ABC Education: Convict and Colonial Australia
https://education.abc.net.au/home#!/topic/494654/convict-and-colonial-australia
This resource is a large collection of videos, digital books, links, games and audio files about the research topic.
Instructions
You can narrow your search by choosing the type of resource using the icons at the top of the collection.
Check the grade level on each resource. Year 5 resources will have the most useful information about your research topic.
Once you have found a good resource, check the Related Keywords section. These tags will take you to a page showing all the resources that ABC Education have on that topic.
EXAMPLE
If you want to know more about the gold rush, click on the ‘Gold rushes’ tag.
K’gari: An Interactive Documentary
K’gari is a 10 minute interactive story. You will learn about Eliza Fraser, a Scottish woman who was shipwrecked on an island near the colony of Brisbane in 1836. She lied about her experiences with the Aboriginal people living there, unfairly giving them a bad name.
Instructions
When you see the mouse icon, use your mouse to destroy the words on the screen.
Read the instructions that pop up during the story. These will help you get to the end.
While watching the documentary, make notes. Listen to and read the words to find the important information.
Organise your notes using the Note-taking Graphic Organiser. When you have finished, look for gaps in your information. If there are gaps, you may need to do more research using a different resource.
Australian History Timeline
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/australian-history-timeline-pre-1770s-2000s
The Australian History Timeline is a collection of 24 short videos about Australian history, including the Eureka Stockade, explorers, and Ned Kelly the bushranger.
Instructions
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to narrow your search to pre-1770s to 1890s.
The upward triangle icon will take you to the top of the page. You can find this icon on many other websites.
When searching through the resources in the timeline, click on EXPAND to find out more about the video.
Defining Moments In Australian History
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments
This resource presents important moments from Australia’s history, such as the founding of new colonies in the 1800s, or early exploration.
Instructions
Use the search tools to narrow your search for an information resource. You can:
- type in key words
- select a topic (such as gold, exploration, or colonial)
- select a place
- select a subject (such as Australia History or Indigenous Culture and History)
- select your grade level
- select a month
If you would like to browse the entire timeline, click on ‘EXPLORE THE TIMELINE’.
When using the timeline, click and hold to scroll to the left or the right. You can also use the years at the top to select a time period. The cross in the top right corner will take you back to the search screen.
Stories Showcasing People, Places and Ideas
https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories
This resource is a collection of stories created by the State Library of New South Wales. Each story includes words and pictures.
Instructions
You can search for a story in this collection by typing key words. A list of options will display for you to choose from below the search bar.
You can also search by subject using the tags below the search bar. Aboriginal Australians, Exploration or History would be a good place to start.
When you click on a story, the information is spread out on many web pages. You can see the names of each chapter of the story below the header. Click on them to view chapters of interest.
EXAMPLE
If you’re looking for information about daily life as a gold miner, you would choose ‘A Miner’s Life: Living on the Goldfields’.
Child Convicts of Australia
https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/learning/resources/child-convicts-australia
Imagine if you were sent to an unknown country for committing a small crime. This resource is a series of 6 videos showing what life was like for convict children as young as 9 years old.
Instructions
This resource is similar to YouTube. The next videos in the series are listed on the right. The description is shown below the video.
There are some icons you can click when using videos online:
Broken Square – Full screen.
Speaker – Change the volume.
CC – Add subtitles (not available on all videos).
Cog – Change the settings such as video quality and speed.
My Place (Website)
https://www.abc.net.au/abc3/myplace/index.htm
This interactive website lets you explore how Australian children lived in every decade from before 1788 to 2008.
Instructions
Use the Timeline to select a decade.
Hover over objects in the picture to find out where you will go when you click on them.
Hover over the central timeline to learn facts about that year in history.
Use the Home button in the top right corner to return to the big tree.
Australian Explorers
http://www.davidreilly.com/australian_explorers/
This website has information about 11 Australian explorers written at 2 difficulty levels. Each article includes a picture of the explorer and a map of their expeditions.
Instructions
Click on an explorer to see their information.
Choose ‘Click here for the easier version’ to see a version with shorter sentences and paragraphs, and dot points.
Can You Strike It Rich During the Gold Rush?
http://australianhistorymysteries.info/resource-zone/interactives/goldrush/
This is a game you can play with 3 friends! Choose your character and take them to the goldfields. But, be careful … every choice you make will either help you strike gold, or leave you emptyhanded!
Instructions
Click the ‘Help’ button in the top right corner to check the rules.
Read the scenarios carefully. Each has useful information about life on the Victorian goldfields.
At the end of the game, you can:
- go back and play as a different character.
- click ‘FIND OUT MORE’ to learn more about gold mining in Australia.
