CLIC teaching resource for A Convict Story [External link]

This resource has been developed by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales (HHT) in partnership with the NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre (CLIC) to support the HHT Connected Classrooms: a convict story program, which engages students in a virtual, interactive field trip via videoconference. Many of the tasks in this resource would enhance a class visit to the Hyde Park Barracks Museum or the Museum of Sydney and enrich student learning.

The resource can also be used in the classroom independent of these programs.

Syllabus links:

• CCS2.1: Describes events and actions related to the British colonisation of Australia and assesses changes and consequences
• CCS3.1: Explains the significance of particular people, groups, places, actions and events in the past in developing Australian identities and heritage

Using this resource:

The resource is in sections, which are accessed from the opening screen. There are teaching notes for each of these sections:

• Journeys
• Convict identities
• At the barracks
• Artefacts
• Go back in time
• Activities and quiz
• First Australians

Students will gain background information from a variety of primary sources, including artefacts, artworks and texts, such as journals. Students have the opportunity to complete and present some tasks online or in print. A list of useful websites and a comprehensive bibliography are included.

Journeys

In A convict story: Journeys, students will:

• discover why convicts were transported to Australia
• follow the journey of the First Fleet from England to Australia
• record the journey on a map of the world online or on paper
• write a shopping list a convict may have prepared before transportation
• estimate the number of belongings you could pack in a convict box
• design a convict love token to leave with a loved one in Great Britain
• sing the Ballad of Botany Bay, then write a verse or compose a ballad to perform
• mark and present the journey to Australia of family or an ancestor
• conduct research and record family history in 'My family passport'.

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Convict identities

In A convict story: Convict identities, students will:

• read the records of 36 male convicts and adopt one identity as their own
• examine the image A convict jail gang by Augustus Earle
• respond to questions about the image and the characters represented
• plan and perform or record an improvisation
• present a selection of the character role play as a comic strip
• make broad arrow badges to wear as their convict identity
• compare convict clothing to that worn by others in the colony
• categorise convict work as skilled or unskilled
• write a convict indent for you convict identity
• create your convict face online or in print
• design and describe a convict tattoo.

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At the barracks

In A convict story: At the barracks, students will:

• view images from and read about the Hyde Park Barracks
• rollover the floor plan to learn about the layout between 1819 and 1848
• examine images and text about convict routines and rules
• respond by writing a diary or journal entry for a day in the life of a convict
• write a report for a newspaper about the barracks, online or in print
• watch a slideshow of the Hyde Park Barracks Museum today and its role in sharing the history of the colony.

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Artefacts

In A convict story: Artefacts students will:

• read about artefacts and view some reproductions from convict times.
• access questions for discussion about the images.

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Go back in time

In A convict story: Go back in time students will:

• link to video clips and find out how to join the Connected classroom: a convict story videoconference session. DEC schools book through DART Connections and independent schools book here at Historic Houses Trust website.
• see the ‘convict’ presenters in action in the video clips.
• browse the education services on the Historic Houses Trust website for resources and book your students in for a diverse range of programs and face-to-face experiences.

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Activities and quiz

In A convict story: Activities and quiz, students will:

• match events with the dates they occurred
• select correct answers in a multiple-choice quiz online, or
• answer multiple choice and short-answer questions in a print quiz
• match images of convict artefacts with correct descriptions
• match glossary words with their meanings in the vocabulary match game
• write words or meanings to complete the glossary sheet.

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First Australians

In A convict story: First Australians, students will:

• examine historic sources
• empathise with both the Europeans and the Australian Aboriginal people to see the arrival of the Europeans from a number of perspectives
• create a role play of a conversation between two Europeans as they approached the new and strange land, Australia
• study an artwork by Gordon Syron which presents an Aboriginal perspective
• create an acrostic poem about emotions that might have been felt by the Aboriginal people as the European boats approached their land
• imagine the scene following that depicted in Syron’s painting and use similar techniques to those used by Syron to produce a painting.

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