Diverse Settler Journeys

Overview

In Lesson 15 of 16, students explore how early colonisation produced different experiences for free settlers, squatters and First Nations peoples. They compare perspectives, explain impacts on society, and practise evaluating sources.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• Investigate experiences of different groups during early colonisation in Australia.
• Compare how free settlers and squatters pursued opportunities with how First Nations peoples were affected.
• Use historical terms such as “colonisation”, “settlement” and “invasion” respectfully, and explain why these terms are contested.
• Analyse short evidence sources to identify perspective, purpose and impact on ideas, beliefs and values in colonial society.

Success criteria

I can:

• Describe what free settlers and squatters wanted and how they went about living and working in the colony.
• Explain at least two impacts of colonisation on First Nations peoples (for example frontier conflict, disease, removal from land, cultural change).
• Compare viewpoints across groups and explain how these experiences shaped changing beliefs and values.
• Use evidence from a source to support a claim, noting whose perspective it represents.

Curriculum links

• AC9HH9K06: different experiences and perspectives of colonisers, settlers and First Nations Australians and the impact on changes to Australian society’s ideas, beliefs and values.
• AC9HH9K03: causes and effects of European contact and extension of settlement, including impacts on First Nations peoples.
• AC9HH9K02: key social, cultural, economic and political changes and their significance in the development of Australian society.
• AC9HH9K01: European imperial expansion and movement of peoples, and different responses to colonisation and migration.
• Historical thinking: identify perspectives, analyse evidence, and communicate conclusions with appropriate historical vocabulary and reasoning.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and recap. Teacher prompts students to recall Lesson 14 key ideas about early settlement and contact. Students quick-write one sentence: “One way settlers’ lives changed was…”.

2. 5–12 min · Hook: “Whose experience?” images. Teacher displays 3 short image-based prompts (no names) labelled A, B, C: a small rural dwelling (free settler), stock/cattle on land (squatter), and a disrupted community scene (First Nations peoples). Students rotate and complete a fast “Guess & Justify” note: what group might each represent and what clues influenced the guess.

3. 12–20 min · Mini teach: terms and perspectives. Teacher explicitly models respectful language and contested terms: invasion/colonisation/settlement, and explains that different groups experienced different realities. Students annotate a class definition sheet and add one “perspective clue” sentence (e.g., “The writer may emphasise…”).

4. 20–40 min · Evidence stations (group work). Teacher divides class into 5 mixed-ability groups and assigns each group a station set of two short sources (written extracts, settlement ads, brief accounts, or summarised evidence cards) representing:

• Station 1: free settlers’ hopes and reasons for arrival.
• Station 2: squatters’ expansion and land use for pastoral success.
• Station 3: First Nations peoples’ experiences of displacement and disruption.
• Station 4: contact effects such as disease or frontier conflict (impact-focused).
• Station 5: a later reflection showing how ideas/values changed in colonial society (e.g., attitudes to land, labour, “progress”).

Students follow a station routine on a worksheet:

• Identify the source perspective (who is speaking/observed, for what purpose).
• Extract one “what they wanted/what they experienced” detail.
• Extract one “impact” detail.
• Record one question they still have.

5. 40–52 min · Comparison task: T-chart + causation. Teacher directs students to form new pairs (from different stations). Students complete a structured T-chart:

• Left side: free settlers/squatters (opportunities and motives).
• Right side: First Nations peoples (impacts and responses).

Then students write two cause-and-effect statements linking colonisation/settlement to social change, using sentence frames:

• “Because settlers expanded/changed land use…, First Nations peoples experienced…”
• “As colonies grew, ideas about… developed/changed, shown by…”

6. 52–58 min · Whole-class sharing: “One claim, two reasons.” Teacher collects 4–5 groups’ best claims. Students speak for 20–30 seconds each using the structure: claim → reason 1 (source evidence) → reason 2 (cause/effect).

7. 58–60 min · Exit ticket. Students answer: “One different experience in early colonisation was… Another group’s experience was… This shaped society’s ideas/values by…”

Resources

• Printed evidence station cards (5 sets) with short extracts or summarised evidence
• Image prompt cards A–C for the hook
• Worksheet templates: station response sheet, T-chart with sentence frames
• Class definition sheet for invasion/colonisation/settlement (teacher-prepared)
• Coloured highlighters or pens for perspective/impact categories
• Timer and grouping cards (to manage 30 students efficiently)

Assessment

• Formative checks during stations: teacher scans for correct identification of perspective and at least one impact detail per station response.
• Formative assessment during paired comparison: review cause-and-effect statements for historical accuracy and evidence use.
• Exit ticket: evaluate whether students can compare experiences and link them to changes in ideas/values.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for perspective (“The source suggests… because…”) and impact (“The impact on First Nations peoples included…”).
• Support: include a vocabulary bank (settlement, squatter, free settler, colonisation, frontier conflict, dispossession, cultural change).
• Extension: challenge students to add a “why this matters today” clause in the exit ticket, connecting to why contested terms continue in society.
• EAL/SEN: allow students to underline evidence phrases first, then complete frames; offer a short teacher check-in for groups needing scaffolding.