First Fleet Arrival

Lesson Overview

Year Level: Year 4
Learning Area: Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)
Sub-strand: History
Curriculum Code: AC9HS4K01
Duration: 60 minutes
Focus: Exploring European arrival in Australia — the impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the experiences of the First Fleet convicts.

Achievement Standard Alignment

By the end of Year 4, students should be able to describe the experiences of different people in the past. This lesson addresses historical knowledge, particularly focusing on the early colonial period, with empathy and perspective-taking from a convict’s point of view.

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Learning Intentions

• Students will understand why the First Fleet arrived in Australia.
• Students will explore the daily lives and experiences of convicts arriving on the First Fleet.
• Students will consider different perspectives of people in the past, especially convicts.

Success Criteria

Students will:
✅ Identify reasons for transportation to Australia.
✅ Describe what conditions were like for convicts on arrival.
✅ Express understanding by participating in a role-play activity demonstrating empathy and historical knowledge.

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Materials Required

• Printed role-card lanyards (convict roles)
• Audio clip: “Arrival at Sydney Cove” realism piece (without narration)
• Laminated map of Sydney Cove, 1788
• Interactive whiteboard
• Butcher’s paper and markers
• Soft props: Hessian sacks, chains (plastic/safe), tin mugs
• Pre-made “convict crate” with visual artefacts (replica items such as slates, leg irons, ration cards)
• Teacher costume item: tricorn hat or coat (for dramatic intro)

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Lesson Structure

1. Daily Review (5 minutes)

Use this quick warm-up to activate prior knowledge:

Question prompts on board:

• What do we already know about the First Fleet?
• Who was on the ships?
• What do you think life was like when they arrived?

Method: Think-Pair-Share
Give students 1 minute to think, 2 minutes to share with a partner (using whisper voices), and 2 minutes of whole-class feedback.

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2. I Do (10 minutes) — Teacher Modelling & Introduction

Hook the class dramatically:
Enter the room dressed as a convict overseer or ship’s officer. Blow a whistle and use an ageing, authoritative tone:

“Oi! You lot! Off the ship now! No more luxury—this land’s your new home. Move it!”

Sit students in a circle and open the mysterious “convict crate”. Pull out items one at a time, and with each item, tell a short, engaging story.

Narration examples:

• Tin mug: “This was all we had for water or stew. Sometimes, you'd drink straight from the stream if you had to.”
• Leg irons: “We wore these for weeks. Some learnt to walk just fine with them rattling.”

Show the 1788 map of Sydney Cove and describe what the land looked like to new arrivals. Emphasise the strange trees, hot sun, and unfamiliar wildlife.

Project the audio soundscape simulating the convict landing – waves crashing, seagulls, shouted orders, boots in mud.

Pause and ask:

"How do you think the convicts felt hearing those sounds?"

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3. We Do (15 minutes) — Guided Activity

Role-Play: Convict Circles

Divide students into groups of four. Each group receives laminated convict role-cards with information: name, crime, sentence, age, and special skills.

Example Roles:

• Margaret, age 13 — stole a handkerchief
• Thomas, age 24 — pickpocket
• Elizabeth, age 32 — stole a loaf of bread

In circles, students introduce themselves “in character” using their cards and answer:

• Where are you from?
• Why are you here?
• What do you miss most?
• What do you fear?

After 8 minutes of role-play, debrief as a class:

“What did it feel like to be someone else from the past? What surprised you?”

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4. You Do (20 minutes) — Independent Creative Activity

Task: Convict Survival Poster

Students create a “Survival Poster” for newly arrived convicts sent to the settlement at Sydney Cove.

Poster must include:

• 3 survival tips (e.g. how to deal with guards, how to find fresh water, how to avoid punishment)
• A sketch of what life in the makeshift camp looks like (small tents, bushland, rocky soil)
• A warning or threat (in line with what they “learnt” from other convicts)

Note: Emphasise drawing + bullet points, not long writing. This avoids diary-entry structure and supports visual learners.

Display posters later in a “Convict Camp Gallery Walk”.

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5. Reflection (5 minutes) — Exit Slip Circle

Bring students back into their circle from the start. Hand out "Exit Slips" with sentence starters:

• One thing I learnt about convicts is...
• The hardest part of arrival was...
• If I were a convict, I would have...

Each student shares their favourite sentence orally before leaving in a circle share.

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Differentiation Strategies

Support:

• Provide visuals on role cards
• Pair EAL/D students with helpers during role-play
• Provide sentence starters for posters

Extension:

• Challenge early finishers to invent a fourth survival tip: “What would you add if you were a First Nations person watching this arrival?”

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Assessment Opportunities

Formative Assessment:

• Observation during role-play for historical empathy
• Poster content evaluated for historical accuracy and engagement
• Exit slips used to assess understanding of convict life and emotional connection

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Teacher Reflection Prompt

• Did students engage emotionally with the convict experience?
• Was the role-playing strategy effective for empathy-building?
• How could Aboriginal perspectives be incorporated more deeply next lesson?

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Future Learning Links (Scope & Sequence)

Coming up:

• Contrast: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' perspectives on British arrival
• Explore: Life in the colony and growth of the penal settlement
• Investigate: Important early colonists and their impact on Australia

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Wow Factor Summary
This lesson is highly experiential, uses drama, props, soundscapes, and student creativity, placing your learners fully inside the perspective of a convict while building curriculum knowledge to a deep and emotionally resonant level — beyond textbook history.