Search results

Result list

• VCHHK117

  Significant causes and effects of developments and/or cultural achievements that reflect the concentration and/or expansion of wealth and power

  Elaborations

  • Vikings
    • mapping Viking expansion across Europe, weapons and shipbuilding, and the extent of their trade
    • describing Viking craft with particular emphasis on the production of weapons, for example swords, battle axes and helmets
    • outlining the key role of gods such as Odin, Thor, Frey and Freyja in Viking religion and the adoption of Christianity during the Viking period
    • investigating the construction of longboats and their role in exploration, including innovations in keel and sail design
    • describing evidence of Viking trade between Russia (Kiev) and the east (through Constantinople)
  • Medieval Europe
    • explaining the changing relations between Islam and the West (including the Crusades), analyse the causes and effects of the crusades
    • describing the features of castles and churches of the period, for example, Warwick Castle in England and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, as examples of the Church’s power in terms of its control of wealth and labour
    • recognising that the medieval manuscripts of monastic scribes contributed to the survival of many ancient Greek and Roman literary texts
    • examining the religious nature of illuminated manuscripts and how they were the product of a complex and frequently costly process
    • listening to the Gregorian chants of Western Christianity and exploring how they reflect the nature and power of the Church in this period
  • Ottoman Empire
    • mapping the expanding power and influence of the Ottoman Empire, explain reasons for its development, such as the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD (CE)
    • outlining inventions and developments in the Islamic world, for example, the astrolabe, public hospitals and libraries and their subsequent adoption in the Western world
    • describing Ottoman art and architecture, for example, the Selimiye Mosque in the city of Edirne in Turkey, and Islamic geometric design
  • Angkor/Khmer Empire
    • explaining how being revered as the ‘god-king’ or ‘deva-raja’ enabled the Khmer kings to rule over the empire with absolute authority, thereby enhancing their ability to mobilise manpower to defend the empire as well as to invade neighbours
    • describing the main features of the water management system at Angkor, for example, the extensive use of reservoirs and canals
    • investigating the significance of the archaeological site of Angkor Wat
  • Mongol Expansion
    • outlining Genghis Khan’s use of decimal organisation in his army and his policies for governing his empire, for example, codifying laws, banning the killing of animals in the breeding season, supporting religious freedom, and expanding trade
    • analysing the causes and effects of the Mongol expansion as one of the largest land empires in history, including life in China before, during and after the Mongol conquest
    • mapping the expansion of the Mongol empire across Asia and Europe
  • Japan under the Shoguns
    • discussing the role of the Tokugawa Shogunate in reimposing a feudal system (based on daimyo and samurai) and the increasing control of the Shogun over foreign trade
    • explain reasons why the Shogun controlled trade
    • explaining reasons for Japan’s closure to foreigners under the Tokugawa Shogunate and the impact of US Commodore Perry’s visit in 1853
    • explaining why the use and management of environmental resources in Shogunate Japan and the forestry and land use policies of the Tokugawa Shogunate were required
    • investigating the demand for available land and the patterns of land use in the period
    • outlining the attempts by the Tokugawa Shogunate to curb deforestation, for example imposing heavy regulations on farmers, managing the harvesting of trees, and using new, lighter and more efficient construction techniques
    • analysing the woodblock prints such as the ones created by Hokusai, geisha culture, and the development of the arts
  • Polynesian Expansion
    • locating Polynesia on a map, tracing the expansion of Polynesian settlers throughout the Pacific, and considering how they made their journeys
    • outlining different theories about the expansion, for example, west/east and east/west movement, the expansion as accidental versus intentional
    • investigating the cultural achievements of one Polynesian society, such as the Ta moko and hangi in Maori society or the moai constructed on Easter Island
    • investigating the construction of the moai (giant statues) on Easter Island (Rapa Nui), the techniques used to make and transport them, and theories about their meaning, for example, representations of dead ancestors or chiefs
  • Renaissance Italy
    • analysing the effects of the Black Death in causing the Renaissance
    • organising notes using a concept map or visual display of the significant developments and/or cultural achievements that reflect the concentration of wealth and power in the city-states, such as art and learning and the invention of the printing press
    • describing the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, for example, his artworks the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper and inventions including a rudimentary helicopter and solar power;
    • describing the work of Michelangelo for example, the Sistine Chapel paintings, David, Pieta
    • describing the thinking of Copernicus for example, seeing the sun as the centre of the universe (astronomy)
    • investigating learning in the Renaissance period, for example humanism, astrology, alchemy, the influence of ancient Greece and Rome
    • investigating the achievements of Galileo, for example improvements in the telescope and his astronomical observations
  • Spanish Conquest
    • analysing the causes of Spanish exploration and expansion including when, how and why the Spanish arrived in the Americas, and where they went, including the various societies and geographical features they encountered
    • explaining the arrival of Spanish conquistadores in Mexico and Peru from 1510 CE (Balboa) to 1531 (Pizarro), and their reasons, for example, seeking wealth, claiming land for their king, converting the local populations to Christianity, sense of adventure
    • explaining the siege of Tenochtitlan

  VCHHK117 | The Humanities | History | Levels 7 and 8 | Historical Knowledge | Middle Ages and early exploration

• VCHHK112

  Causes and effects of contacts and conflicts with other societies and/or peoples, resulting in developments such as expansion of trade, colonisation and war, and spread of beliefs

  Elaborations

  • Egypt
    • analysing the causes and effects of the rise and expansion of the Egyptian Empire
    • explaining the nature of contact with other societies, for example, trade with Cyprus, Crete and Greece, and conflict, such as the Battle of Kadesh in the New Kingdom that concluded with Rameses II’s peace treaty with the Hittites
  • Greece
    • analysing the causes and effects of the rise and expansion of the Greek Empire
    • explaining the nature of contact with other societies, for example, the commodities that formed the trade with Egypt, Greek colonisation of the Mediterranean, and conflict, for example, the Persian Wars and the Battle of Salamis, the empire of Alexander the Great and the reach of Greek culture
    • analysing the causes and effect of a conflict such as the Peloponnesian and Persian wars
  • Rome
    • analysing the causes and effects of the rise and expansion of the Roman Empire
    • describing the furthest expansion of the Roman Empire and the influence of foreign cults on Roman religious beliefs and practices (for example the Pantheon of Gods (Greece), Isis (Egypt) and Mithras (Persia)
    • reading accounts of contacts between Rome and Asian societies in the ancient period, for example, the visit of Chinese and Indian envoys to Rome in the time of Augustus, as described by the Roman historian Florus
  • India
    • analysing the causes of the rise of the Mauryan Empire (including its material remains), and the spread of philosophies and beliefs
    • examining the extent of Indian contact with other societies such as the Persians under Cyrus, the Macedonians under Alexander; the extensive trade with the Romans and Chinese, the material remains of the Mauryan Empire such as the Pillars of Ashoka and the Barabar Caves, the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism
  • China
    • analysing the causes and effects of the rise and expansion of the Chinese Empire
    • explaining the rise of imperial China, for example, the use of chariot warfare and the adoption of mass infantry armies, the building of the first phase of the Great Wall of China, military strategies as codified in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

  VCHHK112 | The Humanities | History | Levels 7 and 8 | Historical Knowledge | Ancient world and early civilisations – 60 000 BC (BCE) – c.650 AD (CE)

• VCHHK119

  The role and achievements of a significant individual and/or group

  Elaborations

  • Vikings
    • creating a biography of Leif Ericson and the significance of the establishment of the colony in Newfoundland
    • outlining Erik the Red’s development of Viking settlements in Eastern and Western Greenland in 985 CE
    • comparing the artefacts discovered at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland (Canada) with Viking artefacts as possible evidence that the Vikings had discovered America 500 years before Christopher Columbus
  • Medieval Europe
    • explaining the influence and dominance of the Catholic church on society using visual sources such as the Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180)
    • explaining why Charlemagne was a significant figure in Medieval Europe, such as his expansion of the Frankish kingdom and his support of the Church
    • explaining the causes and symptoms of the Black Death and the responses of different groups in society to the spread of the disease, such as the flagellants (those who would whip themselves to be free of sin) and the persecution of Jewish people
  • Ottoman Empire
    • creating a biography of Selim I or Suleiman the Magnificent in maintaining the strength and influence of the Ottoman Empire
    • evaluating the achievements of individuals, for example, Selim I in establishing the empire and capturing Jerusalem, or Suleiman the Magnificent in expanding the empire to Belgrade in Europe
  • Angkor/Khmer Empire
    • create a biography of Jayavarman VII (r. 1181 CE - 1215 CE) and his influence in expanding the empire, expelling the Chams, territorial expansion, scale of the construction program in Angkor
  • Mongol Expansion
    • creating a biography of Genghis Khan or Kublai Khan and there significant achievement of Expanding the empire, military success, codification of laws
    • creating a Venn-diagram to compare and contrast the achievements of Genghis and Kublai
  • Japan under the Shoguns
    • creating a biography of Tokugawa Ieyasu Shogun
  • Polynesian Expansion
    • examining reasons why the Maori used rahui to restrict the use of land and sea resources by individuals and groups
  • Renaissance Italy
    • explaining the influence of the Medici family in Florence as bankers and merchants, and their patronage of the arts.
    • creating a biography on the role and achievements of significant individuals such as Lucrezia Borgia, Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli
  • Spanish Conquest
    • creating a biography or a jigsaw on the significance of Columbus, Balboa, Cortes, Montezuma II, Pizarro

  VCHHK119 | The Humanities | History | Levels 7 and 8 | Historical Knowledge | Middle Ages and early exploration

• VCHHK105

  How physical or geographical features influenced the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ communities, foundational stories and land management practices

  Elaborations

  • creating a map overlay of Australian physical features and language groups of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and discuss the interconnection and relationships to land observed by different groups
  • discussing how and why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have kept their cultural heritage alive by passing their knowledge, arts, rituals and performances through generations
  • using a variety of Dreaming creation stories from different location across Australia. Identify and describe similarities and differences in the stories
  • exploring the meaning and use of fire as a practical tool in hunting, cooking, warmth and managing the landscape.
  • examining historical interpretations of land management, laying out their burn patterns as a method of converting land to grasslands; predict plant growth, for maintenance of plants to attract animals for hunting and the prevention of larger uncontrollable destructive fires

  VCHHK105 | The Humanities | History | Levels 7 and 8 | Historical Knowledge | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures

• VCHHK107

  The nature of sources of evidence about ancient Australia and what they reveal about Australia’s ancient past, such as the use of resources

  Elaborations

  • investigating a local site of indigenous historical and cultural significance. Discuss reasons why this site is significant
  • analysing and evaluate the significance of Lake Mungo as a site of importance. Examine theories and hypothesis about the people who lived around Lake Mungo

  VCHHK107 | The Humanities | History | Levels 7 and 8 | Historical Knowledge | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures

• VCHHK111

  Significant beliefs, values and practices with a particular emphasis on changes to everyday life, cause and effect of warfare, and perspectives of death and funerary customs

  Elaborations

  • Egypt
    • investigating significant beliefs associated with death and funerary customs, for example belief in an afterlife, and practices, for example, burial in tombs and techniques of mummification
    • analysing hieroglyphic representations of the Book of the Dead
    • generating alternative explanations for the building of the pyramids at Giza
  • Greece
    • investigating the significant beliefs, values and practices of the ancient Greeks, for example, the Olympic Games or the Delphic Oracle
    • investigating significant beliefs and values associated with warfare, for example, heroic ideals as revealed in the Iliad, and military practices, for example, army organisation, the hoplite phalanx and naval warfare
  • Rome
    • investigating significant beliefs associated with daily life, for example, the evidence of household religion, and practices, such as the use of public amenities such as baths, and the forms of entertainment in theatres and amphitheatres
  • India
    • investigating the significant beliefs, values and practices of Indian society associated with for example, rites of passage for boys and men; rites of passage for girls and women; marriage rites, for example, the role of the family, religious ceremonies
    • investigating the significant beliefs, values and practices of Indian society associated with death and funerary customs, for example, cremation, the use of professional mourners, the construction of stupas
  • China
    • investigating the significant beliefs, values and practices of Chinese society associated with daily life, for example, irrigation and the practice of agriculture, the teachings of Confucius, the evidence of daily life from the Han tombs

  VCHHK111 | The Humanities | History | Levels 7 and 8 | Historical Knowledge | Ancient world and early civilisations – 60 000 BC (BCE) – c.650 AD (CE)