First Fleet (Scootle resource)
Prezi on Convict (Life in 18th Century Britain, Voyage, New Colony)
Historical Letter
Lesson 1. Life in 18th century Britain
Focus question: what was life like in England 250 years ago?
Focus question: what was life like in England 250 years ago?
- Show students excerpts from the film Oliver Twist (2005 / Ronald Harwood, screenplay / Roman Polanski, director) to answer the question: What was life like in London at this time in history? (Scootle)
Discuss living conditions for the poor in London, as depicted in the film. Why might many people have resorted to crime? How did those in authority deal with misbehaviour? - Discuss the value of this film as a 'historical source'. Ask students to suggest possible primary sources (drawings, letters, court records etc) that might provide more useful 'evidence' for further investigation of this topic.
- Students use the Chronology (PDF, 104 KB) exercise to sequence events leading to British settlement in Australia, exploring cause and effect.
- ASSESSMENT:
- Can students identify relevant aspects of the film to answer the inquiry question?
- Can students explain a sequence of events based on likely cause and effect?
Lesson 2.
Activity 2: Crime and punishment
Focus question: how were criminals punished in England in the 1700s and 1800s?
Activity 2: Crime and punishment
Focus question: how were criminals punished in England in the 1700s and 1800s?
- As a class, students examine the Case Study of John Walker.
- (http://vcp.e2bn.org/case_studies/casestudy11254-john-walker-convicted-for-stealing-onions.html)
Share responses.
What factors led to John Walker's crime of stealing onions?
How do you feel about what John Walker did?
What does the evidence tell you about the kind of person he was?
What might happen to John Walker if he committed this crime today? - In groups, students look at the list of convicts confined on the hulk, Censor: 1787-1788 . Ask: What interesting evidence do you see? What do you think about the ages of the convicts? What do you notice about their crimes? What questions are raised? How do we get answers or more information?
Lesson 3.
Activity 3: A flood of prisoners
Focus question: how was the problem of England's overflowing prisons addressed?
Using Images of the prison hulks (PDF, 330 KB), ask students in groups to examine one or more images of prison hulks on the Thames. Then, ask them to use Probing the prison hulks (PDF, 164 KB) to record the results of their examination of these sources. Once finished, groups should report their findings to the class.
Activity 3: A flood of prisoners
Focus question: how was the problem of England's overflowing prisons addressed?
Using Images of the prison hulks (PDF, 330 KB), ask students in groups to examine one or more images of prison hulks on the Thames. Then, ask them to use Probing the prison hulks (PDF, 164 KB) to record the results of their examination of these sources. Once finished, groups should report their findings to the class.
- Students explore the Port Cities web page Prison Hulks on the River Thames . Ask:
How does this information add to your understandings from the images?
Where might this information have come from? - Show students the handwritten record Report of Convicts under Sentence of Transportation. Record any information that students can gather from this source. What questions do students have about the source?
- Using the Six hat thinking (PDF, 142 KB) discussion guide, students explore and evaluate the sentence of 'transportation' as a solution to the prison situation.
- Can students use the six hat thinking strategy to organise and improve their thinking process?
Lesson 4.
Activity 4: Setting sail
Focus question: what preparations were made for the eight-month sea voyage?
Activity 4: Setting sail
Focus question: what preparations were made for the eight-month sea voyage?
- In groups, students use Preparations for the journey (PDF. 102 KB) to examine a primary source document, a letter regarding provision of the First Fleet. Model the deconstruction of unfamiliar language. For example, highlight significant phrases and transcribe them in more familiar terms. Circle unfamiliar words and use a dictionary to find their meaning. Ask:
What do we know about this source?
What does it tell us about the First Fleet?
What questions could we ask to find out more? - Using Packing the Provisions (PDF, 112 KB), students examine the list of the livestock and provisions carried on the First Fleet, found online at First Fleet Fellowship.
- Using Ships of the First Fleet (PDF, 111 KB), students explore information about the 11 ships at First Fleet Fellowship
Lesson 5.
Activity 5: The voyage
Focus question: what would it have been like to travel on one of the ships of the First Fleet?
convict life, For the Term of His Natural Life.This copyright material may not be modified.
Front cover of For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke, Penguin Group (Australia), 2000 reproduced with permission of Penguin Group.
Assessment
Activity 5: The voyage
Focus question: what would it have been like to travel on one of the ships of the First Fleet?
- Using Reconstructing the voyage (PDF, 89 KB), students investigate how the First Fleet travelled to Australia from England and how long the journey took.
convict life, For the Term of His Natural Life.This copyright material may not be modified.
Front cover of For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke, Penguin Group (Australia), 2000 reproduced with permission of Penguin Group.
- Students reconstruct the size of some First Fleet
passenger ships using information from Ships of the First Fleet. Students mark the ships' dimensions outdoors to visualise the scale. Ask:
How much space would have been available to
each person on board?
What do we need to know to work this out?
Students reflect on what this suggests about conditions
on board. - Using For the term of his natural life (PDF, 175 KB), students investigate a literary description of conditions on board a convict transport. (The language in the extract is demanding and this activity may need to be teacher-led or used as an extension activity.)
- Using Convict voyages (PDF, 132 KB) and Daily routine (PDF, 156 KB), students examine two more sources about conditions on board ship for transported convicts.
Assessment
- Can students compare and contrast evidence from
different sources? - Can students accurately and perceptively describe an experience from various points of view?
Lesson 6.
Activity 6: The First Fleeters
Focus question: who were the people of the First Fleet?
Assessment
Activity 6: The First Fleeters
Focus question: who were the people of the First Fleet?
- Students sketch 'a typical convict' of the First Fleet. Encourage students to explain their thinking as they share their sketches.
- Students explore the First Fleet database. Ask students to perform 'Simple Searches' based on name or gender. Share any notable findings. Ask: What does this database tell us about the 'typical' convict of the First Fleet?
- Brainstorm questions, such as 'Who was the youngest First Fleet convict?' or 'How many First Fleet convicts were women?' Students use the database to answer as many questions as they can.
- Students revisit their sketch of a 'typical' convict. Discuss this in the light of their findings from the database.
- Using the three resources First Fleeters 1 (PDF, 167 KB), First Fleeters 2 (PDF, 219 KB) andFirst Fleeters 3 (PDF, 144 KB) along with First Fleeters discussion points (PDF, 100 KB), students examine and discuss three sources about the people of the First Fleet.
- Students could be provided with chart paper or sticky notes for recording questions and findings.
Assessment
- Can students justify their image of a 'typical convict' based on current knowledge?
- Can students perform simple database searches and make sense of the results?
- Can students critically evaluate their initial drawings in the light of historical evidence?
Lesson 7.Activity 7: Strangers come to stayFocus question: what was the nature of contact between First Fleet settlers and Aboriginal people in the early days of colonisation?
- Students examine the Aboriginal languages map. According to this source, which language group would have observed the landing of the First Fleet?
- Using First Australians 1 (PDF, 115 KB) and First Australians 2 (PDF, 134 KB), students explore the impact of the First Fleet's arrival on the local Aboriginal people.
- Using Reading historical images (PDF, 182 KB), students examine images depicting contact between early settlers and local Aboriginal people:
William Bradley's paintings 1 (PDF, 535 KB)
William Bradley's paintings 2 (PDF, 527 KB)
William Bradley's paintings 3 (PDF, 495 KB)
The images could be printed and displayed around the classroom.
Groups could use sticky notes to record their findings.
Students read notes from other groups and add their own observations and questions. (The State Library of New South Wales' Discover Collections website may provide students with useful background information on William Bradley.) - As a class, students read Excerpt from the diary of Lieutenant Bradley . Model the deconstruction and analysis of this historical document. Ask:
Who wrote this account and for what purpose?
What events are described here?
Why might another person describe the events differently?
What does this account reveal about contacts between settlers and Aboriginal people?
- Can students identify evidence of the success and productivity of Aboriginal peoples in Australia throughout their long history?
- Can students understand and explain the Indigenous perspective on the landing and settlement of the First Fleet?
- Do students demonstrate an awareness of potential bias in illustrations or written accounts?
Lesson 8.Activity 8: Survival in a 'new' land
Focus question: what was life like for the people of the First Fleet in the new settlement?
Have students explore the interactive image of William Bradley's journal, A Voyage To New South Wales. Ask:
Focus question: what was life like for the people of the First Fleet in the new settlement?
Have students explore the interactive image of William Bradley's journal, A Voyage To New South Wales. Ask:
- Why did Bradley keep this journal?
What might we learn from it?
How might our understanding of these events be limited if we examined only this source? - Using The arrival according to Bradley (PDF, 149 KB) students explore one account of the arrival of the First Fleet.
- Have students examine Timeline of rations for the new settlement, 1788-1790.
Ask:
Why might these records have been kept?
What does this source reveal about life for the new settlers? - Have students examine the image View in Port Jackson, depicting Eora people fishing from boats. Contrast the food shortages in the First Fleet settlement with the lives of Eora, who had been thriving in this land for a very long time. Ask: What could these first settlers have learned from the local Eora people?
- Using Talking about historical documents (PDF, 174 KB), students examine the following primary sources from the new settlement:
Documents from the first settlement 1 (PDF, 119 KB)
Documents from the first settlement 2 (PDF, 91 KB)
Documents from the first settlement 3 (PDF, 116 KB)
If student groups experience difficulty with the language, model an approach to deconstruction for the class.
- Can students recognise and describe a different perspective on an event or circumstance?
- Can students suggest possible consequences of actions and events?
- Can students generate possible solutions to problems experienced in the First Fleet settlement?