Stage 3 The Rocks – People, Places and Events
This engaging program for Stage 3 History immerses students in the colonial heritage of The Rocks through a fun mystery hunt, exploring significant people, places, and events of the 1800s. Students work in teams using iPads to create site study journals, supporting learning in history, sustainability, ICT, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
About this excursion
This program supports the Stage 3 History syllabus topic ‘The Australian Colonies’ and integrates cross-curricular themes including Sustainability Education, ICT, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. Students engage in pre-visit activities before exploring The Rocks on a guided mystery hunt, investigating key colonial people, places, and events of the 1800s. Using Centre iPads, they work in teams to create site study journals covering topics such as the establishment of NSW, convict history, Chinese immigration, local gangs, daily life, the Bubonic Plague, and the environmental movement. A digital copy of the journal is sent back to their school after the excursion.
Inquiry Questions
- What do we know about the lives of people in Australia’s colonial past, and how do we know?
- What were the significant events, and who were the important people that shaped Australian colonies?
Student pre-visit and follow-up activities
Successful excursions have direct links to current classroom learning. Pre-visit activities carried out before the excursion will help students better understand the excursion content and provide a sense of connectedness and relevance to classroom learning.
View the extensive excursion Support Website for information and activities to enhance students' understanding of the excursion content. Students can complete these activities either pre- or post-excursion. Teachers can download a student history journal from the website to engage students
Activities on the day
- Visit various locations in The Rocks
- Participate in a variety of hands-on activities to describe and explains the significance of people, groups, places and events to the development of Australia
- Complete a History site study journal using centre ipads
- Visit Cadmans Cottage and Parbury Ruins to learn about European colonisation of Australia and the life of convicts
Important information
- Government Schools: $15 per student (GST-free)
- Non-Government Schools: $30 per student (GST-free).
Key syllabus outcomes
- describes and explains the significance of people, groups, places and events to the development of Australia
- describes and explains different experiences of people living in Australia over time
- applies a variety of skills of historical inquiry
Integrating the Sustainability Education, Information and Communication Technology and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures’ Cross Curriculum Priorities is a feature of the program.
Skills outcomes
- read respond and write to show understating of historical matters
- sequence historical people and events
- use historical terms and concepts
- locate information relevant to inquiry questions
- explain why the behaviour and attitudes of people from the past may differ from today
- use a range of communication forms including digital technologies
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