Goal - The goal of this lesson is to provide students with not just an understanding of Australian Federation but more so to educate grade 6 students on the causes and consequences of Australian Federation. As per the Melbourne Declaration of 2008, which highlights the goal of "All young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens." (National Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians, 2008) in particular educating students on the importance of being active and informed citizens that "appreciate Australia’s social, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity, and have an understanding of Australia’s system of government, history and culture." (National Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians, 2008) and also to understand and acknowledge the value of Indigenous cultures and to "possess the knowledge, skills and understanding to contribute to, and benefit from, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians." (National Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians, 2008)
By the end of this lesson students will have a greater understanding of not only Australian federation but also the concept of cause and consequence, students will be taught an overview of the events that inspired federation, who the stakeholders were and the effect on the indigenous population. Whilst this lesson will focus primarily on the main concept of cause and consequences, the overall lesson will encompass other areas of Humanities and Social Science and allow for the students to work on overall knowledge.
The main resource used for this lesson is a video produced by BTN (Behind The News) as detailed in the Resources section of this website. The video is a 5 min introduction to federation, it is aimed at primary school students, in particular grade six and delivers information in a manner that would keep student's attention and engage with them. The lesson itself would be divided into three main areas; introduction, body and conclusion.
Introduction - The introductory stage of this lesson would consist of 5-10 minutes of revision. It is at this stage that students will be asked orally to answer questions based off prior learning. The concept of federation will be revised and discussed. Students will be asked to demonstrate their overall knowledge on the subject. At the conclusion of the revision process a handout detailing revised knowledge will be distributed to the students. This worksheet would contain information such as; important dates of federation, key stakeholders, and include pictorial representations of state/colony borders prior to federation and after federation.
By the end of this lesson students will have a greater understanding of not only Australian federation but also the concept of cause and consequence, students will be taught an overview of the events that inspired federation, who the stakeholders were and the effect on the indigenous population. Whilst this lesson will focus primarily on the main concept of cause and consequences, the overall lesson will encompass other areas of Humanities and Social Science and allow for the students to work on overall knowledge.
The main resource used for this lesson is a video produced by BTN (Behind The News) as detailed in the Resources section of this website. The video is a 5 min introduction to federation, it is aimed at primary school students, in particular grade six and delivers information in a manner that would keep student's attention and engage with them. The lesson itself would be divided into three main areas; introduction, body and conclusion.
Introduction - The introductory stage of this lesson would consist of 5-10 minutes of revision. It is at this stage that students will be asked orally to answer questions based off prior learning. The concept of federation will be revised and discussed. Students will be asked to demonstrate their overall knowledge on the subject. At the conclusion of the revision process a handout detailing revised knowledge will be distributed to the students. This worksheet would contain information such as; important dates of federation, key stakeholders, and include pictorial representations of state/colony borders prior to federation and after federation.
Image source - [Map of Australia]. Retrieved from http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/lawdemo/MAPS/MAPA3.GIF
Body - During the body of the lesson the BTN video (http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3962777.htm) will be used as the main resource, the students would sit down and with the use of a digital projector watch the video. The use of the video is to introduce further knowledge and act as a platform to establish causes and consequences of federation, without the base knowledge it is difficult for students to explore further concepts. After watching the video students will be asked to demonstrate their knowledge and comprehension of what has been watched. To build upon this knowledge the teacher will direct a number of activities that allow for further exploration of the topic. This allows for a lesson that steers away from didactic teaching. The first activity would be a role play based activity. Students would be divided into three main stakeholder groups; everyday colony members, leaders of individual colonies and the indigenous population. It is here that students will come up with a list of consequences of federation both positive and negative. Student's will be guided towards empathising with people of the past and to seek out how they would feel if they were in the position of their group. Students will be asked to think about the answer to questions such as; "What do you think the biggest consequence of federation would be for you? (Cause and consequence concept) Do you think it is fair that the indigenous people were practically ignored during this time of Australia's history? What do you think led to Australia forming a federation? (Cause and consequence concept) Do you think it is important? Students will also be asked to come up with their own thoughts on the situation and unfolding results of federation. The History Teachers' Association of Australia discusses the achievement standards by the end of Year 6 with students being able to compare the different experiences of people in the past ("Federation | Ac History Units," n.d.). It is important that teachers are able to implement not only lessons, but activities during lessons to facilitate this thought pattern.
During this time the teacher will walk around throughout the groups of students, prompting questions to think about different scenarios. The teacher will provide information as to the outcomes of federation for each group and attempt to evaluate the student's understanding of what is being taught.
At the end of the assigned 15-20 minutes of time the students will come together to discuss what they have found. Students will be asked to stand in front of their peers and talk about how they as members of the past would feel about federation and to answer the questions that have been posed to them. This allows for the students to hear from other groups about their thought processes and patterns and to also help build upon overall knowledge.
Conclusion - It is during the conclusion of the lesson that the teacher is able to check the student's knowledge of the concept delivered throughout the lesson. It is here that the teacher is able to ask questions of the students that prove the understanding of the concept of cause and consequence of Australian federation. If students are able to demonstrate two key elements that they were taught then it is likely a successful lesson. First, that they are aware that the causes of living as independent colonies were not beneficial to the overall future of one country. Secondly, that the consequences of federation were varied and were different for different groups of people throughout Australia then it is likely that the concept has been successfully taught to students.
References
Behind The News: Federation. (2014, March 18). Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3962777.htm
[Map of Australia]. Retrieved from http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/lawdemo/MAPS/MAPA3.GIF
Federation | AC History Units. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.achistoryunits.edu.au/year-6/unit-program/y6-overview-v2.html
National Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf
During this time the teacher will walk around throughout the groups of students, prompting questions to think about different scenarios. The teacher will provide information as to the outcomes of federation for each group and attempt to evaluate the student's understanding of what is being taught.
At the end of the assigned 15-20 minutes of time the students will come together to discuss what they have found. Students will be asked to stand in front of their peers and talk about how they as members of the past would feel about federation and to answer the questions that have been posed to them. This allows for the students to hear from other groups about their thought processes and patterns and to also help build upon overall knowledge.
Conclusion - It is during the conclusion of the lesson that the teacher is able to check the student's knowledge of the concept delivered throughout the lesson. It is here that the teacher is able to ask questions of the students that prove the understanding of the concept of cause and consequence of Australian federation. If students are able to demonstrate two key elements that they were taught then it is likely a successful lesson. First, that they are aware that the causes of living as independent colonies were not beneficial to the overall future of one country. Secondly, that the consequences of federation were varied and were different for different groups of people throughout Australia then it is likely that the concept has been successfully taught to students.
References
Behind The News: Federation. (2014, March 18). Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3962777.htm
[Map of Australia]. Retrieved from http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/lawdemo/MAPS/MAPA3.GIF
Federation | AC History Units. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.achistoryunits.edu.au/year-6/unit-program/y6-overview-v2.html
National Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf