Educational Excursions – Teachers Resources Year 4

WA Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum

Students are given the opportunity to develop the concepts of place, space, environment, interconnection and sustainability continue to be developed as a way of thinking. Students have the opportunity to inquire into how the environment supports the lives of people and all other living things; and that people have differing views on how sustainability can be achieved.

Students are given the opportunity to develop their historical understanding through the key concepts of sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance. These concepts are investigated within the context of exploring the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans, and European exploration and colonisation up to the early 1800s. They explore interactions between groups and determine how these experiences contributed to cultural diversity.

The Year 4 HASS curriculum has a general overview of the lives of indigenous people and the arrival of Europeans on the Australian continent. Within that context it is possible to examine the lives of the original inhabitants in the Perth region.

Perth city has been built over a series of lakes that were important an important source of food for the Whadjak Noongar people for over 40,000 years. Where were these lakes? How was the river used? What was the migration route used by these itinerant people as they followed the seasonal changes throughout the year? And what was the impact of the arrival of Europeans in 1829?

Curriculum Delivery Assistance

History

Students should recognise the significance of events in bringing about change. They explain how and why life changed in the past and identify aspects of the past that have remained the same. They describe the experiences of an individual or group in the past. Students develop and present texts, including narrative recounts, using historical terms. Points of focus:

– The diversity and longevity of Australia’s first peoples and the ways they are connected to country/place(e.g. land, sea, waterways, skies) and their pre-contact ways of life.

– Stories of colonisation, including reasons for the journey, who travelled to Australia and their experiences following arrival (e.g. treatment of convicts, daily lives, social order).

– The nature of contact between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others (e.g. Europeans) and the impact that these interactions and colonisation had on the environment and people’s lives (e.g. dispossession, dislocation, the loss of lives through conflict, disease, loss of food sources and medicines).

Geography

Students should identify the interconnections between components of the environment and between people and the environment, then  recognise the importance of the environment and identify different possible responses to a geographical challenge. Students should propose individual action in response to a local geographical challenge and identify some possible effects of their proposed action. Points of focus:

– Aboriginal peoples ways of living were adapted to available resources and their connection to country/place has influenced their views on the sustainable use of these resources, before and after colonisation.

– The natural resources (e.g. water, timber, minerals) provided by the environment and different views on how they can be used sustainably.

In Class Preparation

When preparing for the excursion teachers might consider teaching or having the students research some of the following:

– The life of the original inhabitants – focus on the Whadjak Noongar people of the Perth area.

– The arrival of Europeans – From Dutch explores to First Fleet in Sydney and settlement in Western Australia

– Mapping exercises could include a map of the Perth region including the river and lakes

Pre Excursion Consultation

Prior to the excursion there will be an opportunity for the Two Feet & a Heartbeat to clarify with the teacher the focus and specific outcomes being sought. This can include a custom start/finish location, a suggested route and timing of the excursion. A worksheet for use during and after the tour will be provided in advance.

Post Excursion Suggestions

Teachers may wish to follow the excursion with the following reading, audio, video and learning activities as encouraged by the curriculum:

– Further mapping activities

– Exploration of the effects of colonisation.

– Influential indigenous people during the 1800’s

– Mokare

– Yagan

Other influential people of colonial times

– James Stirling

– Thomas Peel

– George Fletcher-Moore

Mapping

– Perth Wetlands

– Perth streets overlaid on wetlands

Story

– Story of Yagan – murdered and cruelly beheaded in 1833 by those he trusted. When the Swan River colony (later the city of Perth) was established in 1829, times were tough. Food was scarce and the initially good relations between British settlers and local Noongar people spiralled tragically out of control into a conflict over land and resources.