Building State Histories

Overview

Students begin a historical investigation into the formation of Australia’s eight states and territories, using key concepts of Perspective, Change and Causation. They gather who/what/why/when/where/how information and check progress with short checkpoints, linking evidence to an emerging historical interpretation.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• develop historical questions to guide research on each state/territory
• investigate founding events and the reasons behind capital choice and naming
• explain how and why change occurred over time in colonial establishment
• recognise that different perspectives can shape interpretations of “formation” and “founding”

Success criteria

Students can:

• write 2–3 research questions using historical concepts (perspective, causation, change)
• complete a “Who/What/Why/When/Where/How” checkpoint table for one state/territory
• describe one key change and give a cause using at least one piece of evidence they gathered
• show where their information comes from and note any gaps or uncertainty

Curriculum links

• Students use historical questions to inform investigations (Historical Concepts and Skills — Historical questions).
• Students construct historical interpretations using evidence from sources and appropriate historical concepts and terms (Historical Concepts and Skills — Communicating).
• Students explore diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and understandings of Country and Place and creation narratives, as part of understanding the deep historical context of Country (Historical Knowledge and Understanding — Investigation: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ knowledge and understandings).
• Students investigate beliefs, values, and relationships with Country and Place that shape everyday life and continue over time, alongside studying colonisation impacts (Historical Knowledge and Understanding — Investigation: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ knowledge and understandings).

Lesson structure (80 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Launch & key idea Teacher presents a prompt: “How did these places become ‘states’ and why did capitals get chosen?” and introduces the PYP Key Concepts: Perspective, Change, Causation. Students do a quick think-write: one sentence about what “formation” might mean.

2. 10–20 min · Model a research question Teacher models creating a strong historical question for one territory (example: “How and why was the capital chosen in [place], and how does this reflect causation and perspective at the time?”). Students in pairs generate two questions for any one state/territory they’re assigned for the project.

3. 20–35 min · Checkpoint planning grid Teacher distributes a one-page research checklist table with tick boxes. Students fill in the table headings only (not answers yet):

• Who founded/established? Who were key leaders/organisers?
• What happened (major steps, dates, agreements, legal changes)?
• Why did it happen (economic, political, strategic, social causes)?
• When did major formation milestones occur?
• Where did it happen (geography, ports, borders, Country/Place notes)?
• How did it happen (process, institutions, voyages, administration)?

4. 35–55 min · Source sense-making mini-task Teacher provides short, teacher-selected printed extracts per group (mixed formats: a brief timeline excerpt, a paragraph about a capital’s naming, and a short fact sheet about a state/territory flag’s origin). Students highlight:

• one fact they can verify in the text
• one claim they can explain with cause-and-effect language
• one place they still need more information Students tick the “evidence found” checkpoint for the items they can confirm.

5. 55–65 min · Perspective & change thinking Teacher guides a brief discussion: “Formation is not one story—who gets listened to?” Students add one reflection line to their grid:

• Perspective: “Whose viewpoint might be missing or underrepresented in my sources?”
• Change: “What changed from before to after formation (people, laws, land use, governance)?” Teacher reminds students to respectfully recognise that Country and Place have long histories and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ knowledge and understandings are part of the deep historical context, even when researching colonial formation dates.

6. 65–75 min · Independent checkpoint work Students use their extracts to complete the checklist answers for their assigned state/territory: at least one item each for Who/What/Why and two timeline points for When. They also complete:

• capital choice: who/what influenced it (evidence-based)
• naming: who it was named after or why (evidence-based)
• flag: one symbol meaning or origin fact (evidence-based)

7. 75–80 min · Exit ticket & teacher checks Exit ticket (individual):

• Write one historical question you will investigate next.
• Tick: “I have gathered evidence for Who/What/Why” (yes/no) and one gap (e.g., “I need more reliable info about when/where.”).
• One sentence using causation: “This happened because…”

Resources

• Printed research extracts for each group (timeline, capital/naming paragraph, flag fact sheet)
• One-page research checkpoint grid template (Who/What/Why/When/Where/How + tick boxes)
• Highlighters, pens, pencils
• Student folders or digital submission method (class-approved)
• Display of PYP Key Concepts prompt cards: Perspective, Change, Causation
• Teacher list of assigned states/territories and groups (eight options + territories)

Assessment

• Formative: teacher circulates during checkpoint completion, listening for evidence use and clarity of cause-and-effect language.
• Formative: source sense-making mini-task checks whether students can distinguish fact from claim and identify gaps.
• Exit ticket: collects historical question quality and whether students have evidence for required categories.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for the checklist (e.g., “One founder was…”, “This happened because…”, “A change was…”, “Another perspective might…”) and pre-highlight key dates in extracts.
• Support: allow students to complete “When” as two milestones first if they need pacing scaffolds.
• Extension: students add an extra row: “What is uncertain or contested in my sources?” and explain how perspective could affect interpretation.
• EAL/SEN: use icons for each checklist category (Who/What/Why/When/Where/How) and reduce writing load by allowing short bullet responses before drafting.