Core Skills Analysis
History (HSIE)
Mikhail learned that European colonies were established in Australia and connected their settlement with the transportation of convicts. Mikhail understood the basic idea that European authorities sent convicts to Australia because they wanted to reduce the number held in Europe. This helped Mikhail identify a motive behind colonisation and consider how decisions made by authorities affected people who were transported. The activity also introduced Mikhail to the way explanations of the past can reflect a particular viewpoint, encouraging careful consideration of how historical events are described.
Tips
Tips Build on Mikhail’s learning by creating a simple timeline showing the establishment of colonies and the transportation of convicts, using a reliable age-appropriate history source. Compare a short account written from an official’s perspective with one describing a transported person’s experience, then discuss what each account emphasizes. On a map, trace the journey from Europe to Australia and use the distance to prompt a conversation about the practical challenges of transportation. Finally, invite Mikhail to write a brief, evidence-based explanation of why convict transportation occurred and how it affected the people involved.
Book Recommendations
- Convict Workers: Reinterpreting Australia's Past by Stephen Nicholas: A historical study of convict transportation and the role of convicts in Australian society; best explored with adult guidance.
- The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan: An illustrated allegorical story that supports discussion about colonisation, perspective, and the effects of settlement.
Learning Standards
- History (HSIE), HT4-3: Mikhail considered the motives of authorities who transported convicts and the consequences for transported people.
- History (HSIE), HT4-4: Mikhail connected European convict numbers with the decision to send convicts to Australia, considering a cause-and-effect relationship.
- History (HSIE), HT4-7: The activity introduced differing possible perspectives on convict transportation and colonisation.
- History (HSIE), HT4-9: The learning involved historical concepts including colonies, convicts, settlement, and transportation.
Try This Next
- Timeline task: arrange key events about convict transportation and the establishment of Australian colonies using a trusted source.
- Perspective writing: compose a short account of transportation from the viewpoint of a European official or a transported convict, using evidence.
- Map activity: trace a Europe-to-Australia route and label the departure and arrival points.