Top 10 Ideas for Teaching Australian History to Kids

1. Use Australian Living Books

One of the most enjoyable ways to learn history is through living books. Living books bring a depth and richness into history studies.

An Australian History spine is a living  book that weaves the whole of Australia’s story into a rich tapestry, it is an overview that covers the core of Australia’s history. A spine is like a historical washing line a place to hang your pegs of knowledge.

• The Australia Book by Eve Pownell © 1956. Republished  2008. This book tells the story of Australia. This 32 page quarto size book has excellent illustrations and would be perfect for young students.
  Age range 4-7years old.
• Our Sunburnt Country by Arthur Baillie ©2008 is an updated version of his popular 1964 work. This 140 page books spans history from Aboriginal settlement to the present. It has wonderful illustrations and a literary style.
  Age range 7-Adult.
• A Short History of Australia by Manning Clark © 2008 (updated).
  This book is at a high school and university level.
• Even though this is not a comprehensive history of Australia I highly recommend this book also. Papunya School Book of Country History by Nadia Wheatley
  © 2001.Written for the Papunya school as a record of history when white settlers came into central Australia and how this affected the Aboriginal people that lived around the region.

Once you have chosen your spine read it aloud if possible to your children. Engage the children with the narratives and don’t read too much in one sitting. Have them begging for more.

Here are some booklist suggestions.

• Australian Picture Book List
• Australian Literature Online Book Links
• Australian Novel Ideas.
• Here is a Australian Australian History Notebook just recording major events. This method is also very helpful for the student to see where Australia fits in with world history.

2. Narrations Oral and Written

Have your children narrate what they read. That is, tell back in their words, what they have heard you read (or they read). Narrations help the child and parent understand what is being comprehended. With the younger children this may be orally or with older children (from around 10 years old) it can be written. This is an acquired art. One I have not perfected, but I’m working on it.

3. Unit Study

Unit studies weave a web of connections and don’t always fall into neatly packaged subjects. Often topics overlap at times, or lead towards another subject. This is all part of the learning journey.

Our Australian Book Traveller teaches Australian history, art, science and geography using living picture books.

You can also focus on a particular topic and make a history lesson from that. It could be Prime Ministers of Australia ,The Australian Flag, or Australian cooking (Pavlova, Anzac Biscuits, Damper and Bush Tucker).

Saint Mary MacKillop Lapbook is a hands-on activity, written with passion, that can be used to teach children in a fun and interesting way about the life of Australia’s first canonised saint in the Catholic church.

4. Australian Architecture

Studying architecture can reveal different aspects of Australian history. Here are some starting points.

• Francis Greenway –Convict architect
• Governor Macquarie’s town planning.
• The Harbour Bridge
• The Opera House
• The Rabbit Proof Fence
• Old and New Parliament house

5. Australian Art.

Australian art reveals what life was like in the times gone by.

• “Gwion” Bradshaw rockpaintings in the Kimberley.
• Megafauna aboriginal rock paintings.
• Joseph Lycett Convict artist (1724-1825).
• Tom Roberts, (1856-1931) and Fredrick McCubbin (1855-1917)
• Albert Namatjira (1902–1959) Famous Aboriginal Painter
• D’Arcy Doyle (1932-2001) had a deep affinity with the Australian bush and his work focuses on horses, sheep, drovers, and other farm activities as well as children’s games and sport

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Teach your Students Aboriginal Dreamtime

Dust Echoes is one of the most polished digital literacy sites I have seen for a while.  It contains a large selection of Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories as animated cartoons with a range of interactive activities and lesson ideas to ensure these beautiful stories continue to be told to the world for the next fifty thousand years.

DustEchoes is a series of twelve beautifully animated dreamtime stories from Central Arnhem Land, telling stories of love, loyalty, duty to country and aboriginal custom and law.

It looks amazing containing loads of stylized Aboriginal Artwork.  The animation and dreamtime stories are beautifully narrated in simple language that caters for learners of all ages.  The stories are almost biblical in nature as the simple yet highly relevant messages being told through characters still relate to us all.

Excellent Interactive Myths & Legends Site for Creative Writers

Myths and Legends is a great site for pupils, teachers and all those who enjoy stories and storytelling. The British Isles is rich in myths, folktales and legends. Almost every town, city and village in Britain has its own special story, be it a Celtic legend, Dark Age mystery, strange happening or fable.

This flash based website has to be one of the best literacy offerings I have ever come accross so far for its depth of content media and its excellent sory creator tool that allows students to create their own animated storyboards of their own myths and legends.

The variety of stories in Myths and Legends aims to give inspiration to young people at school and at home to create and publish their own work. The site provides a multitude of tools and opportunities that enable pupils to submit their stories for the enjoyment of a world wide audience, with the prospect of receiving peer review and evaluation.

Most of the site is for the enjoyment and instruction of young people; just the story origins and teachers' area use language which may be more difficult for some pupils.

Differentiation is achieved by the range and flexibility of the tools offered. Children can, and do, respond creatively at their own level in a variety of media.

All the stories that we receive are moderated, but what you see is the pupils' own work. If work is not suitable to be published, the authors are given feedback and suggestions to help them revise their story or to think about when they create a new story.  Check it out here.

Tales of the Sun - Great Reading and Writing Task

Most cultures have recognized the significance of the sun as prime controller of all life on earth. Read myths, legends, and tales about the sun from the Stanford Solar Center.  Access it here.

Can your students uncover the mysteries of the Nile?

Want to see the Sphinx close up? Clamber inside the Great Pyramid? Visitthe magnificent tombs and temples of Luxor? Simply click on the imagesand enjoy a self-guided QuickTime tour through the Land of the Pharaohs.

There's so much here, it's easy to get lost. Use the Site Guide to seethe list of everything available. Classroom resources section helps youcustomize your own lesson plans, check out their lesson plans, or getstarted with ideas to energize your students.  Access it here.

Grade Level: Early Childhood (K-2), Elementary, Middle School, HighSchool, College, Adult/Professional

Amazing interactive Greek Mythology Site for Students

What is it?  I came across Winged Sandals a number of years ago and was really impressed by the amount of effort and detail that had been put into this beautiful site retelling Ancient Greek Mythology.  My kids learnt the stories of Zeus, Athena, Medusa, Icarus and Achilles.  Dicovering who they were and most importantly the message behind their tale of fate or bravery.  Then all of the sudden it just disappeared for around 4 years.

The great news is that it is back and better than ever.  Winged Sandals has beautiful animated stories, a games section where you can replay some of the most famous events of Greek History, Make & Do for teachers to get creative with their students, a who's who? of Monsters, Gods and Mortals, A history Section and even a chance to ask the Oracle a question about life.

There is a good units worth of work here for teachers to offer their students and best of all your  students will really love the interactivity and edgy artwork behind the site.

How can I use this with my students?  I find this a great tool for literacy to teach students about fables and mythology.  They can use this site to read see and hear the most important stories of Greek mythology then discussing as a group what the message and meaning was behind the story and how to subtly work into a tale.  Obviously for History teachers there is a wealth of great content here and anyone studying any form of philosophy or political science will need to pop in for a visit too.

I personally think there is something here for people aged  6 to 106 and would strongly recommend taking a look at Winged Sandals today.  Let us know what you think too.

Dust Echoes: Amazing Interactive Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories with Teacher Guides

Dust Echoes is one of the most polished digital literacy sites I have seen for a while.  It contains a large selection of Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories as animated cartoons with a range of interactive activities and lesson ideas to ensure these beautiful stories continue to be told to the world for the next fifty thousand years.

DustEchoes is a series of twelve beautifully animated dreamtime stories from Central Arnhem Land, telling stories of love, loyalty, duty to country and aboriginal custom and law.

It looks amazing containing loads of stylized Aboriginal Artwork.  The animation and dreamtime stories are beautifully narrated in simple language that caters for learners of all ages.  The stories are almost biblical in nature as the simple yet highly relevant messages being told through characters still relate to us all.

How can I integrate this into the classroom:  The Australian Aboriginals are recognized as one of the oldest civilizations on the planet who lived an uninterrupted existence with nature until 1770 when Captain Cook stepped onto the Australian shore line and changed their people forever.  Aboriginal culture is extremely rich and diverse within their own groups of people who lived in perfect harmony with mother earth.

Their stories of sustainability, peace, harmony and respecting the earth as a living being with a soul to be respected may be more relevant to our society than ever before.

Download the Study guide for the story you wish to share.  Watch the stories, identify the characters and answer the quiz relating to each story as a whole class.  Once Students have an understanding of the make up of a an aboriginal dreamtime story get your children to create their own dreamtime stories that have a message for us in 2010.  If you want to use authentic aboriginal art styles and colours you need to check out this site. 

I would love to see some of these posted up on the web that could be shared with our readers.