My special place – ABOVE
Students produced a drawing of an important place in their lives. The teacher then interviewed the students regarding the reasons why the places depicted were important. The explanations were transcribed by the teacher. The drawings and explanations formed …
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My birthday week – ABOVE
Students positioned their birthday on a template provided by the teacher. Students also recorded the date of each day on the template and used text and images to indicate all personal or public events and celebrations occurring within the week.
My birthday week – ABOVE | Samples | Work samples | Resources
Then and now – ABOVE (Year 1)
Students talked about schools in the past – ‘then’ – compared to the present – ‘now’. They drew pictures and wrote a simple text to illustrate and describe schools in the past and present. The teacher supported students in editing, scanning and including …
Then and now – ABOVE (Year 1) | Samples | Work samples | Resources
My place in the world – ABOVE
Students listened to and discussed a teacher-reading of a picture book, such as My Place in Space or Me on the Map. Students then collected photographs and maps to show the location of their own homes on a variety of scales. The pictures were positioned …
My place in the world – ABOVE | Samples | Work samples | Resources
Creating a place – ABOVE
Students conducted surveys and collected data about different environments. Students then used the data to inform their drawings of imagined places and wrote reflections on the process and the choices they made. The entire task took place over a one-week …
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My connections – ABOVE
Students discussed their personal connections to places in the world beyond Australia, particularly the Asia-Pacific region. Students then labelled and annotated a teacher-provided map of the region to indicate and explain these connections. The task …
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Australia and its neighbours – ABOVE
Students labelled outline maps to show the location of the following: the states, territories and capital cities of Australia; some of the major natural features of Australia; and Australia’s neighbouring countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Students …
Australia and its neighbours – ABOVE | Samples | Work samples | Resources
Save the bushland – ABOVE
Students undertook a teacher-led excursion to a local bushland area that had been marked for potential redevelopment. Students examined and discussed arguments for and against the redevelopment. Students then wrote letters to the editor of the local newspaper …
Save the bushland – ABOVE | Samples | Work samples | Resources
Explorer research – ABOVE
Students selected a seventeenth century Dutch explorer from a list provided by the teacher. They were asked to pose a series of questions about the explorer using the stems ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘why’. With teacher guidance and support …
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Island map – ABOVE
Students were asked to draw a map of an island to demonstrate their understanding of maps and the use of legends, scales, compass directions and grid references. They were also asked to position a ‘treasure’ at a particular location on the map and then …
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First Fleet recount – ABOVE
Students investigated the voyage of the First Fleet using primary and secondary sources selected by the teacher. In pairs, they selected one of the eleven ships in the fleet and posed questions to research. On a teacher-created template, the pair of students …
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Letter to the local government – ABOVE
Students were presented with a geographical challenge associated with the use of a beach in their local area. Students researched the nature and causes of the issue, explored differing viewpoints and formulated possible solutions. They presented their …
Letter to the local government – ABOVE | Samples | Work samples | Resources
The Australian colonies – ABOVE
Students constructed climate maps to show the location of the major climate zones in Australia. Students then produced overlays for the maps to indicate key events from the colonial history of each state and territory along with indications of its main …
The Australian colonies – ABOVE | Samples | Work samples | Resources
Bushfire action plan – ABOVE
Students were asked to write a bushfire action plan for their homes. Students examined digital and printed advice from rural fire authorities to identify key information and worked in consultation with their parents or carers to personalise the structure …
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Travel itinerary – ABOVE
Students were asked to produce a map depicting the position, distance and direction of places in the northern hemisphere relative to a location in eastern Australia. The map was to be presented as an itinerary for a potential round-the-world journey by …
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Eureka Stockade: rights and responsibilities – ABOVE
Students studied the people and events of 1854 at Ballarat, Victoria. They explored the living and working conditions on the goldfields and the specific actions associated with the Eureka Stockade. At the end of the unit they entered their ideas about …
Eureka Stockade: rights and responsibilities – ABOVE | Samples | Work samples | Resources
A refugee’s suitcase – ABOVE
Students watched the episode ‘Cuc Lam’s Suitcase’ from the National Treasures series produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. They were asked to imagine they were a refugee from the Vietnam War and describe the contents of the suitcase they would …
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Email to a member of parliament – ABOVE
Students explored levels of mobile phone use and ownership in Australia as part of a unit on resources, consumers and businesses. They then wrote an email that might be sent to their local federal member of parliament requesting new legislation in relation …
Email to a member of parliament – ABOVE | Samples | Work samples | Resources
Source analysis: Ötzi, the iceman – Above
Students were presented with a selection of unseen primary and secondary sources associated with the discovery of the body of Ötzi, the iceman, in 1991. They were asked to answer a series of questions about each of these sources and then propose an explanation …
Source analysis: Ötzi, the iceman – Above | Samples | Work samples | Resources
Letter: Life in ancient China – Above (history)
Students were asked to adopt the perspective of a peasant in ancient China and to write a letter describing the main features of their life. This task was undertaken at the end of a unit on ancient China in which students investigated housing, work, clothing, …
Letter: Life in ancient China – Above (history) | Samples | Work samples | Resources