Year Level Plan
History
Year 4
Year level description
First Contacts
The Year 4 curriculum introduces world history and the movement of peoples. Students examine
European exploration and colonisation in Australia and throughout the world up to the early 1800s.
They examine the impact of exploration on other societies, how these societies interacted with
newcomers, and how these experiences contributed to their cultural diversity. Students then explore
the history of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples and, using their understandings of
the impacts of colonisation on colonised peoples, compare life before and after contact with
Europeans.
Curriculum intent
The content provides opportunities to develop historical understanding through key concepts including
sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance. These
concepts may be investigated within a particular historical context to facilitate an understanding of the
past and to provide a focus for historical inquiries. The history content at this year level involves two
strands: Historical Knowledge and Understanding and Historical Skills. These strands are interrelated
and should be taught in an integrated way; they may be integrated across learning areas and in ways
that are appropriate to specific local contexts. The order and detail in which they are taught are
programming decisions.
A framework for developing students’ historical knowledge, understanding and skills is provided by
inquiry questions through the use and interpretation of sources.
The key inquiry questions at this year level are:




Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
What was life like for Aboriginal people and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples before the arrival
of the Europeans?
Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal people and/or Torres
Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?
Achievement standard
By the end of Year 4, students explain how and why life changed in the past, and identify aspects of
the past that remained the same. They describe the experiences of an individual or group over time.
They recognise the significance of events in bringing about change.
Students sequence events and people (their lifetime) in chronological order to identify key dates. They
pose a range of questions about the past. They identify sources (written, physical, visual, oral), and
locate information to answer these questions. They recognise different points of view. Students
develop and present texts, including narratives, using historical terms.
Unit outline
Semester 1
Semester 2
Unit 1: Investigating European exploration and the movement of peoples
Unit 2: Investigating the impact of colonisation
Inquiry question/s:
Inquiry question/s:

Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?

Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
Sequencing the teaching and learning
In this unit, students:

What was life like for Aboriginal people and/or Torres Strait Islander
peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?

What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal
people and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and early traders, explorers
and settlers?

recognise connections between world history events and the history of
Australia

appreciate the remains of the past can reveal aspects of what life was like
then


recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories as part of the
shared history belonging to all Australians
investigate the journeys of the great explorers from the 1400s to the late
1700s and how these resulted in colonisation and the building of empires
around the globe

appreciate the longevity and richness of the history of Aboriginal peoples
and Torres Strait Islander peoples

pose questions about the reasons for the colonisation of Australia by the
British

investigate the histories, cultures and daily lives of Aboriginal peoples and
Torres Strait Islander peoples prior to contact with others

use provided sources to examine the journeys that led to Australia’s
colonisation by the English through the arrival of the First Fleet, the
establishment of the first settlement in Sydney Cove and the early days of
the colony

pose questions about the effect of colonisation, particularly the arrival of
early traders, explorers and settlers on Aboriginal peoples and Torres
Strait Islander peoples

use provided sources to identify points of view and examine the impact of
these interactions on families and the environment

describe the experiences of a group over time identifying events that
brought change.

sequence key events related to the colonisation of Australia

describe the experiences of a convict who travelled on the First Fleet and
identify how life changed.
In this unit, students:
General capabilities and Cross-curriculum priorities
Opportunities to engage with:
Opportunities to engage with:
Key to General capabilities and Cross-curriculum priorities
Literacy
Numeracy
ICT competence
Critical and creative thinking
Ethical behaviour
Personal and social
Intercultural understanding
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Asia and Australia’s
Sustainability
competence
Islander histories and cultures
engagement with Asia
Assessment
Students should contribute to an individual assessment folio that provides evidence of their learning and represents their achievements over the year. The folio should
include a range and balance of assessments for teachers to make valid judgments about whether the student has met the achievement standard.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Unit 1: Investigating European exploration and the movement of peoples
Unit 2: Investigating the impact of colonisation
Collection of work - written
Research – multimodal
The purpose of this technique is to assess student responses to a series of focussed This technique is used to assess students’ abilities to research, collect, analyse and
tasks related to specific steps in the process of historical inquiry.
draw conclusions about sources.
Students individually complete four short assessments (, a timeline, a convict profile
and a fictional historical narrative) chronicling the life of a convict of the First Fleet.
The assessment will gather evidence of the student’s ability to:

pose a range of questions about the life of a convict on the First Fleet

locate information in provided sources in response to questions

sequence events and people (their lifetime) to identify key dates

profile the experiences of a convict, including how and why life changed

explain the significance of events in bringing about change
Students follow an inquiry approach that aligns with the historical skills strand and
communicate their findings, using written and non-written text-types specific to the
study of history.
The assessment will gather evidence of the student’s ability to:
write a narrative using historical terms and concepts, from the point of view
of a convict, chronicling their life and the changes experienced.
Making consistent judgments / Feedback
Teachers co-mark collections of work to ensure consistency of judgments.
Curriculum leaders randomly sample captioned storyboards for consistency of teacher judgments.
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plan research

pose a range of questions about daily lives of Aboriginal peoples and Torres
Strait Islander peoples prior to contact with others

identify sources and locate information in provided sources in response to
questions

develop a text describing continuity and change in the lives of Aboriginal
peoples or a group of Torres Strait Islander people before and after contact
with other cultures

identify and explain different points of view in sources.
Balance and coverage of content descriptions
Year 4
History Knowledge
Semester
History Understanding
Semester
History Skills
Semester
First Contact
1
2
Sources
1
2
Chronological terms and
concepts
1
2
Written or non-written materials that
can be used to investigate the past.
A source becomes ‘evidence’ if it is
of value to a particular inquiry.
1
2
The diversity and longevity of
Australia’s first peoples and the ways
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait
Islander peoples are connected to
Country and Place (land, sea,
waterways and skies) and the
implications for their daily lives
(ACHHK077)
The journey(s) of AT LEAST ONE
world navigator, explorer or trader up
to the late eighteenth century,
including their contacts with other
societies and any impacts
(ACHHK078)
1
Stories of the First Fleet, including
reasons for the journey, who travelled
to Australia, and their experiences
following arrival (ACHHK079)
1
The nature of contact between
Aboriginal people and/or Torres Strait
Islanders and others, for example, the
Macassans and the Europeans, and
the effects of these interactions on,
for example families and the
environment (ACHHK080)
Use historical terms (ACHHS066)
Continuity and Change
2
Continuities are aspects of the past
that have remained the same over
certain periods of time. Changes are
events or developments from the
past that represent modifications,
alterations and transformations.
Cause and Effect
Perspectives
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
Historical Questions and Research
Pose questions about the past using
sources provided (ACHHS017)
Analysis and use of sources
Locate relevant information from
sources provided (ACHHS068)
1
2
A point of view or position from which
events are seen and understood, and
influenced by age, gender, culture,
social position and beliefs and
values.
Empathy
1
Identify sources (ACHHS215)
The relationship between a factor or
set of factors (cause/s) and
consequence/s (effect/s). These form
sequences of events and
developments over time.
2
Sequence historical people and
events (ACHHS065)
2
Perspectives and interpretations
Identify different points of view
(ACHHS069)
1
2
Explanation and Communication
Balance and coverage of content descriptions
Year 4
History Knowledge
Semester
History Understanding
Semester
An understanding of the past from
the point of view of the participant/s,
including an appreciation of the
circumstances faced, and the
motivations, values and attitudes
behind actions.
Significance
The importance that is assigned to
particular aspects of the past, such
as events, developments,
movements and historical sites, and
includes an examination of the
principles behind the selection of
what should be investigated and
remembered.
History Skills
Semester
Develop texts, particularly narratives
(ACHHS070)
Use a range of communication forms
(oral, graphic, written, role play) and
digital technologies (ACHHS022)
1
2
1
2