Australia's Identity Shift

Overview

Year Level: 3/4
Key Learning Area: Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)
Strand: Knowledge and Understanding
Sub-strand:

• History: Community and Remembrance; Perspectives of people in the past
• Civics and Citizenship (Year 4 Only)

Duration: 60 minutes
Class Size: 22 students
Unit: Australia’s Identity Journey – Lesson 4 of 7
Lesson Title: Key Events & Their Impact (1948 & 1958)
Theme: Analysing how immigration and social changes in the 1940s and 1950s shaped Australian identity

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Australian Curriculum Links (Version 9.0)

Year 3:

• ACHASSK062: Days and weeks celebrated or commemorated in Australia (including Australia Day, Anzac Day, and National Sorry Day) and the importance of symbols and emblems
• ACHASSI053: Examine information to identify different points of view

Year 4:

• ACHASSK084: The experiences of Australian democracy and citizenship, including the status and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
• ACHASSI079: Interpreting different perspectives from the past using sources

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Learning Intentions

• Students will explore two significant events: the arrival of displaced persons in 1948 and changes to immigration policies by 1958.
• Students will understand cause and effect: how decisions and events from one decade impact the next.
• Students will analyse historical sources including photographs, newspaper clippings and quotes from primary sources.

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Success Criteria

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: ✔ Identify two key events in Australian history from the 1940s and 1950s.
✔ Use visual and written sources to describe what life might have been like for new Australians during these decades.
✔ Create a simple cause-and-effect chain showing how one event influenced future changes.

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Resources Required

• Enlarged laminated timeline (1945–1960) for display
• Historical source packs (images, newspaper excerpts, quotes – 1 set per group)
• A3 Cause and Effect Chains worksheet (printed for each student)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Sticky notes
• Post-it tabs for group work
• Audio recording: 1950s radio news snippet (provided via USB or hard copy)
• 1950s 'Migration suitcase mystery box' props (replica ID tags, old passports, headscarves etc. – optional tactile engagement)

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Lesson Sequence

1. Welcome & Warm-up (10 min)

Focus Question: How do past events shape how we live today?

• Begin with a short 2-minute radio snippet (1950s news style) describing the arrival of a European migrant ship.
• Students close eyes and imagine they are standing at the dock, watching new arrivals.
• Quick Think-Pair-Share: “What do you think these people might be feeling? What questions would you ask them?”
• Gather 4-5 responses and jot on board under headings: Feelings, Questions, Wonderings.

2. Mini-Teach: The Context (10 min)

• Use the visual timeline across the board.
• Point out two key markers:
  • 1948: Australian government welcomes first large wave of post-WWII Displaced Persons
  • 1958: Immigration Act revised to gradually dismantle the White Australia Policy
• Brief scaffolded discussion:
  • Who came to Australia in the 1940s and 50s?
  • Why was the government encouraging migration?
  • Who was being welcomed — and who was not?

Use emotive language and visuals to help students connect emotionally and intellectually with historical changes.

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3. Main Activity – History Detectives (25 min)

Students work in table groups (5 groups of 4-5 students) with a Source Investigation Pack.

Each pack contains:

• A black & white photo of migrants arriving
• A newspaper headline from 1958 discussing immigration changes
• A quote from a child migrant
• An extract from a speech by Arthur Calwell (Minister for Immigration, 1945–1949)

Instructions:

1. Students analyse sources using the SEE–THINK–WONDER method on sticky notes:

   • SEE: What is in the picture or text?
   • THINK: What might be going on?
   • WONDER: What questions do these sources make you ask?

2. Students present just ONE “wonder” to the class. Teacher scribes key wonderings on a butcher’s paper map titled:
   "How immigration changed Australia"

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4. Linking to Cause & Effect (10 min)

Introduce the A3 worksheet: Cause and Effect Chain

Provide an example together on the board:

• Cause: War in Europe displaces many people.
• Effect: Australia invites migrants to rebuild the nation.

Students complete their own popup chain with arrows—encouraging creativity (drawings, key words, simple arrows).

Suggest possible transitions:

• Government action → Migration → Cultural changes → Public reaction → Law changes

Differentiation:

• Provide three scaffolded options for students who need support.
• Challenge advanced students with a “What if…?” optional extension bubble: What might have happened if Australia had kept the White Australia Policy?

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5. Reflection & Cool Down (5 min)

Form a human corridor (2 student lines). Students walk through the corridor and call out:

• One surprising fact they learned
• One impact of immigration from the 1940s/50s

Finish with a quiet moment reflecting on how these events still affect Australian schools and communities today.

Optional closing question:
“Does anyone in this class know someone who came to Australia during this time?”

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Assessment & Evidence of Learning

Formative:

• Participation in group analysis using See–Think–Wonder
• Completion and clarity of Cause & Effect Chain
• Contributions during group sharing and closing activity
• Observations from teacher questioning and pair discussions

Teacher takes photos of group work as documentation. Sticky notes and worksheets collected as evidence for portfolios.

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Adjustments and Differentiation

Support:

• Pre-cut source images with sentences matched underneath
• Oral explanation support during group task
• Sentence starters for Cause & Effect (e.g. “Because of...”, “This led to...”)

Extension:

• Compare 1948 laws with today’s immigration laws
• Research an individual migrant story to share in the next lesson

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Teacher Reflection

• Which sources captivated students the most?
• Did students demonstrate an emerging understanding of cause and effect in history?
• Are there voices or perspectives missing that could be highlighted next time? (e.g. Aboriginal responses to changing immigration policy)

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Vocabulary

• Immigration
• Displaced person
• Policy
• Government
• Cause and Effect
• Identity

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Cross-Curricular Links

• English: Analysing non-fiction texts and visual literacy
• The Arts: Recreating a tableau/freeze-frame of arrival scene (optional extension)
• Civics & Citizenship (Year 4): Understanding changing rights and shared values

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Looking Ahead:

Lesson 5 will dive into Australia in the 1960s, with a focus on civil rights and growing multiculturalism, including Aboriginal activism.

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This detailed exploration not only enhances students’ knowledge of Australia’s post-war history but supports empathy, understanding, and analytical thinking—key skills for young citizens in a diverse nation.