another they are demonstrating imagination, creativity and the ability to sympathise with different experiences. This task also asks them to clearly demonstrate their knowledge of different writing styles such letters, poetry and prose.

By the end of the task students should have demonstrated their overall knowledge of the First Fleet, the convicts, the settlers or the Indigenous peoples of Australia in reagrds to colonisation and the part they played in it.

By the completion of this Interactive Website, students should have a broad understanding of the Colonisation of Australia and the people who were involved as well as an enhancement in theit literacy.

Lesson Plans and content are available through the Skwirk Interactive Schooling website.

Content specific to the topics of Australian Colonisation, Early Colonial Government and other events such as the Eureka Stockade can be found at Skwirk Interactive Schooling.

The University of Wollongong has an online database specific to the First Fleet and Early Australia.

The Database has been structured around the questions of inquiry style of learning. Although the database was initially designed as a learning resource for university students, the site is ideal for lower to middle years high school as it outlines the history of Australia through the First Fleet and Colonisation through a series of pages relating to the posing of questions.

The University of Wollongong's First Fleet Database is available to the general public online.