Australian Curriculum

5.4.2 Years 3–6 (typically from 8 to 12 years of age)

Curriculum focus

In Years 3 – 6 life in past times and places will be explored through a range of perspectives

and themes. This will provide students with opportunities to gain a broad understanding

of the diverse ways in which people organised, thought about and experienced their

lives. The focus will be on significant periods, events, personalities and places within and

beyond Australia. Students will develop knowledge and understanding about Australian

history, covering pre- and post- Indigenous/European contact. Students will learn about

Australia’s national symbols and key historical events including colonisation, Federation

and the world wars. Students will understand that Australia’s past pre-dates British

colonisation and can recognise and value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander influences

on our present day society.

Through this learning, students will develop an appreciation of the legacy of the past.

Students will develop historical skills which include:

• using common historical terms for describing time and sequencing events and

developments in chronological order

• asking questions, finding relevant answers, and constructing informed responses

• developing a basic understanding of how evidence can be used to provide historical

explanations

• developing appropriate techniques of organisation and communication.

The writing process will develop a scope and sequence across Years 3 – 6 that avoids

overlap and repetition and ensures a balance of breadth and depth in the development

of historical knowledge, understanding and skills in the curriculum.

The curriculum will recognise the needs of non-specialist history teachers by providing

sufficient clarity and detail.

The history curriculum across Years 3–6 will be developed around four focus questions:

1. What do we know about the past?

2. How did Australians live in the past?

3....