Year 5鈥檚 Australian Museum
This term, our Year 5 students have been delving back into Australian history, exploring the people, ideas and products that have helped to shape our history and change our society in different ways.
Change. It’s a word that strikes terror into some of our hearts. But for those of us willing to take a risk and step outside our comfort zones, change can bring opportunity, renewal and transformation for the rest of civilisation.
For Year 5’s latest PYP unit of inquiry into Where we are in Place and Time, students explored the central idea: People and communities have shaped civilisation. Through their research, they discovered some of the incredible thinking that has helped Australian society to adapt and evolve.
As part of their inquiry, Year 5 worked in pairs to conduct their own research into some of the people, ideas and innovations that have helped to mould Australia into the country it is today. Last week, they had an opportunity to present their findings to their peers, setting up their very own Australian Museum in their classrooms.
Elsa and Amelia chose to focus on former Premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian, and traced how the introduction of the Opal card had revolutionised the way we travel. Lucia and Olivia looked at former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd’s Apology to the Stolen Generation, researching the shameful period in Australia's history where Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families. They examined the legacy of trauma and loss that continues to affect First Nations communities, families and individuals today and what the national apology meant to the Stolen Generation.
Daisy and Arabella looked at World War 2 and inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Skye, Jessica and Lucca examined how human rights and women rights’ movements had irrevocably changed Australia.
Elsewhere, students looked at the First Fleet and the history of the Union Jack. They researched climate change and the Black Thursday bushfires. They looked at the booing of Australian of the Year and former AFL player, Adam Goodes. They looked at the cultural history of the Southern Cross and they examined the gold rush and the influx of Chinese migration (as shown in Zoe's video below) that it sparked, which transformed Australian society.
This unit of inquiry has given Year 5 a fascinating window into the development of Australian civilisation over time, bringing to life just some of the people and influences that have helped to shape Australia into the vibrant modern society it is today.