History Level 6 (Years 9 and 10)
Learning focus
As students work towards the achievement of Level 6 standards in History, they investigate how Australia developed in terms of social, political and cultural structures and traditions. Students examine the impact of European colonisation of Australia, including the representation of that settlement as invasion. They learn about the struggles and successes of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to gain political and social rights, and their campaigns for land rights and self-determination. They learn about the impact of significant issues and events in Australia’s development; for example, European settlement; the development of the colonies; self-government in the colonies; the gold rushes; the development of trade unions; the events leading to Federation; World War I; World War II; post-World War II immigration; the development of multiculturalism; and the Gulf Wars. They investigate the contribution of significant Australians such as Lachlan Macquarie, Peter Lalor, Edith Cowan, Sir Howard Florey, Edward (Weary) Dunlop, Captain Reg Saunders, Margaret Tucker and Charles Perkins.
Students analyse significant events and movements which have resulted in improvements in civil and political rights for groups of Australians such as the eight-hour day and the right to vote for women, and describe the contributions of key participants and leaders in these events.
Students also learn about key events, ideologies and social and cultural movements that have shaped the contemporary world. They consider the impact of war on people and countries in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They learn about the increasingly global interconnections in the twentieth century, international organisations such as the United Nations, and challenges to global security. Key events could include the Russian and Chinese revolutions; the world wars; the Cold War and Cold War conflicts such as the Korean and Vietnam wars; Middle East conflicts; the break up of the Union of Soviet Social Republics; the emergence of the United States as a dominant world power; and conflicts in the late twentieth and the twenty-first centuries. Ideologies could include communism, fascism, capitalism and democracy. Social and cultural movements could include civil rights, feminism, environmentalism and the development of the film and music industries. Key leaders could include Lenin, Hitler, Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, F D Roosevelt, Mao Tse Tung, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.
Students investigate the impact of changes in technology, medicine and communication on their lives, and make links in their study of history to contemporary issues and the world today.
In their study of history, students become aware of the importance of historiography and that there are competing interpretations and contested narratives in history. They recognise the significance of different events within an historical context and learn how evidence and values produce different interpretations of events, people and institutions. They discover that history is not only a narrative but also a means of participating in the broader society. They use historical language and demonstrate understanding of the broad concepts of causation, motivation, continuity and change. They represent the past in a variety of forms.
Students frame research questions and locate relevant resources, including contemporary media and online resources. They continue to expand the range of primary and secondary sources they consult, and evaluate them in terms of origin, context, information, reliability, completeness, objectivity and bias. They use historical conventions to document sources including quotes, bibliographies and footnotes. They present their understanding in a variety of oral, written and electronic forms.
National Statements of Learning
This Learning focus statement incorporates aspects of the National Statements of Learning for Civics and Citizenship, Year 9.
Standards
Historical knowledge and understanding
At Level 6, students analyse events which contributed to Australia’s social, political and cultural development. These events could include: European colonisation, the growth of the colonies, self-government, the gold rushes, the development of trade unions, the events leading to Federation, Federation, World War I, World War II, immigration, and the Gulf Wars. Students evaluate the contribution of significant Australians to Australia’s development.
Students evaluate the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the fight for civil and political rights and land rights. They analyse significant events and movements which have resulted in improvements in civil and political rights for other groups of Australians such as the eight-hour day and the right to vote for women, and evaluate the contributions of key participants and leaders in these events. They compare different perspectives about a significant event and make links between historical and contemporary issues.
Students analyse the impact of some key wars and conflicts in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These could include the world wars, revolutions, the Cold War and post Cold War conflicts. They explain aspects of increasing global interconnections in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They demonstrate understanding of key ideologies and explain their influence on people’s lives, national events and international relations. They explain why significant social and cultural movements have developed and evaluate their influence on societies. They analyse changes in technology, medicine and communication.
Historical reasoning and interpretation
At Level 6, students frame research questions and locate relevant resources, including contemporary media and online resources. They identify, comprehend and evaluate a range of primary and secondary sources, including visual sources and use historical conventions such as footnotes and bibliographies to document sources. They critically evaluate sources of evidence for context, information, reliability, completeness, objectivity and bias. They recognise that in history there are multiple perspectives and partial explanations. They use appropriate historical language and concepts in historical explanations. They use evidence to support arguments and select and use appropriate written and oral forms to communicate develop historical explanations in a variety of oral, written and electronic forms.
Downloads
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The Humanities − History booklet (
PDF - 131KB) - The Humanities − History standards table (Doc - 40KB)
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Victorian Essential Learning Standards Level 6 ( PDF - 788KB)
