This programme for History was adapted from the Shaping the Modern World unit from the New South Wales Board of Studies stage 4 History syllabus.

Students were given a choice of research topics at the beginning of the term. The topics were specific to a variety of interests and abilities within the classroom of male and female students.

Once students chose their topics, a range of resources were made available through students’ individual research as well as by the school from the library, the HSIE resource room and the Internet.

It took approximately one week of lessons to make certain all students were on track with their topics for research. Having achieved this, students took their assessment tasks to the D&T classes where their web page designs would begin over the ensuing term.

Each History dealt with the deconstruction of six sources that students had chosen using the OPACRU method – Origin, Purpose, Audience, Usefulness and Reliability. Following these lessons, the students were taught how to construct a research essay by referring to their deconstructed sources. This is why the web page design has been divided into “source one”, etc.

The NSW History syllabus outcomes for the programme were:
4.1 describes and explains the nature of history, the main features of past societies and periods and their legacy
4.5 identifies the meaning, purpose and context of historical sources
4.6 draws conclusions about the usefulness of sources as evidence in an inquiry
4.8 locates, selects and organises relevant information from a number of sources, including ICT, to conduct basic historical research
4.10 selects and uses appropriate oral, written and other forms, including ICT, to communicate effectively about the past

Student's page click here

Student work samples click here