Lesson Plan 3

Week 2
Date: Monday 6th April 2015

Duration: 60 minutes

Unit: Shining the light on historical Australians

Lesson: 3 of 10

Level: Year level 6

Name: Past and present Australian citizens

Curriculum
History
Australia as a nation
The contribution of individuals and groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and
migrants, to the development of Australian society, for example in areas such as the economy,
education, science, the arts, sport. (ACHHK116).
o Considering notable individuals in Australian public life across a range of fields (for example the arts,
science, sport, education), including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, a range of cultural
and social groups, and women and men drawn from the Australian Living Treasures list or from the
Australian Dictionary of Biography)
Historical questions and research
Identify questions to inform an historical inquiry (ACHHS119).
o Developing key questions about immigration such as: What were the main reasons people migrated
to Australia? Who migrated? Where did they come from? What impact have they had on the
character of Australian society?
Identify and locate a range of relevant sources (ACHHS120).
o Using internet search engines, museums, library catalogues and indexes to find material relevant to
an inquiry.

General capabilities and cross curriculum

General capabilities
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability
Investigating with ICT
o Define and plan information searches
o Locate, generate and access data and information
o Select and evaluate data and information.
Critical and creative thinking
Inquiring identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
o Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
o Reflecting on thinking and processes
o Analysing, synthesising and evaluating reasoning
Intercultural understanding
o Inform students on the significant cultures the encompass Australia and to value their input in
shaping our society.
o Students develop respect for cultural diversity
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Cross curriculum priorities

Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander histories and culture
o Informs students that many Aboriginal histories and cultures are still strong, rich and diverse in
Australia today.
Asia and Australias engagement with Asia
Achievements and contributions of the peoples of Asia
o The peoples and countries of Asia have contributed and continue to contribute to world history
and human endeavour.
o The arts and literature of Asia influence aesthetic and creative pursuits within Australia, the region
and globally.

Lesson Overview
Integrating socially model of inquiry stage: Finding & Sorting Out
During this lesson students will be introduced to thirty individuals from the past and present who have
excelled in a particular area / category (Categories defined in Lesson 2). Students begin the lesson by
collaboratively sharing ideas on who each person may be and what they may have achieved and will
conclude with students working independently to research one of the people. By the end of the lesson
students will be required to produce a concept map about their person with the following information:
o Country of birth
o Date of arrival or birth in Australia
o Category of excellence
o How they positively contributed to this category (What did they do?)
o Brief paragraph or dot points outlining reasons why student believes their persons actions
(excellence) positively influenced our society.

Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson students will have the ability to:
o Understand that Australia is a culturally diversity society.
o Identify the areas / fields of excellence that past and present Australians, including Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people, have positively contributed to.
o Explore different reasons for people migrating to Australia.
o Comprehend the impact that some Australians have had on the shaping of our Australian society?
o Use digital technologies to collect data on Australian natives, residents and migrants.

Students Prior Knowledge

Students have prior knowledge in:
o Students have some knowledge of the historical people.
o Students have prior knowledge of how some people and groups shaped Australias first colonies
(ACHHK097).
o Students have previous practical experience handling digital technologies to collect online data.

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Assessment
Assessment for learning:
o Student responses to the activity at the beginning of the lesson will indicate how much students
know about the selected historical people.
o Students ability to remain engaged and stay on task will be assessed.
o The information presented in students concept map will indicate students ability to effectively
research and access accurate information. Students will also refer back to this research while
completing their Historical Recount (summative assessment) at the end of the unit.

Inquiry question
Key inquiry question:
Which influential people from the past and present have positively influenced our Australian society?
(Higher level thinking skills required Synthesis)

Lesson Structure
Time

Introduction & Motivation

5 mins

NOTE: Prior to this lesson ask if there are students in the class
who object to seeing images of people who are deceased
(Edith Cowan, David Unaipon, Eddie Mabo, Kath Walker &
Lionel Rose). If so, images of deceased Indigenous Australians
should be omitted and images left blank. If this occurs discuss
why some Australians believe it is not acceptable to view
images of deceased people.

10 mins

Orientation Phase
Whole class activity
Display the following:
o Individual images of the thirty historical people
o Names of the thirty historical people
o Categories of Excellence table

Teaching
Resources

Resource # 1

Students work together to match people with names.

Step 1 students use existing knowledge to match people
with their names
Step 2 Students analyse the images and names closely and
use prior knowledge of other cultures to enhance their ability
to match the people to their names. They decide which other
categories could be used to help match names and faces i.e.
Females & males, traditional, English, German, French
sounding names etc, style of clothing etc.
Step 3 - When students have exhausted all prior cultural
knowledge the teacher will model accessing information by
researching the names online with the screen displayed on
the overhead projector.
This three step process demonstrates that sometimes deeper
analysis and evaluation is sufficient, rather than just always
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seeking the answer on google.

Step 4 - Once all images have been correctly matched
students share/guess the category each person excelled in:
Economy, education, science and technology, arts, sport,
health or politics.

Time

10 mins

Distributing people to students

Students are allocated the people they correctly matched.
Remaining people are allocated randomly.
Main Content
Enhancing Phase
Whole class activity
Distribute the Historical Person Concept Map Requirements
information sheet and discuss the information to be
presented within the concept map:
o Country of birth
o Date of migration or Date of birth in Australia
o Category of excellence
o How they positively contributed to this category (What did
they do?)
o Dot points outlining reasons persons actions (excellence)
positively influenced our society.

Teaching
Resources

Resource # 2

Briefly discuss the approved websites that students are

allowed to use to research their historical person (as stated on
Resource 2).
Model creating a Concept Map and adding information using
the Popplet application (Assessment for learning - Formative
assessment)

30 mins

Independent student work

Students create a concept map on their allocated historical
person.

Time

Conclusion

Teaching
Resources

Summarising Phase
5 mins

Think pair share

Students review and provide feedback on the concept map
created by the person sitting next to them. Feedback points
should be in the following areas:
o Category of excellence is reasonable
o Good description of what the person did?
o At least 3 dot points that explain why the student believes
the persons actions positively influenced our society.
Extension work
o Students expand the dot points from their concept map

Resource # 2

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and begin to write a paragraph explaining why they believe

their historical person positively influenced our Australian
society. This work will be further built upon when writing
their end of unit assessment item: Historical Recount
(Assessment of Learning Summative Assessment).

Differentiation of learning
Vygotsky Social Learning Theory - Zone of proximal development
At the beginning and end of the lesson students share knowledge and work in pairs ensuring all
students are supported throughout the lesson (Ashman and Elkins 2012). Additionally, at the
beginning of the lesson when unmatched images require further investigation, the teacher models how
to safety and effectively research online (Marsh, 2010).
Blooms Revised Taxonomy of critical and creative thinking skills
At the beginning of the lesson students rely on remembering prior knowledge. Throughout the middle
session of the lesson students analyse and evaluate resources ensuring they gather the correct and
relative information required for the successful creation of an accurate concept map (Marsh, 2010).
Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligence
This lesson accommodates the needs, abilities and preferred learning styles (Gardners Multiple
Intelligences) of all students in the following way:
o Linguistic and visual students able to write and visual concepts in the concept map generator;
o Logical/Mathematical students encouraged to reason, record, analyse, compile information and
design plans;
o Interpersonal students encouraged to discuss, respond, visualize, question and clarify throughout
the lesson;
o Intrapersonal students encouraged to reflect and express their ideas;
o Bodily/Kinaesthetic students encouraged to use the hands on Popplet application; and
o Naturalist students encouraged to relate, discover and observe others throughout the lesson.
Other considerations
o Students who require additional assistance will be able to jointly construct and complete the
Concept Map modelled by the teacher during the enhancing phase.
o Gifted and talented students are encouraged to begin writing a paragraph explaining why they
believe their historical person positively influenced our Australian society. To do this students
simply expand the points they already included in their concept map.
o Special needs students will be able to complete activities using an iPad and / or receive assistance
from a scribe.
o Students with hearing impairments will be assisted with the use of a Front Row voice amplifier and
written instructions displayed on the overhead projector for continual reference throughout lessons
(Marsh, 2010).

Evaluation
o
o
o
o
o
o

Did students gain an understanding of the cultural diversity of our Australian society?
Did students identify the correct category their historical person positively contributed to?
Did students comprehend the different reasons for people migrating to Australia?
Were students able to identify the impact some Australians had on the Australian society?
Use digital technologies to collect data on Australian natives, residents and migrants.
Were the students able to access the required information to complete the task?

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Resource # 1
Sheet to be laminated for reuse, images cut out individually and displayed in no particular order.

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Resource # 1
Sheet to be laminated for reuse, names cut out individually and displayed in no particular order.

Banjo Patterson

Errol Flynn

Louise Sauvage

Caroline Chisolm

Fred Hallows

Matthew Flinders

Catherine Hamlin

Germain Greer

May Gibb

Catherine Spence

Howard Florey

Nancy Wake

Cathy Freeman

James Esmond

Ned Kelly

David Unaipon

Jessica Mauboy

Percy Grainger

Dawn Fraser

John Flynn

Robert Menzie

Eddie Mabo

Julia Gillard

Sir Henry Parkes

Edith Cowan

Kath Walker

Sir Joseph Banks

Edmond Barton

Lionel Rose

Victor Chang

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Resource # 1
Matched images and names:

Banjo Patterson

Cathy Freeman

Edith Cowan

Germain Greer

Jessica Mauboy

Louise Sauvage

Caroline Chisolm

David Unaipon

Edmund Barton

Howard Florey

John Flynn

Matthew Flinders

Catherine Hamlin

Dawn Fraser

Errol Flynn

James Esmond

Julia Gillard

May Gibb

Catherine Spence

Eddie Mabo

Fred Hallows

Kath Walker

Lionel Rose

Nancy Wake

Ned Kelly

Percy Grainger

Robert Menzies

Sir Henry Parkes

Sir Joseph Banks

Victor Chang

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Table for display on the overhead projector:

Resource # 1

CATEGORIES OF EXCELLENCE
Field of Excellence

Famous past and present Australians

Economy
e.g. gold rush

Education

Science & technology

e.g. scientists, inventors etc.

Arts
e.g. film, T.V, visual arts etc.

Sport

Health
e.g. doctors, specialists etc.

Politics

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Resource # 2

HISTORICAL PERSON CONCEPT MAP REQUIREMENTS

http://popplet.com/
Approved websites for research
http://www.whitehat.com.au/australia/people/people200.asp
http://www.aussieeducator.org.au/reference/famousaustralians.html
http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/
http://www.famousscientists.org/25-famous-australian-scientists-contributions/
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/v2/australians/default.htm
http://www.aaac.100megsfree5.com/people.htm
Completed
(tick)

Concept Map Requirements

Country of birth
Date of migration to Australia or Date of birth in Australia
Category of excellence
o Economy e.g. gold rush
o Education
o Science & technology e.g. scientists, inventors etc.
o Arts e.g. film, T.V, visual arts etc.
o Sport
o Health e.g. doctors, specialists etc.
o Politics
How they positively contributed to this category - What did they do?
At least 3 dot points describing why you think this persons actions (excellence)
positively influenced our society.

WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED:

When you have finished swap iPads with the person sitting next to you and review each others concept
map. Provide feedback on the following:
o The action of the historical person has been allocated to the correct category of excellence.
o A good description of what the person did has been included.
o There are at least three dot points explaining why the persons actions positively influenced our
society.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY:
Expand your three dot points and write a paragraph for each point to further explain why you believe
the persons actions positively influenced our society. Write this in your history book so you can refer
back to this at the end of the unit when you are required to write a Historical Recount on your historical
person.
Students review and provide feedback on the concept map created by the person sitting next to them.
Feedback points should be in the following areas:
o Category of excellence is reasonable
o Good description of what the person did?
o At least 3 dot points that explain why the student believes the persons actions positively influenced our
society.
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References
ABC. (2004). Famous Australians. Retrieved 15/03/2015 from
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/v2/australians/default.htm
Ashman, Adrian, and John Elkins. Education for inclusion and diversity. 4th Ed. Frenchs Forest NSW:
Pearson Australia, 2012.

Aussie Educator. (2014). Famous Australians. Retrieved 15/032015 from

http://www.aussieeducator.org.au/reference/famousaustralians.html

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Humanities and social sciences,
history, year 6. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-socialsciences/history/curriculum/f-10?layout=1#level6
Marsh, C. (2010). Becoming a teacher: Knowledge, skills and issues. 5th ed. Frenchs Forest, NSW:
Pearson Australia

National Archives of Australia. (n.d.) Australia's prime ministers. Retrieved 15/03/2015 from
http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/

Reynolds, R. (2012). Teaching history, geography and SOSE in the primary school. 2nd Ed. Oxford
University Press: South Melbourne.

The Association for the Advancement of Australian Culture. (n.d.) Prominent people of Australian
History. Retrieved 15/03/2015 from: http://www.aaac.100megsfree5.com/people.htm

The Art of Genius. (2015). Famous scientists. Retrieved 15/03/2015 from

http://www.famousscientists.org/25-famous-australian-scientists-contributions/

White hat. (2015). The white hat guide to 200 significant Australians. Retrieved 15/03/2015 from
http://www.whitehat.com.au/australia/people/people200.asp

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