Ancient History of Aboriginal Australians
Overview
Topic #2 of 35
Percent of Year Complete, Before Topic: 2.8%
Percent of Year Complete, After Topic: 5.7%
Lessons to Complete: 2
Goal: Understand that people inhabited Australia before Europeans “discovered” it, basic cultural ideas about them and that it was a continuous culture that still exists today.
Games: Minecraft, Civilization VI, and Humankind
Aboriginal Australians are the oldest civilization in the world that still exists today, so it makes sense to start our look at the world’s civilizations here.
Our journey of discovery that is Ancient History is divided into units:
- Oceania and East Asia
- Africa
- Asia/Middle East
- Meditteranean
- Europe
- Americas
It is organized into areas of the world because we are teaching the relationship between people and nations instead of memorizing historical facts.
It is important to remember that many people exist that we will not cover because we will run out of time. This is a great “rabbit trail” (as the author of Blossom and Root likes to say) to go down on your own – an opportunity to learn more on a topic that sparks curiosity.
We only have two lessons on Ancient Australia. For each civilization that we study the focus is on understanding who the people were and the relationship between them and other civilizations as we move through the ages to understand what happens next.
Don’t dig into the specific facts; focus on understanding the general topic.
Learning Goals:
- Understand the location of Australia on a map.
- Understand how big Australia is and the diversity of the continent.
- Understand that Aboriginal Australians are made up of multiple cultures and people.
- Know what art, music, natural resources, and food the ancient people would have had access to.
Vocabulary Words
Aboriginal
Indigenous
Australia
Continent
Didgeridoo
Bullroarer
Oral Storytelling
Ochre
Boomerang
Kangaroo
Emu
Dingo
Unit Plan
Day 1 – Aboriginal Australian Art and Food
Take the vocabulary above and write it down on flashcards. Then, write the definitions of the words (with the context of history) on additional flashcards.
Learn about food and art from Australia and answer the questions.
You will get access to some things that will not be due until the end of our unit:
Look at the Avatar/Character worksheet to collect information throughout the week.
Look at the gaming worksheet to see the information that you should watch for as you play and get the scenario setup details for Civilization VI and Humankind.
Day 2 – Get the Facts on Aboriginal Australia
Play a vocabulary game.
Watch the videos.
Read the textbook.
Answer the questions from the reading.