HTAV Projects Levels 5-6

• Gilbert and the Guardians of Melbourne
• Donkeys Can’t Fly on Planes
• Royal Flying Doctor Service
• Chinese Anzacs
• The History in Place Project

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Gilbert and the Guardians of Melbourne

Produced by the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria for the Melbourne Day Committee

While on excursion in Melbourne, a group of children meet a talking cat with an uncanny knowledge of the history of the city. Download Gilbert and the Guardians of Melbourne, a free illustrated ebook and accompanying education kit about the foundation story of the City of Melbourne. Visit the Melbourne Day website to find out how your students can apply to become junior Lord Mayor of Melbourne!

Donkeys Can’t Fly on Planes

Produced by the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria for the University of Melbourne and Kids Own Publishing

These classroom resources support the book Donkeys Can’t Fly on Planes. It was written by children with a South Sudanese refugee background who came to live in Australia in the early 2000s and were students at the Liddiard Road Primary School in Traralgon, Victoria. After Donkeys was published, parents and adults in the community told their stories, for children, in In My Kingdom (2014) and All the Way Home (2015).

The resources draw on all three books to bring Australian migration from South Sudan and refugee history alive through the voices of some children and adults who have lived it first-hand. The materials below include videos, audio, classroom activities and additional information for teachers and students to support children’s stories being used as primary sources to discuss and learn about recent histories of immigration.

Royal Flying Doctor Service

Produced by the History Teachers’ Association of Australia for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Victoria)

This site contains online resources for both the History and Geography subject areas of the Victorian Curriculum. The 5-6 History resource introduces students to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and its contribution to remote Australian communities. It includes three sections: VIEW (a short video ‘The Furthest Corner’), EXPLORE (an interactive tour of the Royal Flying Doctor Service museum in Broken Hill) and MAKE (a student task or project).

Chinese Anzacs

Produced by the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Chinese Museum and the Victorian Collections (originally Culture Victoria).

Chinese Anzacs tells the story of the over two hundred Australians of Chinese descent who enlisted in World War I. In fact, one hundred and seven of these were from Victoria. Their story is often overlooked in the greater narratives of World War I, now their stories can be read about in Chinese Anzacs.

Their experiences during and after the war were the subject of the Chinese Anzacs exhibition at the Chinese Museum in 2014. You can access an online version of this exhibition plus videos through the Chinese Anzacs Story on Victorian Collections.

The History in Place Project

Produced by Culture Victoria, the Heritage Council of Victoria and the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria

History in Place is a film-making project for students visiting museums or heritage sites. It can also be adapted for use with primary sources in the classroom. The toolkit includes an instructional documentary, PowerPoint, storyboard worksheet, assessment rubric, excursion forms and examples of student work. This resource is suitable for Levels 5 and 6.